StarFlyers - Royal Jewel Rescue
The Star Flyer's back story is always grounded in a real disastrous event in
Katherine Diane Cadell's life. Quicker than you can say, "Oh, no!" her imagination
creates a related adventure with the Star Flyers and her as Katie Cadet – leader of the
pack. And the pack includes AJ, who has special powers for each mission, Io, a fire
breathing dog and Klanker, a very strong robot.
The actions are basically arcade style – but a very clever and imaginative arcade. The
settings are sure to please children – Planet Chocolopagus where you herd marshmallows
through chocolate tunnels; Planet Bowlarama where besides jumping and climbing, the
player has to make use of the different powers of the team to get past hazards and Planet
Ice Cube where planning and mapping skills are needed to navigate mazes. Activities are
varied so the pace of the game keeps the interest high without it being tiring.
Getting from one planet to another requires navigating the spaceship through the Popcorn
Galaxy, avoiding space food junk and finding caramel power ups. The levels are Tough,
Tougher and Toughest, and is just another example of the care and sensitivity that the
designers used in putting together this game. As in all of The Learning Company's
games there is self leveling and it is set to on but can be turned off. Self leveling keeps
track of the players progress and adjusts it according to the performance, so that if you
ace a game, the next one will be tougher.
The current format in games now-a-days is to put the manual on the disk. Do yourself or
you kids a favor and read it. The how's and why's and what is good stuff, and what is stuff
to be avoided, and what is to point of it all – is not always obvious – so read the
manual. The upper age range for this game is eight, but it is unusual and clever enough to
please older kids besides being delicious.
Editors Review 11/02
Ages: Everyone 5-8
