Barney Actimate
Reviewed by Ty Brewer
Published by Microsoft

Age Group: Beginners, Age 2 to 5 Type: Thinking Games Price: $100 - $150 US

Description:

The Barney Conspiracy: Microsoft controls our computers. Barney controls our children. This match was unavoidable. I was one who swore I wouldn't have any Barney material in my house when my daughter was born. But then she wanted a Barney doll and I figured that wouldn't hurt. Then she wanted a Barney book, and I couldn't say no. And then she wanted Barney clothes and I drew the line. If she wants to play with Barney she can, but I don't want to look at Barney on her shirt when I hug her. I don't really have anything against Barney; the show is perfect for young children and they eat it up. It's just that I can't watch it because the content is completely child oriented - nothing thrown in there for adults at all. And maybe that's part of the success of Barney.

I purchased a Barney Actimate accidentally. First I reviewed Barney Under the Sea and awarded this game my first ever Gold award. Inspired by the high quality of Under the Sea, I decided it was worth a shot and bought the Barney Actimate. For Barney to work with a computer, you must also purchase the PC Pack. The PC Pack includes Barney's Imagination Island and a radio transmitter. Barney Actimate set me back $100 and the PC Pack another $50.

Technical Aspects:

Installing the PC Pack is fairly easy. Simply attach the radio "puck" to your sound card's MIDI/joystick port with the supplied cable. Joysticks attach to the puck with a pass-through cable so you can still use your joystick without disconnecting anything. The puck is a blue disc about 6" diameter with a four foot cord. The puck transmits radio signals into the Barney Actimate with commands to speak and move. I ran into a few problems that I am still unable to resolve consistently. The puck creates radio interference with a variety of devices: my portable phone, my baby monitor, and my PC speakers. The first time I used the PC Pack I had horrible squealing from my PC speakers and baby monitor. I was able to reduce the speaker interference by moving the puck under my desk and to the side of the computer. The baby monitor and telephone problems are resolved by not using them while playing with Barney. This might create problems when a child plays with Barney and you need to speak on the phone, but I haven't had much of a problem. The interference issue is annoying but doesn't stop Barney from working.

Barney Actimate works with several Microsoft games, four of which I know of. Imagination Island, packaged with the Barney Actimate, is quite similar to Barney Under the Sea. I strongly urge you to read the review of Barney Under the Sea, as many elements of that game are included with Barney's Imagination Island. The elements are very similar in both games. Still, my daughter demands to play Imagination Island and barely touches Barney Under the Sea. Go figure. No matter how you look at it, both games are of the highest quality and I strongly recommend both. You must purchase the Barney Actimate to get Barney's Imagination Island.

Imagination Island includes six locations for learning and fun:

• Baby Bop's Buccaneer Bay: children learn about shapes
• BJ's Treasure Cove: children learn about colors for a musical performance
• Hottin' Annie's Musical Woods: children learn to identify animals
• Lucy's Letter Lagoon: children learn letters
• Professor Tinkerputt's Tree House: children practice counting and learn number concepts
• Video Volcano: children watch video clips from the Barney TV series

As with Barney Under the Sea, each learning location features three different learning levels as well as an Explore level. The levels will keep most two to four year olds occupied and interested. The game includes a section for parents regarding the curriculum and other educational concepts.

Barney Actimate participates with the characters on screen. He talks and carries on coversations with BJ, Baby Bop, and the others, and instructs the child in each learning location. Barney moves his arms, head, and sings along - in other words, he participates as another character in the game. When Barney Actimate is missing or away at grandma's house, a Barney character appears on screen to take his place (Note: with all Barney games except Imagination Island). You'll probably have some happy moments when you first see your child talking to the Barney doll and following his instructions.

It's difficult to judge just how much the Actimate character adds to the learning experience. I know my child enjoys having Barney along and won't play the games without him, but I see very little interaction between her and the Barney doll - her eyes stay glued to the monitor. I do know the Barney Actimate adds interest for her and she likes the doll, so I count that as a winner.

Problems Aside from the previously mentioned radio interference, Barney's Imagination Island will not work without the Barney Actimate. We left Barney at grandma's house and my daughter wanted to play her game. Unfortunately, the game will not run without Barney nearby. This is unlike Barney Under the Sea which operates well with or without the Barney Actimate. I'm a little put off by this requirement, as the game does come with the Actimate. Also, I've found situations where an on-screen character couldn't speak. The lips move but no voice comes out. "Daddy, BJ isn't talking" is a frequent complaint. I've always fixed the problem by re-starting the game, so this probably won't affect most computers, but it does frustrate the child.

Praise My daughter once left Barney running while she went to play with her baby brother. As I walked through the room I kept hearing Barney and Professor Tinkerputt giving instructions. Instead of just saying "place the apple in the bucket" every thirty seconds, the instructions varied with each repetition. I found this fantastic. If a child does not understand "place the apple in the bucket", perhaps they understand "put the red apples into the brown bucket" better. Each instruction had four or five variations - the child will most certainly understand one of the four. This is a nice touch most games leave out.

I've had difficulty in deciding to award this game the coveted "Gold" award, but I believe it deserves the distinction. Barney Actimate has its problems, but nothing serious. I can't even think of how to improve the setup or hardware. I know my daughter loves the games and loves her Barney. That's good enough for me.

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