D.W. the Picky Eater (Windows)

By adding music, voices and some animation to the amusing story from the book, the designers of Arthur's Adventures with D.W. have created a cute game. The games are very playable and most children will likely want to play repeatedly because of their appeal.

The game, though, does have a few negative aspects such as the lack of a sufficient number of animations available through hotspots on the screen. Although there is a specific and funny animation that can be found on every screen, a little UFO that flies around the characters, it simply isn't enough to hold long term interest.

Another major drawback is the lack of choices in the "Make a Story" section of the game. With generally only three available for each page, not all players will be satisfied with the choices, severely limiting the range of books they can create and decreasing replay value for this portion of the game. More to the point, players are limited to liking only pancakes, strawberries or spaghetti in the "Picky Eater" book. If the child doesn't like any of those, he or she can't substitute any other answer and thus may feel a bit left out.

The Picnic Basket section of the game is frustratingly vague and unclear, although it could be used by enterprising parents as a starting point for a discussion on what constitutes a healthy meal or a healthy diet in a given day. It's difficult to determine if the game is supposed to show or teach something about nutrition, since the amount of portions seems to conform to the number given in the food pyramid. No explanation is given in the game other than a reference to a nice, healthy meal.

On the whole, the good and bad aspects of the game balance out to an average title at best. Given the limited replay for some parts of the game, though, it's not really worth full price.

• Graphics 3/5: While most of the graphics are serviceable, some appear a bit blurry, most likely due to an adaptation directly from the original book's color pencil or pastel drawings.
• Sound 3/5: Voices are clear and easy to listen to; the voice actors seem to be the same as those in the Arthur PBS TV show.
• Enjoyment 2.5/5: The story is cute and very good. The expression on D.W.'s face at the end of the book is priceless! The games are, for the most part, fun to play and offer good replay value.
• Replay Value 2/5: Most of the games can be played repeatedly without loss of interest but other parts of the product, such as the "Create A Story" module, are very limited in replay.
• Documentation 1.5/5: There is very little documentation. The instructions for the games are given in the program but there is no printed or electronic manual.

Review By Lisa Karen Savignano for allgames.com