Adventures of Darwin, The
© 2007 D3Publisher of America, Inc.
"Complex, but worth the trouble" was the assessment of some of our testers, while others simply gave up on this hunting and gathering adventure for one player. Your objective is to help a band of apes evolve into a colony of human cavemen by learning about and interacting with the prehistoric world. As you explore, you find fruit, wood, and materials for weapons. You also learn how to use language and fight against bad guys. The process can be addicting, but it requires a memory card to save progress, as well as a good deal of fiddling with the view options and menus. If you're expecting a polished video game, Darwin might make a poor impression. But the process grows on you. Danny (13) played the game for five hours. He hated it, noting that it was repetitive and had no directions. He compared it to a low-grade version of Pikman, but "compared to Pikman, this game stinks." Other testers, such as Luke (7) and Dan (7), played the game as a pair—all weekend long—and feel in love with it. Nick (11) also liked it. So at the very least, it is one to borrow. The game was developed for the PS2 by Vingt-et-un-Systems Corporation for D3 Publishers.
$20, PlayStation 2
Teaches: logic, deductive reasoning, reading, problem solving
CTR Rating: 84%