Software for kids grows up - Computer Product Retailing

Discount Store News, Jan 1, 1996 by Pete Hisey

* Terraglyph: Hansel and Gretel, one of the knockout titles of the year, is a feature-animation quality adventure that blows away virtually everything on the market in terms of graphics. While mainly family entertainment, a unique language feature allows users to enter a primary and secondary language. About 200 words in the secondary language will pop up from time to time, giving kids an introduction to learning a second language. The upcoming Rumplestiltskin's Labyrinth of the Lost will quiz kids on science and history, rewarding correct answers with progressively tougher questions. Terraglyph plans to release one title per month by the middle of this year, most with an educational slant.

* Saban Entertainment: The creator of the omnipresent Power Rangers has five interactive titles on the market and more than one dozen in production. Saban has developed kid-friendly packaging that includes jigsaw puzzles, coloring books, a video-mixing title and a print kit, all protected by a slim plastic shell similar to a VHS package, with a pop-up feature to make removing the disc easier. Discs have an extra layer of varnish to deter damage, and each has a colorful graphic representation, like a trading card, to promote collectibility.

10 and up

For older kids, which Discovery Channel Multimedia has dubbed "tweens," software offerings have been spotty, leaving the market greatly underserved historically. But no more.

* Discovery: Operation: Weather Disaster, an adventure with male and female leads, teaches kids meteorology by pitting a group of teens and their robot ally against the evil Weatherman, who is unleashing meteorological disasters in a bid to destroy the earth. SkyTrip America, an American history title coming next year, takes kids through 12 historical regions, solving mysteries along the way. Invention Studio explores 50 of the world's great inventions, then challenges players to invent products and prove they work in a test laboratory.

* Edmark: Strategy Games of the World features ancient strategy games from several cultures, including the Japanese classic Go. Difficulty levels are adjustable, and animated strategy coaches teach the finer points. Occasionally videos of real people, from painters to plumbers, pop up to discuss strategic thinking in everyday life, and how it can be used to win the game. A free title, including Edmark's Thinking Things series, comes with the purchase of Strategy.

* Viacom NewMedia: Indian in the Cupboard loads math and problem-solving content into an entertainment title based on the popular book and movie of the same name.

* Grolier: The new version of the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia includes an online component so kids can research topics more deeply. How Would You Survive requires players stranded in one of three historical eras (the Aztec nation, ancient Scandinavia or ancient Egypt) to learn the language, culture, religion and folkways of the period--or become the next human sacrifice. Battle of the Ironclads, from Grolier's new 3 Prong Plug division, will allow kids to assume the roles of either the Monitor or the Merrimac, as well as reproduce the battles that changed naval warfare forever.