Math Blaster: Master the Basics - E
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that this game features nothing objectionable, but instead teaches math facts. The fast pace may make it a poor fit for kids who need time to calculate math answers. Also, the game doesn't have any female characters, and thus may not appeal to girls.
Families who play this game may want to discuss educational video games. Is this a good way to learn? Is there any problem with learning this way? Also, parents should make sure their kids know that while there is a lack of female characters shown in the Blaster Corps, girls are just as good at doing math as boys.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen
For the past 20 years, the Math Blaster series of software has taught kids math facts by engaging them in fast-paced arcade games. MATH BLASTER: MASTER THE BASICS, the newest in the series for kids ages 6 to 12, doesn't deviate much from this popular format. It still delivers math practice in a fast-paced setting, but its look and feel have been upgraded to reflect the current video game culture.
This new Math Blaster is set in the future, in a world where robots have taken over because humans have forgotten how to do math. Players join the Math Blaster Corps, and take on the persona of a hip-looking boy who is outfitted with anti-gravity boots and a special energy-blasting glove. Only by answering math questions on Earth, Saturn, and Pluto can the player save humanity.
While there are six different games tied together by this save-the-world storyline, the predominant formats are side-scrolling and platform. In both, players seek the numbers they need to answer math equations while avoiding bad robots, blasting apart obstacles, and jumping onto moving platforms.
Before starting their adventure, kids choose from eight levels of math content, with the easiest covering addition and subtraction up to eight and the hardest drilling quotients and products involving multiples of 10. The games test kids' speed and accuracy in answering math facts, their ability to complete math equations, and how well they can do mental math and problem solving.
Accompanied by pulsing music, kids race through these futuristic environments to collect numbers that complete equations. Platforms disappear, conveyor belts zoom players to unexpected places, and laser beams zap you if you aren't looking. The pace is fast, but if players are having trouble completing a round, the software slows down the robots' interference so that kids have more time to think.
Math Blaster: Master the Basics puts drilling math facts into a gaming format that will intrigue this generation of video game-playing kids. Families playing the game should pay attention to which math level they select, so that the game will drill the math facts that the child needs to practice.
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Social BehaviorLack of female characters may limit its appeal to girls. |
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Educational ValueTeaches math facts in fun way. |
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