Game Review: Leapster
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What Parents Should Know
Leapster is a revolutionary children's product. It is a
system many parents have been waiting for, because it combines
the fun gaming experience typically found on Game Boy Advance
with solid educational purpose.
Common Sense Media Review
Leapster, a new portable learning system from
Leapfrog, has just entered the children's gaming arena to
compete with Nintendo's Game Boy Advance SP (GBA-SP). For young
kids, Leapster is leaving GBA-SP in the dust.
The Leapster system is more than just a handheld gaming system; it is also an electronic book reader, a digital art studio, and an interactive video player. All this for $80.
Like GBA-SP, Leapster is a portable handheld system used to play video games. And while both systems feature a full color backlit gaming screen and similar gaming controls, the new Leapster system has many features that distinguish it from GBA-SP and make it a much more appealing system for young children.
Unlike the GBA-SP games, Leapster games talk to the child, making it ideal for young children who can't yet read. Its screen is bigger (4 inches versus 3) and the video is smoother and more movie-like. In addition to the traditional multi-directional control pad, Leapster comes with a touch-sensitive screen and a special stylus attached to the unit so that kids can use the stylus to create art, write, and drag objects across the screen.
The Leapster system comes bundled with the video game called "Learning with Leap." Kids play 6 multi-leveled games, including a "Frogger"-type cross-a-river game that uses letters, numbers, shapes, and math equations. They will catch letters falling from the sky, drag shapes across the screen to complete blueprints, and create pieces of digital art that animate.
What is really impressive is that the educational content and difficulty of the gameplay adjust on the fly. If a child is struggling with the arcade aspect of the game, it becomes easier. If the child is struggling with an educational concept, the content get easier and a tutorial appears to teach the concept.
Leapster games are produced by Leapfrog, a company committed to producing only educational products for children. By year-end, there will be 6 educational video games available. In addition to games focused on content learned in kindergarten and first grade, other games will feature SpongeBob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer. The video games cost $25 each.
The electronic book reader products and the full-length interactive videos will be available in December and will cost $20 each.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
