Spy Kids: The Underground Affair

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Puzzle fun featuring the Spy Kids.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this learning software offers a novel approach: It integrates paper-and-pencil puzzles with onscreen adventure and activities.


What's it about?

Juni and Carmen Cortez, stars of the Spy Kids movie franchise, are back on the computer in SPY KIDS: THE UNDERGROUND AFFAIR, which integrates paper-and-pencil puzzles with onscreen adventure and activities. Carmen and Juni are assigned to a case involving the disappearance of rare anti-gravity ore.

Throughout the CD-ROM adventure, the story pauses and sends players to find access codes in the accompanying 32-page "Official Spy Codebook." Players need to work through word searches, word unscrambles, math puzzles and the like, using a pen or pencil, to find the codes. The adventure also involves children in eight interesting interactive puzzles (each has three levels of difficulty). In one activity, they must align crystals in a grid so that the crystals conform to specified rules relating to color and shape.


Is it any good?

 

The story unfolds through a series of cartoon-style illustrations. Characters talk to you, but there is minimal animation.

Many software adventures weave interactive puzzles into their story line. This software is different because it integrates pencil puzzles with interactive ones.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about which style of puzzle is most challenging, and which is most enjoyable. Which do you like better -- playing Spy Kids games or watching the movies? Why?


This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
 
The great spys
it is the best.

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This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
Platforms:Windows, Mac
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Educational
Developer:Brighter Minds Media
Release date:June 4, 2004
Price:$12.95
ESRB rating:E

This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen

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About our rating system
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.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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