Software Reviews--Curious George Downtown Adventure from Knowledge Adventure

Cyber News and Reviews is a monthly column published since 1995 for parents, teachers and small business and home business owners offering articles on some of the best computer products available. I cover business software, education, entertainment with freeware and shareware, and some hardware too. Over the years, I've reviewed computer programs from Microsoft, Knowledge Adventure (Davidson) and others. When my kids were young, they couldn't wait for the software to arrive and have fun testing the games and lessons with me. And, in the past few years they've contributed some of their own reviews with opinions. The best advice on software is from the children who use it. Also, many of the business programs reviewed are useful for home business and small business owners. HB

Curious George Downtown Adventure from Knowledge Adventure

If you and your kids read the popular Curious George books by Margret and H.A. Ray, then you'll love interacting with that curious and mischievous monkey named George in this new educational software title from Knowledge Adventure. Kids ages 3 to 6 will learn a little something about downtown life when they follow George, that curious monkey, on this downtown adventure. Not only will kids learn what it means to take a trip to the big city, they'll also help George solve the problems he's caused with 60 different activities. The graphics, music and sound effects are what you'd expect from a quality educational title from Knowledge Adventure titles including audio narration, hints and suggestions on solving each puzzle as you progress through downtown. It also includes two Curious George mini pocket books: "Curious George in the Big City" and "Curious George Goes to the Chocolate Factory."

After a quick installation from a single CD, you'll sign in and then see a narrated story, in picture-book format, about George in the big city and the Man in the Yellow Hat. In this story, George causes a fan to fall into a downtown trash dumpster. When it's over, it's your turn to enter into the downtown adventure and help George solve the problems he's caused.

You'll start by positioning objects, like ladders and trampolines, so George can jump and climb to his goal. You may even have to travel to different areas to get objects needed to complete the puzzles and then return to finish. Each time you compete a puzzle, you'll receive banana points as a reward. Of course, George really likes the bananas. The narrator is always there to assist you, and there's even a special hint button if you need help. It can suggest what object or objects you need and where they go on the screen. When everything is in the right position, you then click on the "Go" button to start the action. To go from area to area in the adventure, you click on the Map in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Four areas are available to explore: Downtown, the Park, Candy Factory and the Circus.

Although my daughter Becky is 7 years old, she loved the game, and was busy for at least two hours moving George through the puzzles. She said she really liked the Candy Factory. What kids wouldn't love that area. No wonder she raided our candy cupboard several times that day.

Curious George Downtown Adventure sells for $19.99 and will run on any multimedia PC, Pentium 233 MHz or faster, 64 MB RAM with Windows 95/98/ME/2000 and a 12x CD-ROM drive. It also supports the Power Macintosh, G3 233 MHz or faster, System 8.6 or higher with 64 MB RAM and a 16x CD-ROM driver. For more information, or to order, visit Amazon.com.

Howard Berenbon

Software Companies Mentioned

Knowledge Adventure, Inc.
19840 Pioneer Avenue
Torrance, CA 90503
Phone: 1-800-545-7677
URL: http://www.education.com

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