This interactive comic introduces “environmentally aware” themes to children, through the adventures of three friends named Flash, Graham and Melody Tulip. The 26 screen story is about the friends search to learn the identity of the Phantom Clickerist — the person (or creature) who keeps turning out the lights. The creature, turns out to be a polar bear, who wants to prevent global warming. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Perfect Pitch Piano (PPPiano) is designed to teach you to play piano by ear, by playing a copy-cat style game with your iPad. Your screen displays a large, responsive keyboard that is just over an octave in size (17 keys) and sounds exactly like a piano. The app starts easy, playing a one or two note phrase and then waits for you to answer. The lessons get progressively harder; wrong answers give you another chance, depending on the settings. You can adjust the activity so that you can make as many as six mistakes. You can also change the pitch and tempo. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This is a 28 screen rendition of the classic Danish folk tale, The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, with illustrations by Lisbeth Zwerger. The story is about the tension between the mer-people and the land people, and how a young mermaid rescues and falls in love with a human prince. The pages can be narrated. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This interactive earth science textbook app is organized in ebook fashion, with illustrations, photos, narrated animations, and slide shows, along with quizzes and review questions to test and reinforce understanding. Specific topics include the causes of earthquakes; the relationship between earthquakes and faults; earthquake waves; seismometers and earthquake detection; locating the source of an earthquake; measuring the size of earthquakes; earthquake damage and large historical quakes; tsunamis, firestorms, landslides, and liquefaction; earthquake prediction; and an in-depth discussion of the relationship between earthquakes and plate tectonics. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Featuring a 3D spinning globe interface, this children’s atlas makes it possible to zoom in and pull out of a globe view, and to explore surface-level facts and photos on several hundred topics, including basic facts about each country. These facts can be compared with a touch (for example, for Mali) to learn the current time, weather, distance from you (the app knows where you are), and then compare land area, highest point, currency, transport per 1,000 people, and average CO2 emissions. Some of the items include 3D models, but this type of content seems scarce. The illustrations are by artist David Dean and the text narration is by the BBC’s Nick Crane. The 3D rotations of historical objects come from the Royal Geographical Society. The live country facts are supplied by Wolfram/Alpha and this includes real time weather, providing you’re online. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Based on the book by Laurence Anholdt, this app layers two types of interactive activities onto the pages, along with some scaffolding features (narrated text, and touch-and-hear words). There are 30 screens, plus a 360 degree art gallery, where you can explore the ten photos featured in the book. And this, of course, includes those famous 15 sunflowers. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
In this game, you first choose one of 48 Marvel and Capcom heroes and villains, including 12 new selections. You can fight as Capcom’s Strider for example, or Marvel’s Ghost Rider and Hawkeye. The fighting is leveled and there are eight stages that range in difficulty, giving experienced players something to look forward to. New features include the fan-requested Spectator mode during the online experience. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Katamari comes to the touch screen for the first time, due to the new capabilities of the PlayStation Vita. The idea is the same — roll a sticky ball around a course, collecting items and growing more powerful, in order to unlock the next levels. You have your choice of using either the Vita touch screen controls or dual analog sticks in conjunction with the rear touch pad to squeeze, stretch and roll your Katamari ball. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This is a portable version of EA’s FIFA Soccer. At points in the game, you can use both the front and back multi-touch screens to navigate. Content includes 30 licensed leagues and 500 licensed clubs in 11 v 11 matches in authentic stadiums from around the world. Online features are available which we were not able to test. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The fourth in the Professor Layton puzzle series, this game is set three years before the events in Professor Layton and the Curious Village. In the story, Professor Layton receives a letter from an old schoolmate telling him that a mysterious giant is destroying his town. This time, the professor investigates with his young, smart new assistant, Emmy. There’s a wide variety of brain teasers and riddles; more than the others in the series. In the first, for example, you find a hidden clue by taking the first letter from each line, in a paragraph. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Looking for a serious soccer game? Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) delivers plenty of sharp, realistic graphics and mixes it in with a set of intuitive controls. PES 2012 features include a more detailed career mode, improved teammate AI (artificial intelligence) so the players work better, better zonal marking and positional defending, and a new collision detection system. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Turn your slippery iPhone screen into a guitar fretboard with this Magic Guitar app with this follow-along style app that lets you mimic various guitar styles. You hold your phone like a guitar neck, and beams of light tell your finger where to go. A shake will bend the tone, and a swipe will give texture. The idea is to match the moving marks as closely as possible to earn points, which are recorded on a leaderboard. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
