Game Details
Price
  • $20-$30
Available on
Genre
More details
See more game reviews

Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey (Wii, Nintendo DS, Windows, Mac)

common sense media says

Smattering of violence shown in hidden pictures game.

parents & educators say
See 1 review | Review it

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey is based on the book of the same name. This is a search-and-find puzzle adventure game. Consistent with the book on which it is based, the game’s scenes depict vampires drinking red liquid (blood), warring monks, red dwarves wielding swords, giants, and other fantastical beings. Many of the scenes depict violence although you are never participating in it, and most injuries are shown with stars floating above a character’s head. Because of this scenery, we have set the age appropriateness at age 8.

Educational value: These are a series of puzzles that require you to use visual clues to solve them.
Positive messages: While this is a search-and-find puzzle game which sends a positive message about using your eyes to find details, most of the scenes your are searching are filled with violence and comic mischief.
Positive role models: The main characters of Waldo, Wenda, and the Wizard Whitebeard are pretty bland role models. They are simply people passing through 12 different worlds. The background people are a pretty violent lot. And one character named Odlaw is always trying to cause trouble.
Ease of play: The game is easy to play, although having to shift the scene around is annoying. The game suffers from long load times.
Violence: Many of the scenes in which you are searching for objects and people are filled with violence. You will see monks warring with each other with staffs, people throwing food at others, sword-carrying red dwarfs fighting with spear-men, vampires drinking red drinks (blood), forest people carrying spears, and two medieval armies locked in battle, and country folk fighting giants with spears and clubs.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: This game is a direct adaptation of the book of the same name.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Medieval feast is shown with tankards and vampires are drinking what appears to be blood.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Did you purchase this game because you love the Where's Waldo series of books? Did the game live up to your expectations?
  • Did the background images showing people fighting bother you? Would you have preferred more peaceful environments?

What's the story?

What's the story?
In WHERE'S WALDO? THE FANTASTIC JOURNEY, kids join Waldo as he travels across 12 fantastical lands looking for ancient scrolls. In each land, kids must search through crowded scenes to find hidden objects which range from finding Waldo, his friend Wenda, his mentor Wizard Whitebeard, and hundreds of other objects. In addition to the hunt-and-find mechanic, the game also introduces other puzzle elements including find the differences between two similar scenes and find a small photo set inside a larger scene. The game can be played on two levels of difficulty, but both are timed. The Wii version offers a two-person, head-to-head split-screen option.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey is true to its book source material, and in some ways enhances the otherwise fun hidden picture puzzle book experience. The background music adds atmosphere and varies depending on which world you are visiting. The large scenes, while true to the artwork found in the book, contain little animations to pique your interest. For younger players, most of the search requests are shown or spoken out loud; and when you find a hidden object, you’ll hear praise. Plus, there are two modes, which enables younger children to find the requested objects in a landscape that is smaller. The addition of help in the form of Woof the Dog barking when you are getting close to a desired object is also a plus.

But, some of the changes don't work as well as playing inside of the book. In the Normal mode, you can’t see the whole scene in one glance and you must scroll through multiple screens to see the whole picture. This manner of play takes away from the fun of training your eyes to find specific objects in a cluttered picture. Also, the game has long load times. And for many kids, the time pressure of having to search quickly doesn't allow them the joy of looking at all the details in the scene.

 

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Windows, Mac
Not available online
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: UbiSoft
Released on: October 5, 2009
Price: 20-$30
ESRB Rating: E for Animated Blood, Comic Mischief
Screenshots
This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
 
 

Review It

 

Review Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
 

Most useful reviews by all members

Richard Laymon
parent of 10 year old
5
 
Not great but good fun
It's OK but not great. Good fun overall though.
Flag as inappropriate 
was this review useful?
helped me decide (3) | had useful details (3) | read my mind (1)

More reviews ...

An independent voice for families
Age-appropriate reviews
Advice on the big issues
 

vote now

Will you play Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey?

Game on
Press pause
Game over

Already played it? What do you think?

I recommend it
It's a pass
 

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

Other fun puzzle games
For kids who love puzzle games
Browse more games
About our rating system
ON: Content is 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
Our child development rating guidelines