 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition
- Nintendo Wii
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Edutainment
Common Sense Media says
Educational safari game has a strong conservation theme.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition isn’t scary or violent and that it can actually teach kids quite a bit about animals. When photographed, each creature gets its own file in an animal encyclopedia. This file contains plenty of basic information about each animal's height, weight, and diet, trivial tidbits that explain what makes it unique in the animal kingdom, and even a recording of the sounds it makes. What’s more, the game features themes of conservation (animals are simply photographed rather than removed from their natural habitats) and environmentalism (players clean up debris as they drive around), and our avatar is never anything but courteous, kind, and caring.
What's it about?
Unlike many animal-themed games, which have players capturing animals and putting them in zoos or keeping them as pets, ANIMAL KINGDOM: WILDLIFE EXPEDITION sees players taking photographs of creatures in their natural habitats on an island home to some of our planet’s most exotic and exciting species. Each day they set out to snap pictures of animals in different locations and engage in various activities, filing the best shots with a red-nosed editor back home, who judges the quality each image. Players can also read about each species’ traits in an animal file stuffed with interesting beast facts and find odd items that make their job easier, such as animal suits that allow them to blend in with the herd and get closer to their subjects.
Is it any good?
There’s not much to Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition, but what’s here ought to prove plenty of fun for animal-loving kids. The animals animate and behave fairly realistically, and it’s fun to earn their trust by inching a bit closer each day. Plus, the fun facts in the animal file are just the right length to relate a couple of bits of information you didn’t know about impalas and elephants without bogging down the action.
What you won’t get from the game is a lot of variation in play. Kids end up doing the much the same thing day after day, with the only excitement coming in the form of newly discovered animals and the occasional fresh item, like a squall machine that can change the weather to draw out particular kinds of animals. Thankfully, its bargain price of $29.99 means we can still give parents a green light to check out this fun and educational Wii game.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the difference between observing animals in their natural habitats and capturing them for people to see in a zoo. How do you think captivity affects the animals? Do you think it is any less disruptive to view them in tour buses in the wild or in large, wilderness-like enclosures?
Families can also discuss the game’s animal files feature. Did it contain interesting information that you didn’t know prior to playing? Do you think this is an effective way to learn about animals? What might you learn from seeing an animal in person that you can’t in a game?
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| Platforms: | Nintendo Wii |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Edutainment |
| Developer: | Natsume |
| Release date: | September 30, 2009 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E for Mild Violence |
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