Cocoto Magic Circus
Ages: Everyone 10+

The game is a series of mini games - all involving shooting. There is a minimal story - a fairy has been captured. To save her you have shoot your way though a number of mini-games. The maestro in this circus is a really scary clown - I never understood until now how kids can be afraid of a clown - who shills and lurks behind each game. Shooting becomes more complicated and selective when you are given a single chance to succeed or when you try to hit only the bad guys as they pop up from under pails. You also want to avoid the red balloons and just hit the green ones. The greens are bonuses while the reds will cause things like the lights to go out, the screen to shake or to turn everything upside down.

Play is varied by having four different environments - Abyss, Volcano, Atlantis and Heaven. Cocoto, a devilish-looking imp is accompanied by three other imp friends, all with different personalities; Baggy - brawn by few brains; Neuro - the intellectual; Shiny - the she-imp (for gender balance). All of these imps have guns and are adept at handling them. Did I mention that they shoot darts? The designers started with a single activity - shooting - and came up with a surprising number of clever variations on the theme - 40 or so.

Two can play in duel mode with two remotes, or you can have up to four players by passing the remote and taking turns. The game is rated at 10+ but younger kids can enjoy playing it with their parents and parents can enjoy it too. Now - does the shooting in this game constitute violence or is it simply a target practice game as one would play at an arcade in a carnival? Defining violence is a work in progress, and I'm still working on it.

Fun Factor: Interesting variety of shooting games
Female Factor: Sheesh - another captured fairy
Player Friendly: Saving is done automatically

Reviewed by: Editor - 05/08