I SPY Super Challenger! Review

Review I SPY SUPER CHALLENGER! Scholastic Leapfrog Genre: Children September, 2011 Platform: Leapster Explorer Review by Lia & Alyssa Carlini with an assist from their pappy Randy Sluganski August 31, 2011

Alyssa: There’s greasy fingerprints on our Leapster screen and the stylus isn’t in its holder.

Lia: Yeth. It looks as though Pappy was playing with our Leapster again.

Alyssa: Lia, what is this new game Pappy gave us?

Lia: It’s I SPY Super Challenger! and Pappy said we have to review it.

Alyssa: What does review mean?

Lia: I don’t know, but he said he would give us each a dollar so let’s do it!

Pappy Randy: If you have been looking for an affordable handheld system for your youngster and have been hesitant about shelling out big bucks for a Nintendo DS and overpriced games of varying degrees of quality, then look no further than the Leapster Explorer. The Explorer has quickly become the favorite of my granddaughters Lia (age 4 ¾) and Alyssa (age 3 ¾). We’ve yet to come across a dud of a game and they are all reasonably priced between $18 – $24. But as this is supposed to be a review of I SPY Super Challenger and not the system itself, let’s get to it!

I SPY Super Challenger! features five multilevel games for the young gamer:

• Riddle Relay – This is the traditional I Spy game with a slight twist. Instead of the objects that need to be found being listed on the screen, they are read by a female voice when the ‘A’ button is pressed. The girls found this to be very helpful as they are not yet old enough to read large words, but they know what to look for when they hear the word read to them. They also get very excited when finding one of the required items.
• Fine Line – The player must drag the stylus across the screen to separate items into specific groups. For example, draw a line so that there are two marbles on each side of the screen.
• Bug Catcher – Player must catch like colored – or sometimes different colored – bugs in jars or use a flashlight to find bugs that look different from the others. Lots of crazy stylus tapping in this one!
• Match Attack – Shoot objects across the screen horizontally to match like objects. Sort of a horizontal version of Bubble Bobble. Look out for the Chomper!
• Spy Squares – Player must sort and line-up matching objects. While the bottom row may be all purple objects, the connecting row may be all sports related. The trick is to figure out the item that will link both rows together. Our favorite after Riddle Relay.

Each game increases in difficulty, up to level 4, as the player gets better. Players can also earn badges for achievements such as completing a level and these badges can then be converted into tokens and redeemed for game objects when you connect your Leapster to your home computer and sign into your Leapfrog Connect Application (which is a wonderful feature for both children and parents as it not only provides free games, but also lets you track your child’s gameplay progress).

If there is a negative, it is not with the game itself, but with Leapfrog’s new packaging for their Explorer series of games. Cartridges that used to be packed in hard, plastic cases similar to Nintendo DS games, are now in a heavy cardboard box that must be ripped to remove the product thus rendering it useless for future storage.

I SPY Super Challenger has tremendous replay value and as the player proceeds, the game will adjust itself to the player’s skill level so that it’s never too hard or too easy. It is recommended for children ages 5 – 9, but neither granddaughter has yet encountered any difficulties though they might at some of the higher levels. Games like I SPY are also an excellent way to get children interested in pc adventure games such as the Putt Putt or Freddi the Fish games from Humongous.

There are over twenty award-winning I SPY titles available on numerous platforms including the Wii, Nintendo DS, TAG, Leapster, iPhone and Ipad apps, but so far, we’ve found the Leapster Explorer I SPY Super Challenger! the easiest and most fun to play. And if you are really an I SPY fan, there is an entire website devoted to the series of games and books along with a 20th birthday celebration of the I SPY brand.

Now, back to the girls!

Lia: Thank you for the I Spy game pappy!

Alyssa: Hey, where’s our dollar?