Come explore with Dora in her debut software program Backpack Adventure, but watch out for Swiper, he has his eye on that new backpack!
Dora the Explorer is one of the shows on Nick Jr.'s preschool programming block. Dora, a Spanish/English bilingual little girl, loves to explore with the aid of Map and Boots. In this software title based on the series, Dora needs to return her books to the library. In order to get there, she must travel through several locations, using Map to navigate. At each location there are either clickables or activities. The activities are: Dora's House, where Dora asks players to click on certain items; The Troll Bridge, where shapes are sorted into matching spaces; The Big Rock, where numbers are clicked on to direct the hot air balloon up the cliffs; The Dancing Bushes, a shell game; and The Library, where books are selected according to what Dora's friends want to read. The games and activities can be accessed during the Backpack Adventure or Freeplay mode. All of the activities have three difficulty levels.
Backpack Adventure is a cute collection of preschool games. It faithfully captures the essence of Dora, and young fans of Dora will enjoy playing the activities. The difficulty levels can be adjusted back and forth easily for each game at any time. On a couple of the games, the hardest level consists of having the Spanish words used instead of the English, but viewers of the Dora show won't have any problems! The two "clickables" areas are pretty mundane and don't offer much after being played in the adventure mode, but the activities for the most part are well done, especially the library game. There is also a sticker book, with stickers earned through playing the games, that is a lot of fun! These sticker book pages can be printed out, as well.
The age range is given as 3-up, the best age range is probably ages 3-5, and some precocious 2 year olds will be able to play as long as they can "click" a mouse. A good game for any preschoolers, especially Dora the Explorer fans.
Gameplay: 7.4
The activities are fun to play, and young children will enjoy this collection.
Graphics: 8
Bright, colorful animation that is exactly like the cartoon show.
Sound: 7.5
The sound and music is fine, but Dora can get grating on adults after awhile, her voice is somewhat "screamy". But, the kids won't care!
Difficulty: Easy
The activities are all easy to play, and hints are often given.
Concept: 7
While a decent group of games, there's nothing new here, really.
Overall: 7.6
A gentle, easy software program for preschoolers, that won't frustrate or bore.
