The Mystery of Veggie Island

Reviewed by: Hilary Williamson
Published by: Big Idea
Price: $14.99

System Requirements:

PC
Pentium II, 300 MHz+, Windows 95/98/ME/XP, 64 Mb RAM, 8xCD-ROM, 60 Mb HD, DirectX 8.0

Description:

Enter your name and then join the Veggie kids on a Cub Sprout canoe camping trip to Veggie Island. Watch a video sequence of the journey and arrival ... oops, was that the canoe that just floated away?

Sproutmaster Bob the Tomato encourages you to help Junior Asparagus earn 3 merit badges by helping others. Assist squirrels to collect acorns, organize frogs onto a lily pad, round up rabbits, help a mother gopher get her babies and so on. Earning badges unlocks more areas of the island and new activities.

Move your mouse around each scene and click on highlighted items, to animate them and find songs and map pieces. Collect other useful objects (like a flint, a rope, keys and the treasure map pieces) in your backpack. Use your island map to figure out where you are.

You need to finish the treasure hunt, so you can ask for Mr. Nezzer's help with transportation off the island. Any time you want to check the map or backpack contents, or to stop playing, simply move the hand cursor down to the bottom of the screen, to make controls appear.

Features:

  • 3 merit badges to earn
  • 11 games to play
  • Nature facts
  • Scrapbook
  • 10 Silly Campfire Songs
  • Parental "Egg Timer"
  • 7 page jewel case User Guide

Technical Aspects:

I tried the program on a Pentium IV with Windows XP, and the usual Wizard handled the installation.

This title is not suitable for someone with auditory difficulty as instructions and hints are spoken.

Report and Conclusions:

The Mystery of Veggie Island is a totally charming adventure for small children, which also emphasizes to them the importance of helping others - Sproutmaster Bob says that 'God wants us to help others even if they don't deserve it.' The activities are entertaining and there is a whole island of them to explore. Safety issues are brought up, e.g. in aiming a slingshot and associated with a fire.

Though transitions between scenes are slow, the graphics are beautiful and worth the wait. The campfire songs are indeed very silly, but cute. Overall this title is excellent value for the price, with hours of fun for small children in a context that promotes good values. What more could a parent desire?