Common Sense Media Review
By Chris Morris
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Aim is to kill off humans with disease in slow, passive app.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Pandemic 2.5
What's It About?
Players will attempt to formulate a disease that goes undetected by healthcare officials before it has spread worldwide and decimates the human population. They do this by slowly strengthening the virus, bacteria, or parasite, adding symptoms and giving it defenses against cold, water, and the like. Users can also opt to make the disease airborne or spread by vermin. Once doctors become aware of the problem, they'll begin working on a vaccine, at which point it becomes a race to kill the human race before they can discover a cure.
Is It Any Good?
Pandemic 2.5 is based on a fairly old but addictive web-based Flash game. Unfortunately, the appeal of that workday distraction doesn't carry over well to the iOS system, since it's ultimately a very passive game. Planning and building the disease can be interesting, but waiting for it to grow quietly is hardly thrilling, even when the game is in a fast-forward mode.
Worse, the lack of a decent tutorial makes the game confusing to first time players. While players who are curious can read a word-heavy instruction sheet, this isn't a "pick up and play" game. If you can get past that admittedly large barrier, though -- and aren't looking for an adrenaline rush -- this could be a concept that captures your imagination.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Help teens find information on historical events in which disease played a significant role, such as the plague.
Ask teens to think about the scenarios in Pandemic 2.5. Do they think something like that could happen in real life? If so, how could it be prevented?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Science : biology , life cycle , Social Studies : geography
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , Creativity : developing novel solutions , making new creations
- Pricing structure :
- Release date : May 9, 2012
- Genre : Simulation Games
- Publisher : Dark Realm Studios
- Version : 1.01
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.2 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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