TuneLand
Reviewed by Cynthia A. Sorrels
Published by 7th Level

Age Group: Beginners, Age 2 to 5 Type: Music Price: $25.00

Description:

The farm may never be the same again! Howie Mandel stars in TuneLand as Lil' Howie, a teddy-type creation. Lil' Howie is a fun-loving animated playmate who will guide children as they have fun on the farm. They'll love dancing with the music and imitating the cartoon dancers as they learn lots of songs and rhymes most everybody knows.

One note about this program: if your child tries to gets into programs and is always asking for help, you will both love this title. 7th Level appropriately claims this program to be a "Child's First Software" program. Even if nothing gets clicked, animations and songs will appear. It's ideal for toddlers who are anxious to see what computers are about.

Other items are provided along with this CD-ROM, including a coupon for free tokens at Chuck E. Cheese, a Chuck E. Cheese Computer Kid sticker, an audio tape of all 42 songs on the program AND an activity book with words to the songs and rhymes. Besides all that, the CD will play the music tracks in a CD player. There's a lot of value in this package.

So check out the farm!

There are eight different backgrounds with lots of clickables - and the songs are different in each area. The party starts out on the farm, but moves to the barn, farmhouse, train station, Grandma's, the pond, valley and the mountains! Take a look at these:

Each area on the farm features different characters, who sing, dance, tell jokes and are lots of fun. But don't miss out on the "Find Lil' Howie" game. It's like a running joke throughout the program. He's in every room - but where??

Kids of all ages will enjoy the music, quite possibly because all 42 of the songs are well known. A lot of time and care went into the choosing and arranging of the selections and it certainly shows. Different types of music are presented for each area, including country, folk, and reggae.

Yes, there are other singalong programs on the market for kids. Creative Labs produces the Kids Singalong Screen Singers series and I've had a run-in with it. Difficult installation, long waits, no animated characters - just words to the songs coming up too slowly. Tuneland is, by far, a better conceived and produced title.

Installation Blues? Not here...

Installation is fast and easy - no problems were encountered. From beginning to end, this carefully produced, party-like atmosphere will leave your kids wanting MORE.

7th Level, Inc. is one of the most innovative gaming companies around! This is most likely because they're headquartered in Dallas, Texas where the summers are SO hot, people stay indoors, turn on the air conditioner, and come up with all kinds of projects! They've spun off a series of Lil' Howie edutainment games, which will be reviewed here at the Games Domain Review in the months to come. If those offerings live up to the high standards set by Tuneland,we'll know how the folks at 7th Level stay cool!

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