A Video Game Review…and a Giveaway

When I was invited to Zeum in San Francisco to attend a launch party for Sesame Street’s new video games, my feelings were divided.

As  products of a self-taught programmer/film-maker homebody and an athletically-challenged mommy blogger/tv obsessive, the last thing my children need is to be exposed to MORE screen time.

The idea of introducing video games into my household (much less ones specifically geared towards my four-year-old) is not as high on my list of priorities as…. say, making sure my kids go outside or participate in a team sport. Someday.

On the other hand, it’s Zeum! And it’s Sesame Street!

(Have I not told you about my daughter’s love of Bert? Do you know how difficult it is to track down Bert in comparison to Elmo or Ernie or even, Oscar the Grouch? Another post for another day, my lovelies.)

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It was an absolute delight to meet Lisa Medoff, an educational consultant for Sesame Workshop, and Kirsten Gavoni, a producer from Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment.

Both are working moms (yea! girls in tech!) with impressive some credentials.

Gavoni admitted her three-year-old daughter was the “guinea pig” helping to work out kinks  and bugs at each level of development.

As they demonstrated the games, they talked through the level of research, insight, and consideration- both from an educational and a technical standpoint- that went into developing for each platform. For instance, the Wii version incorporates cognitive skills with movement, a whole body approach to learning.

I left the event feeling a little less “anti-video game”, but still not a 100% convinced they’re for us.

After much hesitation, I loaded the PC-version of Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure on my laptop for Scout. He  likes playing it, but seems as ambivalent towards it as he is about most of his toys. This is a good thing.

Given a choice, he still prefers making up stories with Lego mini figs and working on his various messes… er, art instillation throughout the house. I like that.

But on those extra lazy parent days (i.e. I’m tried of cleaning up string and crayons), it’s nice to be able to offer him an interactive and education alternative to just vegging.

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Here are a few of the features I like most about these games:

1. The learning is self-paced and builds upon itself. There’s a lot of repetition, but the kids are constantly learning something exciting and new. My four-year-old can now spell “ocelot”, whereas I still have no idea what that is.

2. Parental controls like game limits. I set ours to stop at five games. Once those are done, the characters say goodbye and the screen changes, signaling the end of game play. Done.

As anyone who has ever played “hostage negotiator” with a toddler-now-preschooler knows, “Oh, the game stopped working. Time for bed” is an infinitely better transition than, “Mommy said to go to bed. I don’t wanna go to beeeeeed. I wanna play the gaaaaaame. Youreameanmommyihateyouwhahahahaha“

3. MUPPETS!

4. Instructions are read as well as written on the screen. Not only does this make the connection between words and sounds, I’m not having to stop what I’d doing every five minutes to give my son the next prompt. (And isn’t it all about me?) Meanwhile, it gives him a sense of independence. He’s able to figure things out on his own instead of waiting for me to show him. Certainly a desirable skill to develop!

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This week, I am hosting a giveaway on Mama Manifesto for two… yes,  TWO versions of the game.

Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure for the Wii. Come with an extra adorable Elmo Wii-mote cover.

*AND*

Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival for the Nintendo DS with a Cookie Monster jumbo click stylus. Perfect for tiny hands.

I know. I’m a saint. Please stop by Mama Manifesto for entry rules and chances to win. Drawing will be held next Saturday, November 20th at 11 pm PST. The winners will be announced on Mama Manifesto the following Sunday.

Disclosure: I received three complimentary copies of the Sesame Street Video Games from the manufacturer– one to facilitate an honest review and two to giveaway to readers. I was under no obligation nor was I compensated in any way to write a post. As always, the thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

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