THE PLAYER'S Corner
Games and electronic fun for the little ones,
Shaun Conlin
When it comes to the gift of gaming, the under-10 crowd is under-served this time of year. Or, tykes are lumped in with the "family fun" demographic of holiday season sales, too easily dismissed as easily satisfied, so long as it bleeps or bloops or goes kapow.
!The fact is, kids like to have their brains stimulated as much as their adrenal glands - or they should if they know what's good for them, which they don't, so it's up to parents to find something both age-appropriate as well as cognitively stimulating; educational and entertaining at the same time. Video games generally do that to a certain degree (especially puzzle and strategy games), but, as it happens, there are a great many "edutainment" games and devices out there designed specifically for kids.
Didj (LeapFrog) $89.99
!The new Didj looks the part of a maturing kid's handheld game system in that it bears a resemblance to the PlayStation Portable (PSP), all widescreen-ish and svelte (but low-res and wimpier). But coming from LeapFrog, the premier purveyor of age-appropriate learning devices and games, Didj is solidly focused on teaching through gaming, with cartridge-based games featuring the likes of Indiana Jones, Hannah Montana, SpongeBob, etc. (sold separately for $30 a pop) in which cognitive-skills drills are integrated or interspersed (as pop-quiz interludes).
!More important, Digj can be custom programmed to reflect school-related lessons of the day/week/month/semester - spelling words to be learned, multiplication to be figured and so on - by jacking it into the Web-based LeapFrog Learning Path (via PC and a USB cable), an online hub where parents and kids can personalise their Didj content as well as create lessons and pursuits, track progress and stats, and then syncing it with Digj (which is otherwise an offline device). The process can be flaky, but with a bit of patience, it's all good.
!While the Digj doesn't have quite the same cachet of an actual PSP (nor price tag, mind you), its certainly got its own brand of cool. Plus it accommodates multiple kids by giving each their own internal and online portfolio, so it's not only age-appropriate for a child age 6-10, but all kids in the house aged 6-10 (if you happen to have more than one) that might have to endure a lesson in "sharing".
Leapster2 Learning System (LeapFrog) $69.99
!As LeapFrog's second-generation, educational game system for children ages 4-8, Leapster2 does not represent a huge step up from the original Leapster, but it does offer an improved form factor (it's a tad smaller and more curvaceous), plus a new set of cool features and functions.
!As before, Leapster2 offers cartridge-based learning activities in the guise of low-res, low-pressure button and touch-screen gaming with familiar tyke favourites like Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob. In fact, it's backwards compatible with the 30-odd games for the original Leapster as well as new, Leapster2-specific happy meal icons like Wall-E and Clone Wars Jedi Math (may the plus sign be with you).
!Best of all, Leapster2 features a Web-based hub (as with the Didj, again via PC and a USB cable) where you can sync the system with online inter-activities, artistic creations, stats, custom content, etc.
Tag Reading System (LeapFrog) $49.99
!Much better than LeapFrog's well-meaning but wholly unwieldy LeapPad read-along book and stylus system, the new Tag Reading System is as intuitive as it is practical. It's a two-piece reading/comprehension/vocabulary/phonetics tool for kids age 4-8. It features specially printed Tag storybook books that are interacted with by way of an elegant, easy-grip, battery-operated Jiffy Marker-like stylus that houses a computer chip, ocular reader and speaker. Touching words, letters, pictures and icons will verbally reiterate those words and letters or just tell the story at hand as well as call out little hints, suggestions, activities or just goofy sounds. Interaction with each of any Tag storybook (one included, more sold separately at $13.99 a pop) is also self "levelling' to match the pace of the kid using it.
!Tag is also the third (of three) new LeapFrog systems to integrate with the LeapFrog Learning Path, that PC/USB connected online hub of tools, rewards and expanded activities.
EyeClops Bionic Eye (Jakks Pacific) $39.99
!A totally enjoyable, kid-friendly, handheld microscope, Jakks Pacific's EyeClops Multizoom Bionic Eye Plug-In TV Microscope is a simple but effective battery-powered (five AAs not included) magnifier that jacks directly into the composite video input (the yellow one) on any TV. It will then display any targeted item at 100x, 200x or 400x its normal size. Getting the thing to focus is a persnickety affair, but it's otherwise great fun to greatly enlarge just about anything on hand (or within reach of the thing's 2m cord; it's best to set up shop on the coffee table and bring stuff to it): Your skin, dad's tooth, mum's sneakers, the dog's fleas or the fine print on the flea shampoo that says "keep away from children". Oops.
Hexbug Micro Robotic Creatures (Innovation First, Inc.) $9.99-$19.99
!There's not much to explain when the name says it all, except Hexbug Micro Robotic Creatures are more "small" than "micro" (about 5cm tall) and they're delicate, not Robocop-ish in their 'botic-ness, so a toy you watch, not a toy you bash together with other robots in robot battles. Oh, and they like smooth surfaces, not carpet.
A pair of watch batteries (included) powers these little ro-bugs that come in three flavours: The original Hexbug ($9.99) is a cockroach-like thing that scrambles off one way then changes direction in response to a sharp sound (like a clap or snap) or after physically bumping into something. The Hexbug Crab ($14.99) is much the same but also sports a light sensor up top so it can play crustacean by seeking out and stopping in dark or shady spots. Lastly, the Hexbug Worm ($19.99) sports a wireless remote control so you can actually drive the thing, which isn't worm-like at all, but there it is. In each case, Hexbugs' moving parts are exposed, making them quite fascinating to watch for an hour or two, then they get boring, but you can hide them for a couple of months and bring them out again for another brief stint at micro-robotic tomfoolery.
Next week: Holiday best bets for the Wii.
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