Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Once my daughter discovered the Nintendo DS early last year, she rarely went a day without asking for "game", as she calls it. She'll be 3 next month, but for the past few months, she's actually been really good at things like New Super Mario Bros., Rhythm Heaven, Wario Ware and even Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ. Again, she's not even 3 yet. So once I saw the Backyardigans game, it seemed like an obvious buy for her since it's based on one of her favorite shows. Boy does she adore this game. Obviously, it's for younger children, probably 5 and under, but they did an alright job making it a game instead of one of those cheap virtual pets or fashion games you see being piled on younger kids these days.
The game's divided into three different stages, based on different Backyardigans episodes. My daughter's favorite being the pirate stage. Each stage has various activities you need to do in order to complete it. You tap along with the music, blow into the microphone to play a trumpet, match colors, tap objects in a certain order, and more. It's nothing that a 2 year old won't be able to figure out, and especially anyone older. I liked that they had the 'place these objects in this order' part, as it teaches to follow directions as they're shown. Aside from the three stages, there are also options to play the mini games on their own or mix them from different stages to have a kind of remix level.
All 5 Backyardigans are usually on-screen, and they talk to eachother and the player often. The audio isn't that great unfortunately, and you'll usually hear fuzz whenever someone talks. I know this is a game for children, but I can't help but say I was let down when we played through the game and there weren't any songs from the episodes here. Yes, I'm almost 25 but I love the songs from the show, and not having any of them here is a downer. The music isn't very Backyardigans-y either...it's pretty generic, but still upbeat. Also, I feel that they could've put more into the game than just 3 stages and the two other game options. When you look at something like Final Fantasy IV for DS, which had an ungodly amount of music and voices, as well as a fairly long game to play, The Backyardigans might not feel like a lot of bang for your buck. I did a double take when I saw my daughter was over 50% through one stage after less than 20 minutes the day we got it.
Basically, if you're looking for a game to get your young child, and get them one that teaches them something, this would be a good one. They'll learn shapes, instruments, colors, and more if they haven't already. The interface is easy to understand and there's hardly any text anywhere. This is a very visual game that parents shouldn't overlook. If only there was more to it!
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Join Pablo, uniqua, Tyrone, Austin and Tasha on a fun, music-filled adventure! Help the Backyardigans fight super villains as masked super heroes, search for buried treasure as seafaring pirates, and go on a cosmic garbage collecting adventure as intergalactic garbage collectors!
