Mascot University is a very primary
game that may appeal to young children
Suppose you have a very young child,
say about 3-4 years old with an interest in sports and a keen mind for learning.
Mascot University, released by
Interactive Marketing Solutions, is a heavily sponsored program geared for
children 3 and up. Forget that – this game is a primary program, and children
with any kind of computer capability, as well as those in the second grade and
up, will find this unchallenging. For children with some learning difficulties,
and younger game players, this game is a nice source of knowledge.
It is extremely user friendly. The
player interface is simple and easy to navigate.
The review product was a University of
Tennessee release. When the entire game set has been completed, there will be
more than 20 university mascots, ranging from Alabama and Auburn, to Notre Dame,
Nebraska, Oklahoma, Florida and Florida State, Georgia and Penn State. These are
regional schools that are lending their names to a primary learning tool, in the
hopes that young gamers will increase knowledge of keyboard and mouse skills, as
well as pick up some elementary skills in a varied number of skills.
The University of Tennessee mascot and
a cheerleader guide players to a gridiron, but rather than challenging them to
move the football and play the game, it asks young players to exhibit skills in
math, spelling, and creativity. They will even get a chance to learn the fight
song of the school and mascot selected.
As mentioned, this is a heavily
sponsored game. Coca-Cola and Golden Flake – for those without knowledge, a chip
manufacturer – are the primary voices showing off products throughout the game.
Does that make this product any less than a learning experience? Not at all.
This game features number and color
recognition, and while this is a kindergarten-style game, it does offer some
solid learning experience.
In the future for the game are greater
focus on fun games, a national standard for math and spelling, as well as
character building.
The animation is much like the focus
of the game, primary. It is bright and colorful, but for purists, it lacks lip
synch and much more than cursory details.
This is a program that will do well
with young children, but for advanced kids, it will not offer much of a
challenge.
Install: Easy
The game goes on quickly and only takes
up about 80 megs of hard-drive space.
Gameplay: 7
The game moves seamlessly from one
challenge to the next.
Graphics: 6.8
The animation is fine, but overall the
graphics are not the best in the primary learning genre.
Sound: 7
Just average sound floats through this
program.
Difficulty: 7
This is a very user friendly product.
Concept: 6.5
The educational aspects are fine, but the
sponsorship is a little heavy-handed.
Multiplayer: N/A
Overall: 6.8
This will not challenge players older
that 5 with any computer experience. As a first program, the lessons will be
fine. Of course, don’t be surprised if your child asks for a Coke or chips.
