Game Review: The Polar Express
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The Polar Express
video game has all the trappings of a great children's video game, too bad it is hampered by a poorly designed "save" feature.
Several of the mini-games are extremely difficult to win. In one, the player chases the conductor and a girl while running along the top of a moving train. It is very challenging to run and avoid the obstacles that come zooming at you. It took our seasoned kid-testers several attempts before they could complete this task.
Although targeted at younger gamers, the frustration level will be too high for kids ages 5-7. Older children who are experienced gamers will find this challenging game interesting to explore, although they will suffer some frustration from the forced repetition.
Common Sense Media Review
The Polar Express video game has all the
trappings of a great children's video game: terrific graphics,
seamless integration of video sequences from the movie with the
game play, memorable characters, and whimsically fun games and
puzzles. It recreates the story as presented in the movie and
expands it by creating interactive mini-games and puzzles
inside the movie scenes. It's too bad this well-conceived game
is hampered by a poorly designed "save" feature.
Instead of letting kids savor their victories of outplaying a wry jack-in-the-box in a game of tennis, or defeating a railway car full of toys in a food fight, the game ties multiple activities together with one "save" point. Frequently, the last activity in the sequence is so difficult that children must replay it several times, which forces them to repeat the previous three or four activities as well.
Several of the mini-games are extremely difficult to win. In one, the player chases the conductor and a girl while running along the top of a moving train. It is very challenging to run and avoid the obstacles that come zooming at you. It took our seasoned kid-testers several attempts before they could complete this task.
Although targeted at younger gamers, the frustration level will be too high for kids ages 5-7. Older children who are experienced gamers will find this challenging game interesting to explore, although they will suffer some frustration from the forced repetition.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
