Promoting learning and healthy habits in children for over 40 years now, Sesame Street is the premier television series that virtually everyone has watched at some point in their life. In Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover!, the magic of Sesame Street is presented in an interactive video game that teaches proper lifestyle choices and delivers informative messages for young players.
Sesame Street is an iconic American television series that premiered in 1969 and is still in production today. The show uses Muppets, live actors, animated shorts, humorous dialogue, and a variety of song and dance numbers to teach children about good manners, right conduct, and elementary knowledge such as counting and spelling. The show is highly successful, and most of the Muppet characters such as Elmo and Grover are now popular cultural figures.
In the Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover! Wii game, Sesame Street’s “Healthy Habits for Life” campaign is given an outlet in the Wii console. The game’s storyline features Grover developing an obstacle course that must be successfully navigated by fellow characters Elmo and Abby Cadabby. The obstacle course is a combination of multiple minigames that require basic actions such as running, jumping, dancing, and stretching, all of which can be easily performed by young children.
The minigames are well-designed and do a good job of keeping young players occupied. Also, the game mechanics ensures that the child does not have a hard time with the controls, and the difficulty level automatically adjusts to compensate for the child’s level of play. There is no penalty for failing a task, no violence of any sort, and no score to keep track of. There is also no more than one set of instruction per minigame to avoid confusing young players. Furthermore, parents can drop in at any time via a second Wii remote and join in on the action or covertly guide the onscreen character in the unlikely event that the child experiences frustration in not being able to clear a level. Reading skills are not a requirement since all the instructions are delivered via speech and demonstrated onscreen.
At the heart of each minigame is a real-life lesson about good hygiene, proper diet, and the value of exercise and rest. The game gets the child up and about, and the characters are enthusiastic about the lessons they teach. The style of delivery is not preachy, and children will have a fun time learning healthy habits with Grover and the gang. The Wii Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover! game is excellent for parents playing alongside their child and guiding them through the activities.
Added bonuses include a statistics meter and various menus for parents to keep track of their child’s progress within the game. Furthermore, the game comes with a special Grover Wii remote cover that provides extra tactile sensations for the child as well as cover over buttons on the Wii remote that will not be used in the game to avoid confusing the young player.
With cute and memorable characters, solid scripting and delivery of life lessons, as well as extremely easy and enjoyable gameplay that will make kids work up a sweat, Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover! is an excellent game to start your kids off on the right path in life.
Despite the deliberately easy gameplay, some minigames don’t respond well to the motion sensing and may end up registering a failed move even though the player’s action is correct. This may lead to frustration in younger children. Thankfully, these moments are rare, and parents still have the drop-in co-op feature to lend a hand when it happens.
Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover! can be played on the Wii console using the standard Wii remote. The game is primarily for single-player, but a drop-in co-op feature is available for parents to join in at any time and help out their kids. Furthermore, a special Grover Wii remote cover comes with the game to cover over unnecessary buttons.
Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover! is a solid video game for early-childhood players. The positive messages and interactive gameplay makes this not only a fun and engaging activity but one that would have a lasting impact as well. Parents can sit alongside their children to monitor their progress and further instill the good habits taught in the game. With the added special Grover Wii remote cover, Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover!, is a must have for your preschooler.