Common Sense Media Review
By Dana Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Take on two-wheeled tricks in this challenging sim.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Pumped BMX 3
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
First choose your bike and your rider on PUMPED UP BMX 3. Check out the level screen where you can see how many challenges you've completed and how many remain before unlocking the next level. A tutorial walks you through the basics, and you can "View the Skill' challenges to see what your rider needs to do (complete the level or do a backflip, a 360, or a tail whip) to earn various point totals. Tap and hold "Pump" to move the bike, "Spin" to spin it, and move the circular chooser to the trick you want to try. View your Level Score and your Trick Score to see if you want to move on or try again for more points. If your rider falls, just tap "Re-start."
Is It Any Good?
The cartoon-like style may make it appear to be just-for-fun and for younger kids, but this can be a challenging sim. Especially if players want to maximize point totals by completed designated tricks on each level, it will take multiple tries and lots of work to master Pumped BMX 3. Levels have enticing names like "Dark Woods," "The Mountain," and "Wetlands" that keep kids working to get there and see what the upcoming courses will be like. One rather serious oversight, especially for younger players, is that the pros here don't wear any protective gear -- no helmet, knee pads, or elbow pads -- and they walk away from each crash completely unbruised and unbroken. Yes, it's just a sim, but it's also a lost opportunity for celebrity riders to model safety for kids.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about bike safety. What would really happen to these riders when they crash (as they often do in Pumped BMX 3) in real life if they weren't using any protective gear?
Talk about what makes these athletes able to perform these jumps and tricks on real-life courses (practice, practice, practice!) and how some of that may be required to master the virtual versions, too.
Encourage your kid to make up their own courses, challenges, and names for tricks on paper, with blocks or cardboard, or on virtual world-building games.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : September 29, 2016
- Genre : Simulation Games
- Publisher : Yeah Us!
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 9.1 or later; Android 3.1 and up
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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