Hello, Pocoyo (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

With the mass appeal of the DS there's a game to satisfy just about every genre and although there are many puzzlers and driving games, there are also a number of children's educational titles available. Unfortunately, because of the success of Brain Training, most of them simply claim to expand your child's learning potential completely bypassing the fact that learning also has to be (or should be) fun. Spanish developed Pocoyo has been a huge hit throughout Europe with the 'boy dressed in blue' and friends proving that original ideas still do come along occasionally. We've had problems with TV tie-ins due to uninspired gameplay but with the series creators directly involved, could this be different?

Gameplay

Hello, Pocoyo begins when the star of the show accidentally makes his friends disappear with a magic pencil. It's up to you to guide him through a series of different levels in order to locate them. This is based around fun and creative activities driven by a collection of magic tools that you pick up along the way. In the first section, for example, you have to search for yellow duck named Pato. Without giving away too many details of his location, locating him will involve finding and using keys, drawing useful items and even blowing into the microphone to power Pocoyo's car. This level of interactivity runs throughout the game and while you do get a lot of specially produced footage you never have to sit though endless sequences waiting for something to do. In fact, the developers have exploited just about every type of mini-game and you'll also be challenged to a handful of rhythm and memory games, all of which increase in difficulty. Unfortunately some of them do are a little too challenging and even the Sleepy Bird can't help with some of the problems you'll encounter.

Extended gameplay is provided with just about every aspect of the game unlocked (and visible from the front end) but the first play through is so entertaining your child is very likely to want to do it again anyway.

Controls

This is all touch-screen but keeping it all stylus-driven allows the child to focus of puzzle solving and not a complicated control system.

Graphics

The game looks just about as close to the TV series as you could possibly get in a game and you'll occasionally feel you are just watching a DVD. A lot of this is down to the white environments which have allowed the artists to focus on the models and animation. This is very polished stuff and the movements (especially the disco section) will delight fans of the series.

Sound

Given that children don't generally like reading lines and lines of text the developers have thoughtfully added a full narration track which plays throughout the game and menus so that the younger gamer will be happy playing Pocoyo whether you are there or not. There's also a whole library of well sourced sound effects as well as the original TV soundtrack playing in the background.

Dual screen

The first thing you'll notice here is that rather than controlling characters directly, you simply select them and the thing you wish them to interact with. Get it right and you'll get a tick whilst a cross means you'll have to approach the problem from a different angle. This generally means changing characters or tools and although you begin with only a handful of pens and pencils you'll quickly amass a whole collection of useful items. The challenges themselves are all incredibly well-integrated into the fabric of the game so, for instance, you have to draw steps to reach a higher platform of blow into the microphone to power a paper aeroplane. Even if you get stuck completely (and this will happen from time to time) you can always call on the Sleepy Bird who will point you in the right direction.

Final comments

If your children enjoy the TV show then it's highly likely they'll enjoy this. The developers have paid particular attention to the overall production and it shows in a game which is reflective of the show's style whilst also featuring enough puzzles and interactivity to allow for some truly immersive gameplay. Unfortunately this is also one of its downfalls as some of the challenges may be a little too difficult for the target audience (even with the hits). It's still an incredibly well designed package though and other developers, hoping to design similar products, should probably take a look just to see how it should be done.

Pro: Look and Sounds Wonderful, Lots of Replay Value.
Con: Some Puzzles a Little Too Difficult.
Final score: 7.1

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