REVIVAL: LEGO Creator

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• Platform:   Windows Me / 98 / XP / NT / 2000
• Media: CD-ROM
• Item Quantity: 1

However, after a while, the cleverness of this CD ROM comes to the fore. In the virtual LEGO Creator world you don't just build things and then take them apart; you can make them fly at the touch of a button, give them apposite or ludicrous sounds, change their colour with a single mouse-click, even blow them up (flamboyantly) using the special DESTRUCTA bricks.

You're then able to pilot your figures and vehicles through the very world you have created, guided by an integral LEGO Creator Wizard--who is a bit like a permanently untiring, mega-brainy parent. All in all then, a rather fine and intelligent toy, albeit not one for the very young, or very active, or very easily dismayed. -- Sean Thomas

From Children's Software Revue®
Children love creating with LEGOs because it's so easy to succeed- just put together a few pieces and you've got yourself a house. Grab a few mor e and you can make a skyscraper. The kids are in control and limited only by their imaginations. The title of this program implies the same scenario, but the reality is rather different. This program is actually more of a town programming kit, with which children position and then set into motion prefabri cated cars, buildings and LEGO people.

The first step to using this program is to master the navigation system that enables you to zoom around in virtual 3D space, much like a helicopter. Next , you select one of two modes. In the play mode, you merely watch a village in action as the people and cars move. But in the build mode, different block s, buildings, LEGO people and vehicles can be dragged onto a generous 3D building area and programmed. You can make your helicopter fly in a figure eight, adjusting for direction, altitude and speed. Placing cameras around the town lets you see things from overhead in the helicopter, or perhaps from atop a building, security camera-style. You can even put a stick of dynamite inside a moving car or building to cause a random, LEGO-scattering explosion. While parents and educators might question the moral and educational value of this, our testers loved it. Although it is possible to build things block-by-block, adjusting the view and getting the LEGOs to line up just right is a frustrating process. You'll want to make sure your computer can handle the robust system requirements- a computer equipped with a 3D accelerator card- as several test famili es brought the product back, unable to get it running. All in all, this is a clumsy but conceptually exciting program that provides children with a uniqu e spatial thinking opportunity.
Teaches: logic, spatial thinking, programming
Age Range: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Copyright © 2000 Children's Software Revue

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• Software > Budget Software
• Software > Children's Fun & Learning > Activities & Interests > Printing & Painting
• Software > Children's Fun & Learning > Characters & Brands > Favourite Characters
• Software > Children's Fun & Learning > Characters & Brands > Lego
• Software > Children's Fun & Learning > Characters & Brands > Other Characters
• Software > Software under £10