Alien Tales

Broderbund

Review by David Glofcheski

As a follow-up to its award winning edutainment CD-ROM Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego? Broderbund has gone one step further by creating its own game, Alien Tales, solely in the CD-ROM format.

Alien Tales is a galactic game show where kids discover the joy of reading great literature. This tongue-in-cheek spoof of popular TV game shows is hosted by Sal of deCentury, a witty, green Bob Barker from outerspace.

Your child will be introduced to 30 famous literary works-from the classics (Treasure Island, The Wizard of Oz) to the more contemporary (Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry). As an earthling contestant, the child matches wits with witless, obnoxious aliens (the kind you love to hate) who claim to have written these famous books. You challenge an alien's claim by answering questions about a particular story and author based on a pre-game book synopsis, direct excerpts, and author's biography. When the child has won two out of three rounds-crushing an alien's credibility-he or she may banish his antagonist to the talk show circuit. If the bid is unsuccessful, don't worry: the crafty alien will show up again to challenge your child's reading comprehension. Note taking is encouraged and a special pad of paper comes with the CD-ROM for this purpose.

Much like movie theater previews, this CD-ROM is intended to instill the desire to read. The manual provides a reference listing of all the books covered. Children will learn about classic stories written by great authors (without even realizing it!) thanks to a smooth interface full of colorful graphics, fun sounds, and an engaging format full of clever dialogue. Broderbund goes to great lengths to maintain the game show milieu beginning with the start-up screens and continuing with the accompanying manual. Along with detailed instructions on the rules of the game, the manual also provides biographies of all the wacky celebrity panelists in Alien Tales.

For independent play the suggested for ages 9 to 13 statement is right on the mark. Younger children, ages 5-8, will benefit from the CD-ROM under parental supervision.

Maybe Broderbund will set a precedent by being the first CD-ROM to be made into a popular television game show!

For PC: MPC, IBM/Tandy or 100% compatibles, 33 MHz 386dx or faster with 4 MB RAM, Windows 3.1, MS/PC DOS 5.0 or higher, Super VGA (640 x480, 256 colors), CD-ROM drive, MPC-compliant sound device, mouse