In the story, an alien spaceship crashes in the otherwise peaceful realm of Planet Pop Star, and its pieces are scattered throughout the land. You must guide Kirby to find the ship’s parts and help an alien return to its home planet. But, this time, Kirby is not alone. At any time during the game, up to three more players can join in and play as Meta Knight, King Dedede, Waddle Dee or a different color Kirby. The game features Kirby’s Copy Ability, which allows him to inhale, spit and transform as he encounters enemies. Other features include classic and new abilities including: Sword – Kirby dons a green cap and wields a sword; Beam – Kirby wears a jester hat and can shoot energy from a magic wand; Whip – Kirby wears a cowboy hat and can lasso enemies; and Leaf – Kirby is surrounded by a whirlwind of leaves. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
As with other editions of Scribblenauts, children use language to unlock puzzles, by typing in the items they need. Need to kill a shark? Type “hair dryer” and drop it in the water, to electrocute it. Want to get through a gate? Type “shovel” and dig under it. Content includes 10 original levels designed specifically for Apple devices, along with 40 fan favorite levels from Scribblenauts and Super Scribblenauts. The more levels you solve, the more Starites you earn, and these unlock in-game achievements. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
To make the program, 2K Play told me that they used motion capture on professional cheerleaders, which adds a sense of realism to the models that you follow. If you miss a move, you see a glowing region around your weak spot. At the end of the routine, you are scored and you get to unlock new levels or try again. You will learn High V, Broken T, and Right Punch, as well as more advanced, combination moves including the Blad Cap and Touchdown Sway. Songs featured include both licensed cheerleading songs and popular cheer dance hits including Rihanna’s Disturbia and Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This one player Zelda game turns your Wii into a flying, sword-fighting puzzle solving adventure, complete with problem solving opportunities and reading. Note the E10+ rating, for plenty of fantasy violence mostly due to the realistic fighting. Also note the gender bias, with a story line full girls who tend to giggle and boys who are warriors who must prove themselves for the girl’s approval. You must play the male role. This title requires a Wii MotionPlus controller. Zelda, like Mario, is one of the hallmark Nintendo characters. As a result, the limited-edition version of the game ($70) includes a gold Wii RemotePlus controller and a music CD featuring the Zelda Symphony. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Using the PlayStation Move controller and PlayStation Eye camera to track and score moves, you can test your dancing skills with three difficulty levels, each featuring unique routines. You can also dance solo, team up with a friend for a cooperative Partner Routine, challenge a friend to a competitive Dance Battle, or use the Party Play mode where up to 20 players can go head-to-head in the ultimate dance-off. The game features a Dance Class feature to improve your skills through routine breakdowns, a Dance Creator feature that lets you develop your own choreography, a Dance Workout that tracks your fitness progress and calories burned; and Sing-Along. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
After you plug in one or two mats into your Wii (for one or two players, or one player with two mats), you can choose from 80 music tracks that include classics and original music created specifically for the game by Vanilla Ice and Maxi Priest. There are three modes of play:School Mode, for new dancers, offers an option for training. More skilled players can choose the Challenge difficulty level, which also features a new Doubleplay functionality that allows a single player to play on two DanceDanceRevolution mat controllers simultaneously. The Workout Mode lets you enter your weight and track your fitness progress and estimated calories burned. The game features all new dance characters and is compatible with your Mii so dancers can capture a likeness of themselves or the dance partners. Prices are $50 bundled with the Dance mat and $30 for the standalone game. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
The basic Tetris challenge is the same as always; to steer a falling block into place on a grid as quickly and efficiently as possible. Color and shape matches earn points. Content includes 20 game modes with names like Marathon, Computer Battle, Fever and Survival, plus Party Game Modes for two to eight players, using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Developed by Hudson Soft for Nintendo. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Based on the printed book “When I Grow Up” by Al Yankovic with illustrations by Wes Hargis, this 18 screen book deals with the age-old question “what will I be when I grow up.” In this case, the question is answered by the author, “Weird Al” Yankovic, the famous wisecracking comedian/musician. Note that the app was initially released as a book but has since been enhanced with five story-related games. For example, in Haute Cuisine Hero you’re a cook who is supposed to tap an ingredient when it is above a pot of stew. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This 3D flying game lets you help Fox McCloud lead battle against a squadron of fighters in aerial outer space combat, for up to four players. The goal to shoot down the evil forces of Andross while saving the galaxy from destruction. Both screens are used — the top screen shows the 3D combat and the bottom screen displays characters and dialogue. The game also features two control methods. The Nintendo 64 Mode offers the original controls, and the Nintendo 3DS Mode use the motion controls of the built-in Gyro Sensor. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
