Monobot

With little instruction or guidance, guessing is a necessary part of playing -- and can be a source of frustration in this otherwise visually impressive game. Monobot doesn't give kids much information to begin with. They're told Mono, the main character, has been freed, but it's not fully clear why he was being restrained, or what he's supposed to do. They'll need to get the hang of the controls and explore until they find where they should go. Scenes feature various conflicts, such as a walkway that needs to be extended, but there aren't obvious indications about how to do it.

The game's graphics include some neat elements. Mono glides along scenes almost as if he's riding on a skateboard, for instance, and cowers when a large, threatening robot's red searchlight gets close to him. At one point, he hunkers down and crawls on his stomach across the screen, accompanied by clanking sounds. Mono also stumbles on written portions of a first-person account of a revolt that occurred, which isn't the app's most dynamic aspect -- it involves some reading. That part of the game feels like it was tacked on to give the main puzzle-solving aspect some context. Kids may not be overly intrigued by it as a result. The amount of self-guided logic that's required to play is a bit more tricky. Some of the initial challenges can be solved fairly quickly by poking around for objects you can touch and move. As the game advances, though, the tasks get more complicated. If kids get stuck, there's nowhere to turn for help. Aside from the first chapter, which is available for free, they have to pay to access the full game. With so few instructions or resources, it may be a better investment for teens -- younger players might wish more support was available to help them solve some of Monobot's puzzles.