Konami Kids Playground: Dinosaurs Shapes & Colors
© 2007 Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Designed to get children using their feet instead of their thumbs, this is one of four titles for the PlayStation 2 that resembles DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), only with content geared toward preschoolers instead of teens. For example, in Tar Pit, children match shapes by jumping to the correct symbol on the mat before time runs out. The titles come bundled with a special vinyl mat that that plugs into one of the PlayStation USB ports. (Note that the titles won't work with existing dance pads.) The 12 games vary in quality and developmental appropriateness for children, and progress can't be saved -- so there's little or no continuity to the experience. That said, several of the games succeed in getting children moving, and it is easy for children to learn where these activities are. Younger children may need to be shown how to exit from the games. This is a good idea, but it could be improved. As a way to turn a PlayStation and TV into a movement area, this series works. If you already own the mat, you can buy additional titles alone for $20. They include (each beginning with the Konami Kids Playground prefix) Alphabet Circus, Frogger Hop, Skip & Jumpin' Fun and Toy Pals Fun with Numbers. Designed by ImaginEngine for Konami.
$2040, PlayStation 2
Teaches: school readiness, movement, some logic, classification, temporal relations
CTR Rating: 82%