Fun animal-based edutainment title
If you've got some very young kids that need keeping entertained for a rainy afternoon and who happen to like animals, then Cuckoo Zoo is the perfect antidote to your worries. It's not so much a game, with defined objectives and levels, and more a learning tool that is fun at the same time and which teaches youngsters about various animals from around the world. The game takes the form of a park which can be explored at will and which is split up into several sections, each with their own theme, like polar, savannah and rainforest, and which are inhabited by the appropriate animals. When you visit each area, you can click on the the critters and hear their name being spoken, making this a great tool for helping kids learn the names of animals. Travelling around the park is done in suitably colourful style and as you enter each new area, you get a brief explanation of the types of animals you can expect to find there. There are also a few simple educational mini-games which help with numerical and spelling skills to add to the fun. There's not a lot else to be honest so you have to give this to the right audience. If your kids already know their animals then they will get bored in about five seconds, but if they are at the stage of learning this kind of thing, then Cuckoo Zoo is perfectly acceptable entertainment. The graphics are highly appealing, with charming characters and well animated renditions of the animals, while the sound is equally pleasant with lots of nice effects, music and speech. As long as your kids are of the right age, they will be hooked by this for an afternoon, so if you've exhausted the likes of Playroom, check this out.
