Dora the Explorer: Backpack Adventure
© 2002 Atari
Based on the Nickelodeon show, this interactive cartoon adventure lets children explore Dora's world while playing five multilevel matching games. Though the activities are shallow, they do a nice job of playfully immersing children in the Spanish language -- the only program of its type to do this. For example, as children guide a balloon through a maze, they are asked to match numbers, first in English, next in a mixture of Spanish and English, and finally only in Spanish. After a child signs in, he or she can choose to play in either Freeplay or Adventure modes. In the latter, the activities are embedded in a story, but excessive narration and poorly integrated games mar the experience-- this is no Freddi Fish. Testers who chose to begin with this Adventure mode liked the program far less than those who began in Freeplay mode, which lets you jump directly to the activities. As children play, they earn stickers for a cleverly designed sticker book. These stickers can then be used to decorate and print scenes from the program. Progress is tracked for up to three children, and levels can be changed at anytime. A second title in the series, Dora the Explorer: Lost City Adventure, is in the works.
$19.95, Win, Mac
Teaches: Spanish, early reading and math, classification, patterns