| | |  | Education & Reference | Home » » » Spelling Blaster | | | | | | | Description: | | Help the Blasterpals explore the islands and navigate through various spelling challenges to find clues that will reveal the identity of the Mumbler who has taken the book! Master spelling skills for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. | | | Product Details: | | | Product Weight:
| 0.2 pounds | | Package Length:
| 5.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 4.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 4 reviews |
| | | System Requirements: | | | Platform:
| Windows | | Media:
| CD-ROM | | Item Quantity:
| 1 |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 4 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 decentFeb 02, 2009
By S. Cardarelli
"SC"
Kids like it, but the words are few and
the "play around" is too much compared with
the time dedicated to spelling.
More a game than an educational tool.
Good for 6-7 years old kids.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 This is a nice program but...Jun 04, 2010
By A.D.
"A.D."
It is very basic technology...at least in comparison to other video games out there. While the Wii/Nintendo DS/XBox/Playstation/etc have games that are very slick and visually stimulating, this one has an early 1990s feel. The movements of the characters are stiff and the games are not the most creative. That being said, I would still rate this game pretty high.
When I purchase video games for my kids, I usually test them first. I was surprisingly addicted to this one. While the movements were choppy at best, it still did its job: teaching spelling.
The game separates the various endings of words (-ug, -am, -at, -ub, etc.). So the child can work on groups instead of just random words. Then there are groups of the sight words. My son is 6 and this has held his interest for the last three days. He will get up, quickly get breakfast, dressed, and all ready for school just so he can play this "game". He is very proud of each and every "certificate" he earns as he completes each level.
I should say a child should have some reading already under his/her belt to play this game. There are parts where you will fill in the word blanks with the correct answer. It does not read the sentence to you. So you would have to either know how to read (all sight words) already or have a grown-up stay with the kid the whole time. This can go either way: either the child depends on you to read to him/her, eventually he/she will catch on or if the child can already read, it fosters independence..the "I can do this myself" feeling. That being said, once the child inserts the correct answer the program should read the sentence aloud...it does not.
There is not a great variety of games or tasks on this Speling Blaster. So I hope this will not be an issue as my son progresses on in the levels. Walking the little space man through the same maze while only changing the words or taking the little red ball and popping it on the target gets rather monotonous! "oh wow, the cave...again." And he is supposed to do this for 1700 words?!
If I take this game on its own merits, overall I'd say it is a keeper. It keeps my son engaged...at least for now. But I think Knowledge adventure really needs to pay attention to all the other games out there! I don't think they realize the potential "gold mine" they have. How many Wii/Nintendo/etc REALLY useful educational games are on the market? I can tell you from my discoveries: not much! It is nice to have games for the computer, but I don't want a bunch of games taking up memory space on my computer. I also don't want that kind of wear/tear on the computer either! Computers are $3000 + for really good ones. The Wii: $200.00, Nintendo DS $170.00. Of those three which one do you think I would be able to replace faster? So I would really appreciate (and I am sure other kids and moms too!) Knowledge Adventure getting on the stick on this one. I've seen the Nintendo DS games that are much more advanced in fluid movements. Plus you can take them "on the go". Do you think I am going to lug my desktop computer on road trips? Really, K.A., kids are more computer savvy than we give them credit for! Take a look at ALL 'Knowledge Adventure' offerings, wouldn't you like to see them available to the DS or Wii?
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Spelling Blaster is just what I had hoped for.Apr 07, 2010
By SeeBodyOoks
This game has a good balance of entertainment and education. The overall game is an adventure where the player explores islands. At each destination, there are various challenges, each which involve spelling. There is narration, music, and animated cut scenes. My seven-year-old enjoys the game, and it has improved his spelling. One tip I suggest is to right-click on the game's shortcut icon, select "Properties" and set "Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution" under "Compatibility", so the game fills the entire screen.
 boringMar 07, 2011
By mom2three
"mom2three"
this program is okay for the first group of words but then when you go to learn the next group of words the games are identical. My son played through 2 word groups, byt the third he said it was too boring, nothing new.
This is not at all up to today's standards the kids are used to. Probably okay 15 years ago when it was made but not entertaining for today's children. Playing the same games over and over again with nothing new is BORING...
| | |
|
