Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Space-themed hidden object puzzles, plus mini-games.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
I Spy Universe
What's It About?
I SPY UNIVERSE is a hidden object game set within a scenario that casts the player as a stranded spacecraft pilot. In order to rebuild your engine, you need to gather several missing pieces -- all of which you will earn through winning virtual scavenger hunts. Each missing part is on a different planet, and you will need to play mini-games involving concepts like pattern recognition and path-plotting in order to earn enough fuel to get you from one puzzle planet to the next.
Is It Any Good?
The fuel-earning mini-games in I Spy Universe add a great new layer to the classic hidden object game. As fun as these scavenger hunt games are, they can be a strain on the eyes after a while, so it's nice to have the visual searching broken up every now and again by a less-static mini-game. The picture puzzles of I Spy Universe tend to veer toward the "jumble of random objects" type; this is a slight disappointment as these games are arguably more fun when the objects you need to find are blended into a complete scene. But at least the messes of scattered toys are artistic messes, and still fun to scour through. All in all, this is still a nice addition to a winning series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about hidden object games and why they are so popular. Do these games do a good job of replicating a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt?
If you're already a fan of the I Spy series, do you think these puzzles work better in book or video game format? What are the pros and cons of each?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo DS , Nintendo DSi
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Scholastic
- Release date : June 21, 2010
- Genre : Puzzle
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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