The Croods: Prehistoric Party
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Lifeless party game with mild cartoon shenanigans.
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The Croods: Prehistoric Party
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What’s It About?
THE CROODS: PREHISTORIC PARTY puts players in the shoes of various members of a Stone Age family as they compete with one another in simple Mario Party-style mini-games. The main mode has players selecting a theme –- such as jungle or desert –- before embarking on a short jaunt around simple game boards, rolling a die to move their character forward. Depending on the space you land on, you may collect or lose shells (which act as currency), earn a special single-use item that might let you switch places with another character or cause them to move backward, or initiate one of about 30 little mini-games. A second game board mode lets players set a game timer or number of turns and then compete with one another to collect the most eggs (earned by playing mini-games) along the journey. After finishing the game, players can spend the virtual currency they've earned on unlockable images and creature descriptions in the game store.
Is It Any Good?
Functional but utterly lacking in style or innovation, The Croods: Prehistoric Party is the sort of game young children may find mildly addictive for a few hours, but which most older players would rather skip. The game design is lifted straight from deeper party games with more personality and superior polish. Fans of the genre will soon realize they've already played plenty of better mini-games in which they've done the same things, such as pushing friends off platforms, flying through rings, splattering paint on walls, and trying to remember and copy simple melodies.
That everything more or less works will likely serve only to exacerbate your frustration: The designers clearly know how to make a decent game but either didn't have the ambition or freedom to turn this one into something interesting. Save your money.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about social gaming. How is playing with others different than playing alone? Does it make a difference if they're in the same room versus if you're connected by the Internet?
Families can also discuss the Stone Age. What do you think life was like for an average family tens of thousands of years ago? What were their top concerns?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo 3DS , Nintendo DS , Nintendo Wii , Nintendo Wii U
- Subjects: Hobbies : board games
- Skills: Communication : friendship building, Collaboration : meeting challenges together, Thinking & Reasoning : strategy
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: D3Publisher of America
- Release date: April 2, 2013
- Genre: Party
- ESRB rating: E for Mild Cartoon Violence
- Last updated: August 26, 2016
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