Game Review: Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this Wii game was created for
preschoolers. The controls are simple and incorporate 13
different uses of the Wii motion-sensitive controls. The game
encourages kids to use their whole body while holding the Wii,
making movements including waddling like a hippo and stomping
like an elephant. While riding an elephant, you can make it
stampede, which can seem a little scary for some kids. This
software has a special mode called the Safari Guide Helper
where parents can use a second Wii remote to help kids with
specific activities. Friends and family can also join in by
playing the two-person cooperative minigames about traveling on
elephants or in vehicles. The game also teaches kids about
African animals.
Families can talk about why this game is different from other Wii games. Why is it easier for young kids to play? Did you like imitating what the animals were doing? What animal was you favorite and why? Why do you think the magician kept messing up the animals?
Common Sense Media Review
In GO DIEGO GO: SAFARI RESCUE, kids ages 4 to 6 join Diego,
the star of Nick Jr's
Go, Diego, Go
TV show, on an adventure that spans the continent of
Africa. When a mean magician decides to wreak havoc on
elephants and other African animals by changing them, Diego and
his friends come to the rescue. With the help of the player and
a special magic drum, Diego is able to undo the magic of the
evil magician. Among other things, Diego puts stripes back onto
the zebras, brings stone elephants back to life, and elongates
the necks of shortened giraffes. Kids join Diego on these
rescue missions at six different locations including the
Savannah, the plains, and along a river bank. They direct Diego
movements by turning the Wii remote sideways and then tilting
it to the right or the left. The more you tilt, the faster
Diego will run in the side-scrolling adventure. As kids explore
this world, they will find trampolines that fling them to new
locations, meerkat holes that send them sliding through the
earth, and zipwires that let them soar over wide expanses. At
each location kids will learn about and help African animals,
and collect special objects.
This is a great Wii game for little kids because it's based on in-home research conducted by Nickelodeon that looked at how preschoolers could best use the Wii controllers. The game incorporates 13 Wii-centric motions that are easily learned by preschoolers because they mimic motions done in real life. If you want to swim across a lake, you make a swimming motion with you arms. To help some water buffalo grow back horns that the magician has taken away, you hold the Wii remote in one hand as you place your hands on the side of your head. Then you stretch out your arms and put them back on your head, repeating this motion until the horns have grown back. You can also mimic digging, flapping your ears like an elephant, waddling like a hippo, playing a drum, and much more.
Unlike other video games, kids can't fail when playing this game. For example, no timing is required to grab hold of a rope that is swinging by, you simply push the "2" button. And once airborne, you can't fall -- you just keep swinging until you hit the "2" button again. Plus, parents can join in if little ones are struggling by grabbing a second Wii remote. For example, when kids are helping Diego blow up a hot air balloon by pumping their arms up and down, if someone joins in with a second remote, the speed of the pumping increases and fun animations appear. The game also has two-person games that are cooperative, not competitive.
Other good games for young kids include: JumpStart World Kindergarten and Mia Reading: The Bugaboo Bugs .
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
