Poptropica for Nintendo DS: Review
Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. #UbiChamps
Ask most little eight year-old boys what they want to be when they grow up and most will reply with either professional baseball player or video game tester. Well, the Coffee kids are not very good at baseball. . .so video game tester it is!
Ethan, age eight, was thrilled that his dreams came true early. I was given the opportunity to review Poptropica Adventures this winter. Ethan is the youngest of four boys, which means that he has been raised surrounded by video games. Since his oldest brother is 16, he is not always surrounded by age appropriate video games. We do have firm guidelines in place over who gets to play which games, but sadly, as the youngest son, sometimes the older boys tease him for playing “baby games”.
Poptropica Adventures, however, is a game that all four boys are familiar with and have played over the years online. I always enjoyed the problem solving aspect and the variety that the online game afforded my boys.
We were given the opportunity to review Poptropica Adventures, and I chose Ethan to assist me.
Ethan was very excited to try the game out. He charged up his Nintendo DS and got right to work when we opened up the package. After a while I heard him demand assistance from older brother, Owen. (Youngest sons know how to get what they want, when they want it.) He then continued to play happily most of the weekend.
By Sunday evening, he informed me that he finished the game. Finished? Surely not. The online Poptropica game is seemingly endless, so I naturally assumed that the handheld version would be as well.
Ethan informed me that Poptropica Adventures contains four islands. Three are adventure islands (Mythology Island, Super Power Island, and AstroKnights Island) with puzzles and problems to solve, and the fourth is the museum, where you keep all of your treasures.
Now, I am certain that Ethan is not truly “finished” as older brother helped him through a lot, and he likely has not found all of the collectables, but in his mind, he reached the end of the game.
Ethan’s favorite parts were the same as his favorite parts of the online Poptropica game. He loves customizing his character and collecting items. Some of the puzzles were too challenging for him at 8, but just right for his ten year-old brother. Between the two of them they managed to “beat” the game in a weekend, though I need to ask them if they have unlocked the arcade, which allows dedicated players to play games with high scores.
We have a road trip coming up, and I know that Poptropica Adventures will be coming a long with us. . .maybe I will even take a turn, I saw a cute princess costume that would look great on my character!
As for Ethan’s video game testing career. . .he says bring it on! He play tests like a champ!
This video game looks so cool! Great review. My son will surely like this as well.
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