Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. #UbiChamps
Poptropica Adventures for the Nintendo DS was another game we got to review as part of the UbiChamps program this holiday season. Since this and the other games will be making its way to TJ as Christmas presents, my husband Tom had to sneak them to work to try them out when he was on break for our little test drive. (I got a bit of an extension on the deadline because of this.) Tom is a seasoned gamer, having played countless games since the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) came out when we were kids. I asked him to test out these UbiSoft games both for himself and for their appropriateness as gifts for TJ, who is 7 years old. Here’s what he had to say:
Poptropica Adventures was an enjoyable game that I’m sure TJ will love. There’s plenty to collect, and the graphics are pretty cute. Music was catchy at first, but seemed a little on the short side for the amount of looping it did. The controls are slightly sluggish, with a jump move that feels like it’s in slow motion. I was occasionally confused as to just where I could jump on top of and where I could not. I finished all of the quests on the Mythology Island in about an hour, and I’m left wondering if there is more to it after that. My only gripe is that there’s really no feedback when the game is auto-saving. I was left wondering if I could safely turn the game off or not, and with no in-menu save feature, I felt compelled to just leave my DS on.
“How Do I Save Poptropica Adventures?”
So Tom had fun trying out this game, but it did make him nervous that there was no save point, like in most other games he’s used to playing. I helped him decide to leave his DS on until he had completed the first part of the quests, and then test out the theory that the game automatically saves your progress. (Yes, it does. He was able to pick up where he left off when he turned the DS back on.) Now, we just have to figure out if we can UN-save Tom’s progress for when we give it to TJ. As a side note, I was highly amused when listening to Tom’s descriptions of the quests on Mythology Island as they pertained to Hermes, Poseidon, Hades, and Cerberus. (“If this wasn’t a kids game,” I remember commenting, “Hermes would’ve said what he really just meant… he told you to go to hell!”)
When initially agreeing to review Poptropica Adventures, I hadn’t realized it was based on a virtual world for kids that exists online. I only discovered this when trying to search for an answer on the auto-save dilemma. It looks really cute, and we may let TJ check it out after he gets this game for Christmas.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
