What Parents Should Know
This software uses the Powerpuff Girls, the popular branded
characters from the Cartoon Network, to entice children to play
learning games. Some parents may not feel that the Powerpuff
Girls are the best role models, though, because they sometimes
exhibit violent behavior in their TV show. There is no violence
here, however. The games are good and the adventure is great
fun.
Common Sense Media Review
Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles, known to Cartoon Network
fans as The Powerpuff Girls, are back with their second
learning software title. And like their first foray into
educational software, it is a winner.
In Powerpuff Girls Learning Challenge #2: Princess Snorebucks the three petite super-heroines are duped by Princess Morbucks, a jealous Powerpuff-wannabe.
Princess Morbucks sends the Powerpuff Girls an evil music box that turns their dreams into nightmares from which they can't awake. Players rescue the Powerpuff Girls from this sleeping terror by playing learning games that teach language arts, math, Spanish, and musical pattern recognition.
The software is cleverly constructed so that kids have to play the learning games numerous times in order to collect enough "wakeups" to disable the music box. The games have fun themes, such as playing a pinata game to learn Spanish words and planting a garden to learn fractions.
After the Powerpuff Girls awaken, they need to undo the damage to Townsville that occurred when Princess Morbucks tried (but failed) to be a Powerpuff Girl. Players direct the Powerpuffs as they fly through the grid-like streets, encountering monsters and menaces. Kids provide the logic to determine which Powerpuff girl has the superpower to solve a particular problem.
In this well-constructed software, youngsters not only get to interact with their favorite heroines, they also become heroes by playing multiple-leveled learning games to save the Powerpuff Girls.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
