Land Before Time Activity Center
Reviewed by Jason Levine
Published by Sound Source Interactive

Age Group: Age 4 to 8 Type: Thinking Games Price: $ 30 US

PC version requires:
486-33 8 MB RAM, 2x CD-ROM, Windows 95, also on Win 3.1; 640x480x256

Mac version requires:
Version is available.

Description:

Based on the popular animated motion picture of the same name, The Land Before Time Activity Center features colorful graphics and animations that look like they were taken right from the movie. In fact, the video clips that can be viewed in exchange for "tree stars" earned by completing the activities successfully were taken directly from the movie. Like other "activity center"-type programs, The Land Before Time contains a wide variety of games and activities designed to hold a kid's interest for long stretches at a time.

Features

Activities in The Land Before Time include:

• Cave Concentration (a memory matching game involving creatures from two different caves)
• Flying Game (in which kids try to launch the dinosaur buddies safely across the river into the soft grass)
• Bramble Maze (a 3D, first-person view maze)
• Make a Story (in which kids arrange sentences and select pictures to illustrate their stories)
• Build A Dino (in which kids mix match dinosaur parts to make real or imaginary dinosaurs)
• Egg Roll (a game involving the placement of ladders, bridges and pillows in order to guide an egg safely to its nest)
• Dino Trivia (a trivia games based on real dinosaur facts)
• Printable Color Book (kids can color and print out pictures based on the movie)
• Tree Star Forest (where kids can exchange the "tree stars" earned in the other activities for video clips from the movie)

Reactions

Like so many five-year-olds, our son is dinosaur crazy. Anything to do with dinosaurs--books, toys, videos, games, you name it--he wants. So it was no surprise that The Land Before Time Activity Center instantly became one of his favorite programs. And it's easy to see why. The graphics and animations are all of top notch quality, and the dinosaur characters look, move and sound just as they do in the movie.

The activities themselves, as in so many programs of this type, are a mixed bag. Some, like Make A Story and Build A Dino are very clever and original, while others, like Dino Trivia and Printable Coloring Book, are things we've seen a hundred times before (Especially the coloring book. C'mon guys, we don't need another coloring book!)

By far the biggest disappointment in the program, however, is Tree Star Forest, in which the kids trade in the "Tree Stars" they earn in the other activities for video clips from The Land Before Time movie. Some clips require only five tree stars, while others require as many as fifteen. Unfortunately no matter how many stars they require, the clips are all way too short. I can recall my son being very excited when he save up 15 tree stars and chose one of the "big" clips, only to find that it lasted less than 30 seconds. I realize that a single CD can hold only so much video, but I think the kids would happily settle for a smaller selection of clips if those included were substantial.

All-in-all, however, The Land Before Time Activity Center is a colorful, professionally produced package that represents a fair value for the money and one which will make any young dinosaur lover happy.

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