Dinosaur Adventure 3D
Company: Knowledge Adventure, Inc.
Estimated Price: $19.95
http://www.knowledgeadventure.com
Age Group: 4 -8

I'd heard so much about this program from my best friend's child that I had to buy it to see what all the fuss was about.

When I first started the CD, a window appeared and I was staring into the mouth of a large dinosaur, flanked by icons to the adventure, the workbook, and the website. So I tested it and clicked on each one. I checked out the website first. Another window opened giving me a choice of servers. Netscape was my choice, so I clicked. There I was on the Internet at their Dinosaur Activity Center. Knowledge Adventure, you have my attention! (By the way this site is a MUST.)

Now remember I haven't even gotten into installation yet. Next I clicked the Help icon. In the Help Center you have: Help on line, most asked Q & A, and "how to play." Again, I was impressed.

My final choice before entering the game was The Workbook. The Workbook itself is going to take a lot of my time playing... I mean reviewing. I can print the pages, connect the dots, find the dinosaur, roam around mazes and much more! At the end of the workbook is a little bit about each dinosaur I previously encountered.

It was about time I got into the game. You are reminded to switch to 256-color mode (8-bit), which I do with a visit to the control panel. Immediately I'm greeted by a baby dinosaur and asked to type my name. Once that's finished, I click "enter" and my cursor changes to a big blue hand. This is sure to get the attention of the younger children. The graphics are wonderful!

Now I'm on my way to the adventure. The object of the game is to find the 9 lost dinosaur eggs and earn hatching crystals which must be returned to the volcano to hatch. Once this is done we get to help the baby dinosaur hatch. When all nine dinosaurs are hatched they will be able to stop the T-Rex from terrorizing the island. At the bottom of the screen is the large arrow which takes you back you back to the volcano so you can deposit your eggs. The picture of the baby dinosaur is "help" and the picture of the nest holds your eggs and crystals. There are also three dinosaur heads. Clicking on them increases the level of skill it takes to play the games. The larger the head the harder the game. On the third level you play against the clock.

Clicking on objects on the screen brings you information about the object, such as butterflies during the age of dinosaurs. A large crystal appears over the area where a game can be found.

I'm now going to collect eggs. My first game is sorting eggs. Excuse me while I work. As I match the eggs, my guide tells me a little bit about that particular dinosaur. You have the option of playing the games as many times as you like, but don't stay too long at any one game as there's so much more to do here. When I clicked on a dinosaur, occasionally my guide had a "magical crystal" that would give me a 3D mini-story about that dinosaur. I just finished another game, a maze this time. What a wonderful way to learn! There are so many different challenges for a child. I could spend hours playing this game and not only have great fun, but learn a lot about dinosaurs!

What you get
Dinosaur 3D comes with a CD-ROM. The CD itself has seven different games, 25 dinosaur movies, 3D graphics, and a printable activity workbook.

Requirements and Installation
Dinosaur 3D requires Macintosh system 7.1.5 or higher, a PPC (120+MHz recommended), 16 MB RAM, 256-color, and at least a 4X-speed CD-ROM drive. (Like Spy Fox, this is a dual platform CD-ROM, which mean the disc can be used with Windows98/95 and a Pentium PC.)

Summary
If your kids are aged 4-8, then Dinosaur 3D would make a perfect present under your Christmas tree. The graphics are wonderful, and whether you're playing the games, gathering eggs and crystals, or just watching the movies, the animation and graphics will keep any child (or their parent) interested for hours. It's easy to move about in the program, and it's so intuitive that kids just won't need much help from you parents!

An audience age of 4-8 is an excellent fit for this program, but I honestly think that there are some older children out there that could also enjoy the games in this program, while learning a lot about Dinosaurs from it. The child that I spoke about in the beginning of my review is ten years old and he loves this program. He first played it at his school and came home begging for it. Can you guess what he'll be getting for Christmas from Aunt Lyn this year?

I highly recommend this program for your child. You say you don't have children between those ages? No problem. Buy Dinosaur 3D and give it to your nephews and nieces as a present. What's that, you're an only child yourself? OK, then buy it anyway and enjoy a truly fun game while you learn more about Dinosaurs. Dinosaur 3D is a winner!

MacMice Rating: 5

Lyn Price
lyn@mymac.com