Description:
Are you ready to become a Junior Ranger? In Fisher-Price Outdoor Adventures Ranger Trail, Ranger Rudy takes players to Camp Wonderoo for a handful of nature-related activities. Paint on the wall of a cave, race sailboats through a pristine river, stargaze, mix and match animal sounds at night, or gather around a campfire and sing songs with the other campers. Along the way, you can earn merit badges and collect plants and animals in a virtual scavenger hunt. Aimed at gamers in the ages 4 to 7 range, Ranger Trail is, unfortunately, a program that fails on almost every level. Its educational content is simplistic and lags far behind that offered in other children's games. Most of its activities are standardized offerings players will have seen elsewhere--the paint program, for example--and the few that look like they might present an interesting challenge are too tough. They require reading and computer skills that will frustrate their targeted age group. Worst of all, the Wonderoo characters are dull, chirping their way through listless animations while their attempts at humor fall flat. Additionally, Ranger Trail is loaded with long animations that can't be skipped and unfortunately make up the vast majority of the game's content. An extremely passive child might enjoy a game whose primary rhythm entails triggering five minutes of viewing after a few seconds of interaction; most, though, will wonder why they aren't just watching television. The idea of taking players on an interactive camping trip is a fine one, but Ranger Trail really misses the mark. --Alyx Dellamonica
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