 | 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. |
Jake Power: Fireman
- Nintendo DS
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Action/Adventure
Common Sense Media says
Great action game for little kids who revere firemen.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know
that this game is targeted at little boys ages 5-8 who like action games. Players can only play as Jake Power with no option to be a
female
firefighter. While Jake does have to fight fires, he is never injured,
and no
one ever dies. It has just the right balance of showing the seriousness
of
fires going out of control without scaring the player. The player is
tasked with putting out the fire or rescuing the person or animal in
trouble, so they end up feeling like a hero.
What's it about?
For little boys who
love to pretend to be firefighters, JAKE POWER: FIREMAN is a great fit. The game
lets boys control Jake Power as he learns to be a fireman. Jake goes on a
series of missions which see him rescuing a cat, fighting lots of fires, and even
stopping water from leaking from the town's water tower. The 12 rescue missions are
made up of a series of firefighting minigames.
Kids can choose to
simply go on the missions or play them in a story context. In both modes, each mission always start with a race through the city streets, where kids get to drive the fire rescue vehicle as it weaves between traffic while deciding when to
blow the siren to make cars get out of the way. The rest of the mission is
played out by exploring several minigames, which rotate, depending on the
mission. Kids will use the stylus and the microphone to play the minigames. Winning the minigames earns stars, which can be used to unlock
new accessories to be put on the fire engine.
Is it any good?
This game does a
great job of showing kids some of the jobs that firemen perform. And it does
it in a manner that is exciting but never too scary. The sound effects and
music create a sense of urgency but most of the minigames are pretty simple to win so that you can complete the rescue mission. The minigames are
quite creative in figuring out ways to get kids involved in the actions of a
firefighter. For example, kids will put out fires by tapping on the flames that
leap out of buildings, or spraying erupting fires with a fire hose. In another
mingame, kids will unwind hoses by following prompts on the screen to draw a
circle in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner. They can even control Jake's
fire-resistant boot and stomp out flames.
A minor flaw is that you have to
succeed at each minigame before proceeding forward, but if you fail, you can replay the minigame as many times as
need be. The adventure mode adds a zany story about fire-inducing
hamburgers.
If you have a little boy who reveres firemen, pick this one up. It is
quite well done.
What families can talk about
Families can talk
about what fireman do in real life. By playing this game, did you learn anything about
firemen that you didn't already know. Did you know that women can be
firefighters too? Which of the minigames did you like best?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
| Platforms: | Nintendo DS |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Developer: | UbiSoft |
| Release date: | February 17, 2009 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E for (No Descriptors) |
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