Disney's Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea

Return to the Sea features two arcade games--Melody's Daring Dive and Too Cool!--and a trio of creativity-oriented activities. In the first game, Melody dives for jewels and pearls while dodging sharks and other hazards. In the second, she collects gems in an effort to thaw out a trident, which she must then use in battle with the nefarious Morgana. Both games are fast paced and well designed, boasting 20 levels of difficulty. Unlike some games for this age group, these genuinely get harder, ensuring significant replay potential.

The noncompetitive activities include Aquabatics, where players design an underwater dance show; Mermaid Memories, an interactive sticker book; and Melody's Melodies, a karaoke program featuring two songs from Disney's newest Little Mermaid film. Setting up the routines in Aquabatics is a lot of fun; players can flip and spin their favorite characters in a variety of swimming twirls. Though almost all games for girls include a program like Mermaid Memories, the one featured in this game is put together extremely well. The backgrounds are flexible, the graphics meld seamlessly into the scenery, and players can even add sounds and movements to the scenes they create. Finally, Return to the Sea comes with a second CD-ROM, Ariel's Story Studio, a gateway to even more undersea adventure.

The one real disappointment of this package is Melody's Melodies, which only features two songs and a few simple options for singing them. Kids learning to play musical instruments might also notice that the presentation of the music isn't correctly laid out on the staff. However, the program's other delights more than compensate for this weakness. Broad enough in scope to ensure wide appeal, and of the highest quality to guarantee player entertainment, Return to the Sea provides hours of fun for the whole family. --Alyx Dellamonica