Spot and His Friends
© 2000 Hasbro Interactive/Infogrames
The lovely graphics are the best feature of this new CD, based on the adorable little dog, Spot. When a five-year-old Spot enthusiast was asked what she thought of the program, she gave us an ambivalent "I don't know" response, which pretty much sums it up. Too many unresponsive clicks and a confusing set of themes make for a disjointed experience. The activities found at the Party, Farm, Carnival and Beach are, on the whole, too brief, with limited, short-lived experiences like finding Spot's dad, finding hidden clothes, finding hidden animals and, you guessed it, finding other hidden things. When kids are ready to move on to something new, they have to wait for the animation and lengthy narration to finish, which makes them lose interest quickly. The simple picture-making activities are probably the best part of the program, letting kids decorate a farmyard scene with animated animals and letting them create simple sand castles. The maze game is good in theory, but younger testers had trouble navigating with a continually pressed mouse. There's no sign-in to speak of, so kids' games are not saved. A lack of adjustable difficulty levels along with the mouse skills required, makes the program too tough for toddlers (without mouse skills) and too easy for most preschoolers. Hopefully, the next Spot will be better.
$14.99, Win, Mac OS (CD-ROM)
Teaches: early learning, following directions, animals