Too Old Or To Young???
A Review of Nikolai's Trains
Karina Worlton
This interactive storybook tells of a boy named Nikolai and his toy cat
Neow-Neow. They embark on a train race in Nikolai's imagination. Children
can choose to have the book read to them, or can explore each page one at a
time, in either English or Japanese. Each of the story's 12 pages has many
animations. On seven of the pages, certain hot spots take the child into
informational screens, covering topics such as the secrets of the solar
system, the operation of a coal mine, the ecosystem, and the functions of
various train cars.
The graphics are not the usual bright, clear, simple, line drawings
designed to appeal to the very young. These are more like watercolors, with
imprecise rendering of some details. I imagine the age the product targets
(four to eight year olds) won't mind and will probably even enjoy them. The
sound is clear, for the most part, and the music is pleasant, while the
story is interesting and fun.
I would probably have given this product a higher rating, simply for the
story value, if it weren't for the additional educational material. I'm
completely in favor of "disguising" learning in a fun setting. However, in
my opinion, the educational material was too sophisticated for the story
used to present it. The simple story is read mainly by a young child, while
the technical educational information is read by a woman who sounds like a
science museum tour guide.
In the educational screens, the vocabulary is
more challenging, and the graphics more technical. This is not in and of
itself a problem, except that the product is aimed at four to eight year
olds. I asked two neighbor girls, aged 7 and 8 to test it. They both
loved the story, but thought the educational material was boring. I don't
imagine a four-year-old would feel any differently. The target age could be
expanded to include, say, 10- or 12-year-olds, but they would probably be
bored by the story. The story and the educational material are mismatched.
Difficulty of use was the other major problem with the product. The cursor
did not change in any way to indicate where clicking would produce
animation.
Furthermore, the hot spots were often very small, making them
difficult for a child to select. For example, in the activity that teaches
time telling, if the child misses and clicks just to the side of a number on
the clock face, the educational activity screen closes and the child is
returned to the story page. The hot spot boundaries need to be larger for
this target audience.
I also found it difficult to understand some of the voices. "Nikolai" had an accent, or perhaps a childish pronunciation of some words. A few of the short animation sequences included high-pitched voices that sounded more like squeals.
Finally, users cannot interrupt the automatic story reading in the explore option. Children must listen to each page being read, before a cursor appears to begin free page exploration. This does not encourage reading, but keeps the emphasis on listening.
School House Scorecard
| Product: |
Nikolai's Trains |
| Company: |
The Corel CD HOME Product Line Manager
|
| Cost: |
$39.95 |
System Requirements:
WINDOWS:
IBM PC or compatible 486, Windows 3.1,
MS DOS 5.0, 8MB RAM, Double speed CD-ROM drive,
Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card.
MACINTOSH:
Macintosh LCIII, System 7.1 with Sound Manager,
8MB RAM, Double speed CD-ROM drive.
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 2
Learning Value 3
Entertainment Value 4
Graphics 4
Sound 4
Overall Score:
Copyright © 1997 InfoMedia, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.