JunkLand Jam
Ages 6 - 10

One doesn't expect to get social commentary on the evils of consumerism when sitting down to play a game. This game's backstory is set in a land where people are mesmerized by their televisions sets to constantly buy and consume - to get rid of what they have in order to make room for the latest version. When Simon's mother cleans out his closet with the Junk Sucker 2000, out goes his harmonica - along with Simon. Next stop - JunkLand.

There are four places to scope out to find Simon's harmonica: Motomekka - filled with machines and tools; Critterdome - a veggie land where “Mother” will give you hints; Luna - with a fantastic neon light show and finally the Shack - inhabited by Sunny, a bright girl who will help you find the harmonica if you help her with her science projects. Most of the action takes place in the cabin and the game proceeds best of you start there. In Simon's journal there are explanations about the experiments and additional interesting and easy to do ones that you can do away from the computer.

This game felt like it was put together in a hurry. There are some great things in it that just weren't taken advantage of. For instance - the graphics are wonderful and you want to get into and interact with them but there is little that you can click on. The neon light show is one of the best sets I've seen - but its over too quickly. The unusual introduction with its social overtones could have been almost a theme in itself and instead it's dropped. One of the parts that doesn't disappoint is the harmonica with the instruction book. All told - the game is surprisingly good and it has one smart girl - but it could have been better.

Reviewed by Genevieve