Description:
Bob the Builder is an animated handyman whose mantra is "Can we fix it? Yes we can!" Maybe someone should turn this chipper guy and his tool belt loose on his own computer program with the mandate "Can we improve this? Yes we can!" This Windows-only CD-ROM begins in the office where Wendy, Bob's helper, works fielding construction orders from the computer, phone, and fax machine. It's a promising start: a whopping 13 games can be accessed from Wendy's office, and all of the games have three levels of difficulty. Also, the animated setups that lead into each game will delight any fan who watches Bob the Builder on television. A handful of the games are construction oriented: Radiator Riddle, Fix the Leaks, Tunnel Time, and two bridge-building games will probably satisfy junior contractors. The mouse becomes everything from a wrecking ball to a plumber's wrench and the "fix it" urge is briefly sated with these simple games that emphasize matching, spatial skills, and sequencing. The other games include some heavy equipment racing, herding crows and porcupines, popping troublesome bubbles in the new cement Bob just laid down, and celebrating Wendy's birthday by programming her to do some line-dance moves and decorating her cake with tractors and sprinkles. Also, there's a ubiquitous Find Pilchard activity that's present in five different activities, and doesn't involve much more than scanning the screen for glimpses of where the blue cat is hiding, then clicking on it, and being rewarded with the same animated cat-feeding sequence. This game will doubtless please very young kids who love Bob the Builder. But kids with some computer experience will plow through this program like a grader on full throttle through gravel. Could some of these games have a bit more to them? Yes they could! (Manufacturer recommends 3 and older: we say 3 to 4.) --Anne Erickson
| 
