FutureU: The Prep Game for SAT

But is the game as good as a human tutor or even that thick SAT prep book? Aspyr has done a bang-up job of presenting questions in a way that eases you into the concepts of fortifying your vocabulary, predicting answers when you don't quite know the solutions, and measuring your own weaknesses and strengths. Studying for the SAT test, which has been around since the 1920s, can evoke fear and loathing. With soothing music, that friendly, personalized avatar, and pastel backgrounds that calm your brain, the game quietly lures you in to its curriculum. It's easy to like and straightforward to use.

During the review of this game, we showed it to an actual Kaplan tutor, who liked it and recognized questions that she herself uses during her one-on-one sessions with students. One small problem with the software is that it sometimes takes a moment to register your answers when you click. But this isn't "Final Jeopardy" and time isn't an issue in the game. This software problem does come into play, though, when you're answering one of the reading quizzes. A highlight moves quickly over a numbered grid, asking you to pick a question from 1 to 5. Five is the most difficult. We had trouble getting the software to stop on 5 no matter how quickly we clicked. So we'd end up getting a question that was too easy. It's a small issue, but somewhat annoying nonetheless.