Crayola Teasure Adventures - NDS - Review

Crayola Treasure Adventures harkens back to the early days of children’s software and multimedia games. It’s essentially a coloring game, with other activities like connect the dots and jigsaw puzzles thrown in. It used to be that reviewers would decry these types of children’s games and give them a low rating for a lack of new or innovative features. However, I have begun to feel some nostalgia for plain old-fashioned coloring and puzzle games, especially after playing many of the badly designed games for young children that are flooding the markets these days. There is something to be said for solid but simple activities that young children can enjoy and play easily. However, sadly, Crayola Treasure Adventures doesn’t quite reach its potential due to some stylus issues with the coloring activities, which is the main aspect of the game.

On start-up, children can either choose to play the adventure mode, or the coloring book. At first, only a few coloring pages and crayons are available, but more will be unlocked as the adventure is played. At the end of the game, there will be a total of 110 pictures and 120 crayons.  The adventure mode is played in a linear fashion by completing mini-games through three main levels. These games are either puzzles, connect the dots, or coloring activities. They are all played with the stylus on the touch screen. The games themselves are fun enough, but suffer from a problem with the sensitivity of the stylus. The coloring activities are timed, and often the pressure of the stylus just doesn’t register very well. And, if the stylus isn’t taken off the screen and placed back on for new areas, many times it won’t register at all.

The puzzles are typical jigsaw puzzles where kids drag the pieces to the correct position. These puzzles are the same every time they are played. The connect-the-dots are simply connect-the-dots activities.

The coloring pages in the coloring book are pretty cool, and there a ton of different crayon colors to use by the end of the game. If the stylus worked correctly, this would a good game for young children who like to color. However, again, the stylus pressure and sensitivity doesn’t function as expected. Often the colors won’t register, usually when the stylus isn’t picked up and placed again for new areas. As this is the main part of the game, it is a problem. If parents do get this game for the kids, they need to have them be sure to take the stylus off the screen for each new area. Best for the very young.

Gameplay: 6.0
The gameplay is adequately fun, but could have been better if the stylus possessed a greater touch sensitivity.

Graphics: 7.0
The colors for the coloring activities are bright and colorful, and the graphics for the other activities are good enough, but nothing spectacular.

Sound: 7.0
The music is average, but at least not annoying.

Difficulty: Easy
This game is very easy, as it is basically coloring.

Concept: 6.0
The concept of a coloring game is fine, but the implementation is less than satisfactory.

Overall: 6.0
I like simple activities, and still remember all the fun my 17-year old had with the Lion King Activity Center on the PC when she was 6. This game was basically a collection of simple matching puzzles and coloring pages, but she really loved it. So, I was ready to enjoy Crayola Treasure Adventures. However, the stylus issues detract from the overall enjoyment. It’s not much fun to keep rubbing away with no colors showing for all the effort. However, very patient children can still enjoy this game if they are shown they need to pick up the stylus for each new coloring space and that they may need to press harder when coloring.