Most gamers who are parents will be familiar with The Learning Company and the wide range of software it publishes for children. In fact, it was their animated “ABC by Dr. Seuss.” that most enchanted my youngest and taught her basic computer skills. Then, we graduated to Reader Rabbit and on to Oregon Trail and Amazon Trail. We’ve always been able to count on The Learning Company to provide topnotch interactive educational experiences. So, when Randy asked Mercedes (my 10 year old daughter) and me to review Liberty’s Kids, I was delighted!

Liberty’s Kids is a point and click adventure with animated, 2-dimensional graphics. It provides an interactive encounter with the American Revolution by placing the player in control of Sarah and James – two young reporters who assist Ben Franklin with the Philadelphia Gazette. When Ben is called away to Europe, he leaves these two in charge of providing news for the paper.

The game consists of seven sections, each focused on a historical event such as the Boston Tea Party, Lexington and Concord, the Declaration of Independence, Crossing the Delaware, etc. Sarah and James must seek out and interview a host of historical characters, following the traditional “Who, What, When, Where, and Why” reporting paradigm. In most cases, the character to be interviewed will only cooperate after an item has been delivered or an errand has been performed. In this way, the game follows the framework of a traditional “find and use” inventory-based adventure. This aspect can be a bit frustrating since (unlike Gabriel Knight), your pockets have limits and you can only carry 4 items at a time.

As you interview and sketch, the results accumulate in an online journal. When all sources have been exhausted, you return to the newsroom to review your findings, sort facts from opinions, and build your story for publication in the Gazette. In addition to content, you are responsible for creating the headline and providing artwork to accompany each front page story. For each issue, your success as a journalist is measured by the number of Gazette copies that are sold.

The interface is simple and intuitive, with the cursor changing shapes to provide cues as to the actions that can be taken. Arrows show you which directions are available for movement and an inventory window opens across the bottom of the screen with icons for tasks such as opening the journal, sketching, accessing reference materials, etc. A player’s game is saved automatically upon exit and is identified by the name entered when first getting started.

In addition to the interactive story, Liberty’s Kids provides a wealth of historical information that includes a reference guide covering the people, places, and timeline of the American Revolution. There are also printable puzzles to be completed away from the PC and a link to the Liberty’s Kids website where more historical content and activities are available. Those who enjoy the company of Sarah and James can also tune into the new PBS Liberty’s Kids television program.

In terms of educational value, this is a solid title that requires creativity, problem solving, a lot of paying attention, and strong reading skills. It is recommended for children ages 8-12 and Mercedes was most challenged by the task of sorting facts from opinions and rumors in order to decide what was really “news.” For parents and teachers, it provides all of the qualities that we search for when seeking to ensure that our children spend meaningful time with a computer.

However, from a child’s view, things are a little different. Mercedes, who is a gaming veteran, agreed that it was an interesting title but said that she’d only recommend it to “…a kid who really wanted to learn about history.” For her, after a long day of school and homework, Liberty’s Kids required far too much reading and listening. By about the third topic, she had had enough and was begging me to let her go back to Zoo Tycoon or Asheron’s Call.

The bottom line? This is a great educational tool that brings the past to life in an interesting and creative way. Personally, I can’t think of a more compelling approach to learning about the American Revolution. But kids are like adults. Some love edutainment, while others just want to have fun!

Final Grade:

Educational Content and Presentation (from Cindy’s perspective) = A+

Fun Factor (from Mercedes’ perspective) = B-

System Requirements:

PC: Pentium 166 MHz. Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP. 32 MB RAM, 8x CD ROM, High color / 16-bit video, windows compatible sound card and mouse

Macintosh: Power PC 180 MHz. Mac OS 8.6 to 9.1, OS X. 32 MB RAM, 8x CD ROM, Thousands of colors /16-bit video, sound card and mouse.