Once Upon A Time
SCORE: 85
I do so many things with Family Friendly Gaming that I sometimes
forget. Once Upon A Time for the Wii is a classic example of this. We
got the game in to review from our friends over at Storm City Games. I
was looking at the front cover trying to decide who should review it.
Something caught my eye, and my eyes got HUGE! There is a quote on the
front cover: "Storybooks have been brought into the 21st Century" -
Family Friendly Gaming. I had made that quote in the past after being
given an early look at this franchise.
So I decided that I needed to review this Wii console personally. I have
a history with this franchise. As I opened the game I had some
reservations. I hoped that Once Upon A Time was as good in final form as
I had seen earlier in the year. I took a deep breath and put Once Upon A
Time into the Family Friendly Gaming Wii machine. Three Little Pigs,
Ugly Duckling, Little Red Riding Hood, and Puss N' Boots are the four
stories includes in Once Upon A Time.
The art style in Once Upon A Time is very friendly to children. I
wondered how certain aspects of this stories would be handled. They were
kept very family friendly. For example in Little Red Riding Hood, the
grandmother is safe in the closet. The wolf is knocked out, and his pelt
is carried away by the axe man from the forest. The mini games, as well
as the story animations have the look and feel that is appealing to
children.
Make no bones about it, Once Upon A Time is a game that is for children.
The hardcore gamer is not going to want to spend some time educating
themselves to the stories on this disc. Many of these are bed time
stories. There are good morals in most of them. I was not fond of how
deceptive the cat was in Puss N' Boots. The lesson was to not think you
got the worst inheritance. In face he got the best of all the brothers.
The music and the voice acting are both good, in fact I would reference
them as soothing.
Storm City Games did some interesting things with Once Upon A Time. The
four stories are on this disc. There are also mini games for the kids to
play. Most of those are based on memorization skills. Telling your own
story is the most interesting feature. The screens that are used to tell
the story are present, and you can describe the "pages" as you see fit.
There is a neat aspect to this as putting the Wii cursor on various
items has the game tell you what they are. This can be used to reinforce
animals and items to your children.
The game play in Once Upon A Time is pretty simple. The mini games are
mainly point and press the 'A' button on the Wii Remote. Depending on
the age of the child, you may need to help them. Our five year old son
was able to navigate through this game. He needed some assistance with a
few of the mini games, but he caught onto those pretty fast. I like the
concept of Once Upon A Time. The Wii can be used to teach these stories,
and I feel the price selling point is a good one.
I hope and pray to see sequels to Once Upon A Time in the future. I
believe any sequel needs much more. More mini games, and more stories.
This is a great start to a franchise, and a very innovative idea. I also
appreciate the lessons in the majority of the stories in Once Upon A
Time on the Wii. I will be recommending Once Upon A Time to family and
friends. After you play it, let me know if I was right about my quote on
the front cover.
- Paul
Graphics: 83%
Sound: 85%
Replay/Extras: 81%
Gameplay: 86%
Family Friendly Factor: 88%
System: Wii
Publisher: Storm City Games
Rating: 'E' for Everyone
{Violent References}
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