If you’ve ever tried to roll a marble through a maze (by tilting the game board), you get the idea of the Mercury games. In this new edition, called Hg (the element symbol for mercury), 60 new levels offer nearly unlimited challenge. Why? You can always go faster. The game uses the six-access motion sensing in the PS3 controller (we’re not sure how the Xbox version works) to move a ball of Mercury through a series of creative twists and turns. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
First the bad news. This app, based on the book of the same name, costs $13. That’s plenty for a muggle. But the good news is that that it succeeds in satisfying the curiosity of any Harry Potter aficionado, young or old, with added (“oh wow!”) interactive features that include pinch and zoom set blueprints, behind-the-scenes photos from the movie sets, and trailers for each Harry Potter movie. See… that’s why you spent $500 on an iPad. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Nearly identical in spirit to The Incredible Machine (1995, Sierra Online), this is a virtual invention lab with 100 levels, and 100 gadgets. The title is part of the thinkSMART series from Mentor Interactive. There are four modes of play: Action Mode – play alone and break the riddles; Co-op Mode – break the riddles with a friend; Party Mode – play against another; and Sandbox Mode – edit your own level to set up chain reactions and share with friends. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This fast-paced shooting/fighting game gives you the fight you’d expect from a Transformer’s game. A new gameplay mechanic called Stealth Force lets you turn into a third, hybrid state that combines the weapons and firepower of Robot Mode with the agility and maneuverability of Vehicle Mode. Environments include Jungles of Central America, Siberian military facilities, Urban Cityscapes, and more, along with a diverse roster of Transformers characters to choose from as you try to save mankind. The PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii versions also allow for you to compete with or against friends around the world in multiplayer modes. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This one or two player game brings together four characters from Ratchet and Clank, Jak & Daxter, and Sly Cooper. They work together (you can choose who to play) to compete in a series of challenges using the PlayStation Move controller (required). In the story, aliens have swiped chunks of the worlds of Ratchet, Jak and Sly in order to create a mysterious new planet in the galaxy. After they are abducted to this new world, Ratchet, Clank, Jak, Daxter, Sly Cooper and Bentley compete in competitions. You can use a variety of weapons including Ratchet & Clank’s combustor, Sly Cooper’s cane and super power weapons that are customized to each character. Medals are earned for completing missions and challenges; and the more medals you earn the more missions you unlock. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
These twelve ingenious activities marry logical thinking with body motion, further establishing the Wii system as the leader in the kinesthetic interface. Note that you’ll need to have one of the newer Wii Remote Plus controllers (or an older one with the Remote Plus attachment) to make the games work. Fortunately a new black controller comes in the box. In Wind Runner, the controller becomes an umbrella handle that you must tilt to ride gusts of wind along a race course. In Spooky Search, you hunt for invisible spirits using the controller as a ghost detector. And in Veggie Guardin’, you use the Wii Remote Plus to swat away pests. The game features multiple difficulty levels for up to four players, and all the games can be played in both single player and multiplayer modes. The game comes bundled with one Wii Remote Plus controller. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
If you’ve played previous versions of Zelda, you’re in for few surprises in this 3D version, according to our well-Zeldafied testers, besides some nice 3D frosting and a few games that use the cameras. The game retains the analog control of the original version of the game via the Circle Pad, but players can also use motion controls by moving the Nintendo 3DS system to aim their slingshot or bow at an enemy with speed and accuracy. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This sequel to “StarWars: The Force Unleashed” (2008) is a “hurriedly thought out excuse for you to plow through a bunch of Storm Troopers” according to Chris, our intern tester. He reported “if you wanted to, you could skip all the cut scenes and really not miss anything. And this is coming from someone who tends to like cut scenes.” Even if a game is lacking a compelling story, it can still be fun. There’s something cathartic about slashing your way through wave after wave of essentially defenseless enemies. Aside from learning a few new attacks here and there things can get old. The bottom line? This edition isn’t as good as its predecessor. While this game had its moments and might be worth a borrow, it’s hard to justify the investment.
