Disney recently released the classic story of Dumbo as an interactive app for the iPhone and iPad. For children young and old the story of Dumbo is an endearing classic and while this interactive story book to the original story and artwork it also and features such as coloring pages, puzzles and a musical instrument in the form of a Calliope straight from the pages of the book.
The story itself is beautifully recreated in its electronic form and has well delivered audio to so that your child can listen to the story as well as read it. The pages come to life with animated action too which brings the story to life even more.
One if the most impressive features though is the ability to record your own audio of each individual page. You can do this one page at a time and when turned on the narration will be you voice and not the origami voice. This will be awesome if for any reason your going to be away from your child as this can be one way to stay close.
The three additional features are fun too. Playing the Calliope is fun and sounds very authentic. You can either freestyle or follow the tutorial to play along with the tune. The puzzle provides 3 virtual jigsaw puzzles for you to put together and each has 3 difficulty levels which increases the number of pieces in the puzzle.
Also pulling from the pictures in the book are the coloring pages. In these pages you have a paint brush, pencil and a palette of colors to color in the picture. You can save your handiwork if you want to come back to it later or email your completed masterpiece.
A nice added feature is the ability to personalize the splash screen of the app, not only with your child’s photograph but also their name which you can either type in or write in using your finger or stylus.
It’s no surprise that Disney would produce such a great app but it’s good to see it come to fruition.
This universal app cost $1.99 and is available in the App Store now, whether you are wanting to relive the story from your childhood or enjoy it with your child or grand children this app is a great way to do it.
[rating: 5/5]What we like
What to know
Phoenix Spirit [rating: 4/5]
Phoenix Spirit has been developed by Spearheadgames and it a game all about exploring the forest environment. Mother Tree is ill and it is your duty to find out what is causing the disease and save her.
The game uses the built-in accelerometer to control a flying squirrel. You guide the squirrel along the beautiful forest areas, a lot like a flying shooter game except in this game you are just guiding him and flying where ever you wish to go. Along the way are check points and power ups. The game play is to find all these hidden powers to help you fight the illness and unlock different areas within the game. The main thing is to explore the huge forest and there is lots to look at, you could be playing this game for a long while!
The controls took a while for me to get used to. You just need to tilt your device but at first it was quite fiddly. After a few attempts though I picked it up and was able to start exploring along. There are also buttons on the screen for speed and jumping, you can increase speed by diving but every time I did this I lost control for a short time and went futher than I wanted to.
Luckily there are check points along the way to save you starting again and when you leave the game you can save and exit and go back where you left off.
The game features some really good artwork and graphics. It is accompanied with relaxing soothing music and makes the game have a very enchanted feel to it. The background is quite dark and at times I struggled to see my surroundings clearly. Also at times it was hard to make some things out, this might be slightly different playing on an iPad as I was playing on iPhone 3GS so wondered whether it could just be down to the device itself. Either way though it still has great graphics.
The game is throughly enjoyable and you do want to keep playing it and exploring along the forest. It is probably one of the few unique games that will keep you entertained on the edge of your seat and yet relaxing at the same time.
The Good
The Not So Good
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Released: May 17, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0.1
Size: 28.7 MB
Language: English
Seller: Spearhead Entertainment AB
© 2010 Spearhead Entertainment
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.