The Great Word Adventure 1
Reviewed by Cynthia A. Sorrels
Published by 7th Level

Age Group: Age 4 to 8 Type: Language Arts Price: $39.95

Description:

Remember Lil' Howie from Tuneland? Well, here he is, back with a new title - The Great Word Adventure 1. This time, Howie's brought some friends along, namely "Stinky" the skunk and "Alphabot," a sort of friend/vacuum/scorekeeper/vehicle.

Howie Mandel stars as Lil' Howie, reprising his role from Tuneland. Don't forget to sign in and choose a nickname! My favorite is "Grand High Poopah." Be sure to choose a name you like, because the entire cast of characters will expect you to answer to it! You'll be travelling with Lil' Howie, Stinky and Alphabot through the maze to the different rooms in Lil' Howie's Fun House. Ready?

Rooms to Explore

Living Room: The option is available to just play within the Fun House, going to any room you prefer - or Lil' Howie will drive and take you through. You'll make that decision in the Library - the starting point of the game.

Alphabot the vehicle: Climb inside Alphabot with Lil' Howie and Stinky. Click the buttons if you want to! Alphabot will take off, with Lil' Howie steering but there's a kind of toll road ahead - you'll have to put words into alphabetical order before continuing on.

Ballroom: This was the best room in the house! Music, dancing, rhymes - it's all there. Choose the next singer, please...and help them figure out the lyrics.

The Cheese Game: Bopping gophers holding placards with words written on them is really entertainment/edutainment. Right. Sometimes these whacking games get a little out of hand. This is one of them.

Attic: Stinky is in the attic and needs help sorting items. Which one doesn't belong??

Stink Gun: Poor Stinky! Hasn't Lil' Howie ever heard of Be Kind to Skunks Week? The object here is to recognize words and shoot them before they get away.

Scary Story Room: This room does look a little scary at first. It's actually a word search game! The words light up as they're spelled out on the board.

Peanut Scale: Lil' Howie, does your mama know how you treat skunks?? Now he's threatening the poor animal with a BATH - if you figure out which word should go in the blocks. Are you really going to HELP Lil' Howie with this? You ARE? You've never seen a skunk take a bath? Geez, what city folk you are......

Installation/Technical

Installation was a breeze here. The animated sequences ran smoothly and the graphics were bright and clear. The audio was quite choppy some of the time, though. Moving around in the game is clear and directions are given verbally as well as in written form.

Bottom Line

Lil' Howie's Word Adventure 1 is very different from Tuneland. However, the educational content is solid and appropriate to its audience, children ages 6-9. There is a lot of fun packed into this title, making it a true edutainment experience.

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