| ★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ GAMESLIST ★ THE THREE BEARS (c) SCHOOL SOFTWARE ★ |
Amstrad Computer User | The Amstrad User |
THE THREE BEARS The first package is from the School Software range and is a mini-adventure entitled 'The Three Rears". Borrowing from a lew fairytales, most notably 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears', the writers have created a simple graphics adventure that is set in some myth:cal land of talking cats, wizards, wicked witches and dark dungeons There is no manual provided; nor is one needed. Unfortunately The Three Bears" is only available on disc for the CPC6128 and CPC664. It will not load onto the CPC464 on disc, so please don't anybody try their luck here The program is loaded by typing RUN"BEARS and from there the program docs everything itself. The user is asked if the computer is a 6128 or 664 - a wrong answer will mean the program does not run. This program is a graphic adventure and here it receives a big plus. The graphics serpens are usually in three or four colours and are well designed. It is good to see that time has been spent in this area even though the program is only lor young children where often good graphics are a little compromised. The aim of the adventure is to tree Baby Bear from the clutches of the Wicked Witch who nabbed him after he had wandered off into the forest. A map shows you where you are and where you can go, and as you work your way around the map you encounter friends and foes who offer you help or demand things from you. In the style of many adult adventures these days, achieving progress in the game depends on the player performing certain tasks in a required order as he/she goes through the game For example, if you don't take the key when you find it, you won't be able to open an important door somewhere else, thus halting any further progress This type of game strategy Is useful in developing in the child an understanding of sequence and logic, and encourages forward planning.
The keyboard work required by the child is kept mostly to a minimum. The computer accepts one-word answers for every question it asks and in the case of yes/no answers, "Y" or "N" are accepted. The child has to understand bow-ever, that every keyboard entry has to he completed by typing [RETURN]. This is not mentioned anywhere and unless the child already knows this, or is told, he will make no progress at all! In the scenario, the child will need to visit all the places shown on the map; these Include a field, the farmer's cottage, a garden, a river, a wc;l and more. Ir walking around the various locations, the child will encounter a number of situations where a decision is required. The choices made will determine the outcome of the game. Most decisions are not made by a wild guess but required a calculated choice made on the basis of the information the chi:d would already know As the game progresses, the child acquires more information and gains a better understanding of what is going on in the game. Some decisions arc difficult but others will be stabs in the dark. The author? designed the program so that the kind, honest, humanitarian, brave, wise answers arc the connect ones. For example, when the child is asked whether he wants to cross a bridge to pick up a coin, the correct answer is NO. Creed kills because on YES the bridge gives way and the character dies! The decision here was: is the coin something I need in the game or a temptation to be greedy' True -some adults would find this moral teaching a little subtle and likely to be totally lost on a lour year-old. There were two disappointments in the game. Firstly, after three attempts at the game and having finally saved Baby Bear, I was a little saddened at the final screen. Sure, I wasn't expecting a victory fire works, display, but the last screen and the first introductory screen are virtually identical. 1 thought the thrill of finishing an adventure was seeing a secret screen or something like that. There was no reward at the end or evidence to show that anything retributive happens to the Wicked Witch. An anti-climax. Second disappointment was the text to accompany the graphics screens. I consider it a great surprise to find that a company trying to teach young children to read, spell and think cannot themselves spell words like 'does', 'something' and 'rescue'. These were spelt: dose, something and recue. As well as this apparent lack of concern for proofreading, there were the following "sentences":
I don't think I am exaggerating if I say these sorts of errors are inexcusable. It would be like reminding your children to eat correctly with a knife and fork while you bury your face in a bowl of noodles. It's sad that an otherwise good program is thus desecrated. It's your choice whether you are going to buy an educational program that primarily teaches logic, deduction, reasoning and forethought while it bombs out in the English deépartment. It's up to each individual, really. As for the child; he will probably remain at the keyboard until the adventure is solved, regardless of the quality of English. It is advisable that the parent helps the younger child. Frustration at not being able to make progress soon becomes boredom and disinterest - then flaws in the program don't matter either way! I found the reasoning and the challenge of cracking the adventure enjoyable, but for young children it docs more that entertain -The Three Bears makes a start at developing important abilities in the young child. CPC Disc only $34.95 TAU |
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Page créée en 786 millisecondes et consultée 3198 fois L'Amstrad CPC est une machine 8 bits à base d'un Z80 à 4MHz. Le premier de la gamme fut le CPC 464 en 1984, équipé d'un lecteur de cassettes intégré il se plaçait en concurrent du Commodore C64 beaucoup plus compliqué à utiliser et plus cher. Ce fut un réel succès et sorti cette même années le CPC 664 équipé d'un lecteur de disquettes trois pouces intégré. Sa vie fut de courte durée puisqu'en 1985 il fut remplacé par le CPC 6128 qui était plus compact, plus soigné et surtout qui avait 128Ko de RAM au lieu de 64Ko. |
