The perfect introductory game for a 2-4 year old with a PS2
Dora Saves the Mermaids is the perfect fit for those seeking a game for their little girls. With mermaids, crowns, princess and pink gems it has everything a little girl would want in a story.
The inability to fail, a very simple gameplay mechanic, and single button interaction means that children with limited skills are able to play and succeed in the game.
The story is very simple. Whilst cleaning up the garbage on a beach Dora finds a mermaid crown. She has to restore all the stones in the crown and return it to the mermaid princess to save the mermaid city. The story is structured very similar to the TV show with the map popping up to show you how far from the mermaid city you are, the backpack providing you items to clean up garbage and all the cutscenes you'd expect if you were watching the DVD.
Each level is structured so that you simply follow a very simple path from start to end with a few basic catapaults and slides to navigate along the way (all activated simply by walking into them). There are a couple of small puzzles with color matching, basic counting, etc. but they are very few and far between.
The graphics are true to the TV show the the same voice actors were used so any fan of Dora will feel like they'er watching a Dora episode whilst getting to play at the same time.
If you're looking for edutainment this isn't the game for you. If you're looking for a very basic experience to start your kid out in gaming then this is a fairly safe bet.
Not worth the $50 AU asking price it's a definite buy from the bargain bin.
Took my 3 year old about 1-2 hours to complete and she's never really played games before. Mind you, she did spend a LOT of time running up the same hill and then sliding down with her monkey so..... :)
NOTE : My score of 7.5 takes into consideration the games target audience. This game would probably bore anyone over 5 due to the lack of mental stimulation or skill requirement.