2 stars (Maybe if you have hours to waste...) - This game takes around an hour and a half to complete. It is VERY slow, boring, and any child under 7 will be bored to pieces after the first scenario of trying to get out of Charlie Brown's house. The narration is too long, you can't speed it up, and once you think you've solved the game and it's over, it continues on and on again.
The only way I can recommend this is for young kids 3-5, who just want to see the Peanuts characters interact on screen and the opportunity to click on things and see what they do. Once you have finished the game once, it remembers this and you can now play any one of the game/puzzle sections of it again, but if you take it out of your hard drive completely, you will be back to square one. Other than that, it is very frustrating to play the entire thing.
1 stars (Slow, Frustrating, and Negative for young kids) - I bought this game when my son was 4, because he had mastered most of the preschool games but wasn't ready for games that required reading, math, or quick fingers. I thought it would be a good problem-solving mystery game featuring some of his favorite Peanuts characters. After several attempts to help him get Charlie Brown out of the house, I finally got frustrated myself and put the game away so he wouldn't keep pestering me to figure it out (I was stumped, and didn't realize there was a "help" file). He finally dug it out months later and figured it out himself, but I forbid him from playing as Lucy because of the negative language she used towards the other characters. We finally pitched the game and moved on to Putt-Putt, Freddy Fish, and Pajama Sam. Much more positive role models, challenging but not frustrating problem solving games, fun music, and a more kid-friendly pace. Don't waste your money. This game is an insult to Charles Schulz.
4 stars (A good time!) - My son is almost a year old and I bought this software on a whim, to see if I can figure out a kid's game in my old age. Granted he doesn't know what a computer even is yet, but I bought the game (cheaper at Target, BTW) and I plan to give it to him in a few years when he's ready for stuff like this.
I'm not sure about the 4+ age minimum. I took the easy route in this game to see and it seems a lot of things might stump the wee ones. At least they stumped this old mold bag. Maybe kids are smarter at that age today, but it seems to me like some of the puzzles may get frustrating after several attempts. I would put this more in the age range of 6 to 8 for beginners.
Other than that, the game is a blast! Chasing Snoopy down the grocery aisle was the best part.
I wouldn't worry too much about the language issues raised by others here. 'Peanuts' has always been self-depreciating to a point - one has to consider that while the characters in the game do tend to belittle _themselves_ they never call the player "stupid" or "dumb". In fact I found the characters to be very encouraging to the player when a puzzle failed, and downright flattering when the puzzle was completed. I don't see many kids crying at the game because of something Lucy or Charlie Brown said. In fact, I don't see them crying at this game much at all, unless they're too young. |
