Get Rocky Premium

$4.99, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch (iOS 4.3 or later)

Teaches: science, timing, logic, earth science

CTR Rating: 86%

CTR Review

Fun and fast paced but clunky in places, this tilt-and-slide adventure game mixes an earth science agenda with a common video game play pattern. Content purists might be distressed by the liberal mixing of fiction and nonfiction; gaming purists may find the challenges to be confusing (you don't know when you're meeting an enemy or a friend). You help Digger the mole travel to the center of the Earth by tilting your screen through a hole, tapping into a nice game mechanic that is easy to fall into (pun fully intended). Content includes 30 Levels in 6 Layers of the Earth; 18 Get Rocky comic book movies with real science facts about the journey; 12 rocks and minerals to collect; 20 enemies such as centipedes, goblins and magma men. As Digger's journey gets deeper, he must acquire new tools to blast through to new levels. Social features include a Leaderboard to show off high scores. As with other Fingerprint apps, the first time setup menu can be confusing, and it is easy for a child to wander into promotional materials for other Fingerprint-related products. You also get a sense that this app is collecting some sort of data about the child. In this premium version, which we reviewed, there is a lot of play value with no in-app sales or gimmicks and the app remembers your progress.