Dorling Kindersley ClueFinders Triple Pack Years 3, 4 and 5 review

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Verdict:

I'm a kid - get me out of here! Head-scratching fun in an Indiana Jones stylee.

Review Date: 24 Sep 2008

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: Adam Banks

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

This 'adventure-based learning system' is a bit like the Reader Rabbit series. Within a cartoon storyline you encounter a set of puzzles covering subjects such as problem solving, Maths, reading comprehension and Earth Science.

This pack contains three titles for different ages, each bundled with the same Mystery Mansion Arcade game disc. So you end up with three copies of this, although only one of ours actually worked, and the primitive games barely reach the standard you'd find on free Flash sites.

We focused on ClueFinders Year 5 Adventures: Secret of the Living Volcano. Four young explorers are trying to find their two lost friends with the help of a talking map. The friends appear on a handheld computer screen to give you instructions as you try to rescue them by finding 'cryptiles'. Our testers liked the cartoon story bits, but found the activities a mixed bag. The first task involved matching polygons that were so roughly drawn we had trouble telling them apart, although we eventually figured it out. The next job was to rearrange bits of text to complete stories from British history. Our testers struggled gamely through several of these, but were rewarded only with more and more to do, ultimately provoking groans all round. We finally twigged that we could click the map and escape to try something else. Further along, our 10-year-old, who's good at maths, rose to the challenge of a complex number puzzle.

Each player's progress is tracked so you can see what they've done. The tasks have a slightly dry and worthy feel to them, but at least they're not dumbed down. ClueFinders certainly got us thinking, and the animated scenes, with good voices and sound effects, help to lighten things up.

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