Teaches: fighting, timing, logic. LucasArts. www.lucasarts.com, $30. Best for ages 8-up.
Rating: 
or .775%
This two-player drop in, drop out game lets you take on the role of one of four fantasy characters from the Gormiti cartoon. In the story, Razzel is cleaning the library and knocks some old books into a Portal. The books travel down to the Island of Gorm, where a battle between vast armies is going on. The books land at the feet of Magmion, the evil Lava Gormiti, who reads a book and learns the legend of five sacred amulets which have been scattered across Gorm. Once the amulets are reunited the holder will have the ability to open an inter-dimensional portal to Earth. The Lords of Nature need to use all their powers to stop Magmion and save Earth. Got all that? The story is explained with subtitles in an introduction. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This 35 level fighting game lets you become a Samurai fighter in ancient Japan. The title is more about strategy and exploring the levels than purely gory fighting. There are both free play and mission modes of play. The more you play, the more fighters and areas you can unlock. Progress can be saved in one of four game save slots. You control the weapons and armor, and decide which course to take to complete your mission. Content includes 35 warriors who can fight on foot or horseback. and can be customized. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
You can play with up to four players in various virtual game boards, in both competitive and cooperative challenges featuring Pac Man characters. Content includes 45 minigames including racing, eating, and rolling a giant snowball. There are three modes of play: Story Mode (lets you explore all the game board worlds); Mini-Game Mode; and Party Mode. Extra content includes the original arcade versions of Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This app mixes a variety of logic puzzles with a witty story. The story– about an FBI puzzle inspector, is full of twists and turns. There are three game-save slots; useful for multiple player homes. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This is a collection of 17 puzzles of six varieties. The most noteworthy and familiar are the I SPY-like, hidden object games, which have you searching the screen until your eyes ache. In the story mode, adapted from the modern Nancy Drew books, Nancy tries to help a wedding take place by finding all the items needed for the ceremony. You interrogate 15 suspects — reading required — and complete the games in order to solve the crime. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This Zumba exercise game lets you learn and practice nine dance styles including Reggaeton, Merengue, Salsa, Cumbia, Hip-Hop, Mambo, Rumba, Flamenco and Calypso. Content includes 30 music tracks, and routines led by Zumba creator Beto and celebrity instructors Gina Grant and Tanya Beardsley. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Point your iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone at the sky (or ceiling) to harness the power of an augmented reality system paired with a database of the stars. The program uses your camera, compass, current location and accelerometers to know which star you’re looking at. In 2010, an iPad edition was released with an updated database with constellations and messier objects. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This game features play-by-play announcing by Tim Kitzrow, two campaign modes (Classic and Remix Tour), realistic looking players modeled after famous NBA players, Boss Battles against basketball legends, the rosters and logos of 30 NBA Teams, plus 100 unlockable items that include teams, characters, privileges, and mascots. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Smule’s second music simulator is equally as amazing as it’s first — Magic Piano — but, like the instrument it emulates, it’s harder to pick up and play. Content includes a set of lessons that teach finger placement on a virtual fingerboard, posture, and even things like where to rest your chin on the iPad’s screen. In the tutorials, you are told where to put your hands on the virtual fret board, by Guitar-Hero-style pitch markers that move from left to right across the screen, showing you where to place your fingers on the screen. The 39 song songbook ranges from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, to Nearer My God to Thee. There’s also an in-app link to the app store, where you can purchase advanced pieces. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This app is more of an ornate annotated photo library, with no narration, search options nor language options. Featured in many of the photos is legendary dinosaur collector Barnum Brown, responsible for finding many of the artifacts on display today. There are many WWI-era photos of Brown and his team at work, digging dusty bones out of the sand.
Note that the app is part of a 2011 exhibit called the World’s Largest Dinosaurs designed to highlight Sauropods, which grew up to 150 feet long. The exhibit will include a life-sized model of a 60-foot Mamenchisaurus that you can walk inside. Other apps from the museum include Cosmic Discoveries (a 1,000 image mosaic) and American Museum of Natural History Explorer, designed as an “indoor GPS” which pinpoints a user’s location within the Museum and offers turn-by-turn directions. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
In the story, FBI agent Nicole Bonnet (a young women) receives a mysterious package with a complex puzzle inside that appears to be a message from a serial killer. This killer leaves playing cards near the bodies of his victims. You must help Nicole solve the case and prevent the murderer from killing again by decoding the meaning of the messages, following the trail, and gathering evidence. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.