I Spy ghosts, spiders, snakes, loose eyes and other creepy things in Spooky Mansion.
Written: Jul 04 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Promotes thinking and problem solving.
Cons: Not very fast paced, kids can lose interest in it.
The Bottom Line: I spy Spooky Mansion is a good game to help with problem solving but it can be frustrating since some of the objects are disguised so well.
|
|
|
| tiffer0220's Full Review: Scholastic I Spy Spooky Mansion (10854) |
I Spy Spooky Mansion by Scholastic is a game geared towards kids ages 4 - 8. The object of the game is to solve the riddles in order to get puzzle pieces that will reveal a secret message on what you need to do to get out of the spooky mansion. The game is narrated by a voice that reminds me of the short lady with the creepy voice from Poltergeist. My kids find her voice to be very scary so its a good thing that you don't need sound to play the game. Of course then you miss out on all the cool sound effects of ghosts howling and stuff, but my kids don't mind.
The game sounds easy enough, but when you take into account there are 26 different riddles to solve and you have a large mansion to go through in order to find the riddles, it can get frustrating. When you do find a riddle to solve, it's not a 1-2-3 riddle where you just need to find 1 object. Instead a riddle will be found in a small room where there are many objects and the riddle can look like this:
I spy a needle, a dino spine,
a spice jar in place, the first bug in line,
a hand rail, a blue eye,
a bug in a spoon, a rebus door
and a the shape of a moon.
Some of the objects that you need to find in the 26 riddles are pretty well disguised and some are just sticking out like a sore thumb. The riddle above can be found in the kitchen area and the page you are looking at with that riddle features an old gray stone stove with doors on it, stuff hanging on the wall and a spice rack. The needle could be imprinted into the stove to make it look like a crack in the stove instead of a needle, and the spice jar could be found next to the stove and you need to pick it up and put it back up in the spice rack where it belongs. My kids had no idea what a rebus door was, so it was a good thing they just figured they'd click on a door to see if that was right.
There is a small list of the objects you need to find at the bottom of your screen. Each time you find one, that word turns red and the ones you didn't find stay black, this way you know how many more objects you have to find. In each area where the riddles are found, you have to do each one twice, but of course it will just have a different list. After you complete each area once, the skeleton who is in every picture will give you a piece to your puzzle.
If your child cannot read, the list of objects is also read to them. If they forget what else to look for, all they have to do is click one of the words and that object will be repeated to them.
When you have all 26 puzzle pieces, you have to go back to the front door and click on a picture frame that will show you your puzzle. You then have to put the puzzle together to reveal the instructions on what to do in order to get out of the house and complete the game.
While going from room to room in game, there are many things to click on. But you never know what it is you are going to do until after you click on it. Sometimes instead of finding a riddle to solve, you could find a game or 2 to play. Some of the games are matching games where you need to match objects that start with the same letter, or it could be a game where you have to click on the same objects that belong there. For example one of the games is to only have keys on the shelves, so while objects like eye balls, spiders and snakes come across the screen, you can only click on the keys.
Each of the mini games keep track of your score and give you your "best" score. You can also choose if you want to play the mini game in easy, medium or hard levels.
You can also make different ghosts of your own in the game. In order to do this, the game will send you on a little scavenger hunt to go find 2 or 3 different that are needed in order for each ghost. You can make up to 7 ghosts.
I think the graphics in this game are pretty neat. They are not life like so the kids will not get spooked out over seeing rats or ghosts or a spooky mansion. There's also plenty of animation that comes from clicking on items that can amuse the child for a little while.
Overall Recommendations
I think that I Spy Spooky Mansion is a good game but it could be better if it was a faster paced game. I completed the game in about 75 minutes and my kids are still trying to complete the game. The good thing is you can save your game so that you can start from where you left off. The game also personalizes a few of the riddles with your name in it and sometimes one of the objects that you may need to find is your own name.
If you are looking for a game where kids don't mind being challenged and don't mind getting frustrated because the game may seem like it will never end, then this is the game for you. If you need a game for a child with a short attention span, then I would not recommend this game for you.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
tiffer0220
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Tiffany
Location: Florida
Reviews written: 278
Trusted by: 743 members
About Me:
And baby makes...us CRAZY! I am trying to get motivated to write again!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.