Titles:"The Rugrats Movie Activity Challenge,""Rugrats Adventure Game"
Subject: Problem-solving adventure games for kids
Format: Windows, Macintosh
Ages: 6-10
Manufacturer: Broderbund Software Inc. and Nickelodeon Prices: $30 each Web: www.broderbund.com
I tapped my inner child while reviewing these and wasn't disappointed.
Although I enjoyed "Activity Challenge" more for its variety and overall amusement, both programs had just the right amount of entertainment and educational value for kids.
As in the wildly popular TV show, the Rugrats -- Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, baby Dil and Angelica -- are ready for some action.
In "Activity Challenge," based on the upcoming movie, there are six games to challenge the kids. Two favorites were Aqua Reptar, where the Rugrats steer a boat down a river to find and rescue baby Dil, and Monkey Mayhem, where the gang strategically jumps on a seesaw to retrieve Dil's baby food from the circus monkeys dangling overhead.
The kids will get a lot of practice using the keyboard by steering the boat with arrows and positioning the seesaw under the monkeys. In Aqua Reptar, kids can gain points by collecting pacifiers, bottles and rattles bobbing nearby. But watch out, if you bump into a rock or get hit by one of the monkey's bananas, the raft may sink. Unless, of course, you grab one of the Band-Aids floating in the water.
In "Adventure Game," the babies must save the earth from aliens and their evil queen, Angeleeka. But first's things first, namely figuring out how to get out of the playpen and to the cookies -- chocolate chip or coconut -- on the top of the kitchen cabinets. Strategy is the challenge here. Kids must help the Rugrats get past their parents and out of the house. Most everything comes together in these programs, from their playful graphics and music to their challenging problem-solving games.
'Oh, we thought the fun times would last forever," baby Chuckie laments.
Well, we adults know they don't. But games like these sure help you remember the good old days.
The kids will absolutely adore these games. My inner child sure did.