JumpStart Wildlife Safari Field Trip
© 2001 Knowledge Adventure, Inc.
This collection of five Playstation games successfully gives children some fun, fairly educational options, but it is not without a few rough spots. After signing in, children are asked to select a boy or girl JumpStart character. Next, they can choose from one of five different worlds. The game play is similar in each world, asking kids to steer the character around and participate in activities. They must build a bridge out of alphabet logs on Goat Island, for instance, and return a set of eggs to the appropriately numbered bird in The Hatchery. Activities are standard early learning fare, focusing on counting, letters and shapes. Each game uses a sidescrolling game model, the same technique used in hundreds of Playstation games. Our testers loved some of the more challenging game moves, such as bouncing on a mushroom to reach a swinging vine, and so on. There are plenty of levels and enough surprises to keep kids interested. Also nice is the fact that your child's progress is bookmarked (a memory card is required for this option). Innovative features include a "family play" option, where a parent can use one controller to control jumps, and a young child can use the other to steer. The game's main weakness is its use of menus that require reading. Another oversight is the scoring system, which tracks up to 300 stars. (This is when children are supposed to be learning to count to 10!) All in all, though, this is safe, clean fun that is mildly educational and makes the Playstation accessible to a young child.
$29.95, PlayStation
Teaches: counting to nine, letters, alphabetical order, counting, matching, memory