A Brilliant Introduction to Gaming (Rugrats - Search for Reptar - Value Series (PS))

Member Name: DavyMichelle

Product:	Rugrats - Search for Reptar - Value Series (PS)
Date:	25/10/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bright, Colourful, Simple, Straightforward

Disadvantages: Limited Availability

Our daughter picked up a copy of this playstation game from the charity shop for a pound. As the grandson isn't very good with computer games (he has fine motor skills problems), it's important to find very simple games for him to have a go at. It's a fun way of helping him to develop some of the skills he's a bit behind in. Although this is a playstation one game, we have been using it on a playstation two as it's compatible with both consoles.

The idea of this game is quite simply that little Rugrats star Tommy is on the search for his beloved Reptar puzzle. He needs to find the pieces all over the house, and he does this by searching on various easy levels and completing a variety of simple tasks involving the main characters from the popular television series including Chucky, Phil and Lil, and cousin Angelica.

I think this game is absolutely fantastic for young kids. It's extremely easy to play, with very simple controls. Unlike a lot of games, the controls work on this by only going up, down, left and right using the arrow keys. That helps to make it easy for youngsters to move their characters around. If a child has some problems with hand-eye co-ordination, or they're just new to video games, this is an extremely helpful factor to consider. It's easier for accomplished gamers to use a joy stick, but it's actually quite hard for new gamers to manage to be specific enough in their movements when using a joy stick.

The puzzles are all very easy as well, and a child can enjoy this game from around four years and over. Ideally it's suitable for children between about four and seven years I think. Any older than that and they might find the content a bit babyish, though it might still be a good game to use to introduce them to using a video games controller.

The graphics are colourful and very similar to how they appear in the television series. Youngsters will instantly recognise all of their favourite characters. I also like how the background has been made bold and colouful yet simple, so that little ones won't get too distracted by tiny details going on in the background and can stay focused on playing the game.

Obviously video games aren't viewed as a 'key skill' by most parents, but they can actually be quite useful for kids! They teach interaction, hand-eye co-ordination, fine motor skills and problem solving. This game is brilliant for encouraging all of those things, in moderation of course. You can pick this up from various shops and websites for a big variety of prices so do shop around to get the best deal.

Summary: Highly Recommended