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Muppet Treasure Island
 All aboard, me old ship mates, for mirth, mayhem and madness with the Muppet crew as Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island is given the irrepressible and irreverent Muppet treatment. In this quest for treasure there's never a dull moment. If you're not trying to improve your dress sense you might be shooting pies at ratbag pirates, or weighing anchor (it's very heavy), or even taking the helm of the good ship 'The Hispaniola' -- providing you know your port from your starboard.
In this first-person perspective adventure you are cast in the role of young Jim Hawkins, aspiring cabin boy, who eventually sets sail in search of buried pirate treasure -- but I shouldn't need to tell you the story of Treasure Island. You are aided along the way by Stevenson, your trusty parrot, who will offer a hint or two as well as keep your inventory under his wing. Also beneath Stevenson's wing are your save, load and quit functions plus a special feature that will allow you to print black and white scenes for later colouring in, or even coloured scenes if you have the necessary printer.
However, the real 'stars' of this game are the assorted, crazy, Muppet characters including Kermit and Miss Piggy who, of course, need no introduction and will be instantly recognisable to children of all ages. The game also has guest appearances from Tim Curry as Long John Silver and Billy Connolly as Billy Bones.
Aimed at children aged five and upwards this is a delightful point and click adventure that is guaranteed to 'hook' the odd parent or two and maybe even take the whole family along for a cruise. It features many detailed, colourful screens with lots of fun animations, jaunty sea-faring music and great sound effects. Treasures abound on every screen in the form of amusing 'clickables' that trigger an animation or a Muppet sequence and these frequently have multiple responses so you are encouraged to click on everything more than once. Clickable areas highlight when the cursor is passed over them and the cursor also changes shape to a pointing finger, so younger players will soon get the hang of it.
There are many entertaining tasks to carry out as you progress through the story and most of them are in keeping with the game scenario. For example, once you have the map you must try to see Squire Trelawny, but you won't succeed until you are properly dressed and you don't have the money to buy new clothes. Never fear, a fun way to earn money is at hand, but you can also lose it if you are not careful. In this simplified form these sort of obstacles are the staple ingredient of many 'traditional' adventure games.
This illustrates that this is not merely another 'activity-based' film tie-in -- although it has elements of these -- but is primarily a fun-filled game, an ideal training ground for budding adventure game players. Parents be warned, after this your children may demand more 'hard core' adventures such as Monkey Island and you may lose control of your computer forever.
Viewed from this perspective, Muppet Treasure Island is not, strictly speaking, an 'educational' game in that the activities provided don't address particular learning skills in any detailed way. On the other hand, it will invite children to explore and, perhaps, think about how to overcome obstacles in the game for themselves leading to that sense of achievement when something they try 'works'. Their Muppet friends will certainly be on hand to encourage them along the way.
The game comes on three CDs and contains over two hours of video footage including scenes from the movie. Although I was slightly disappointed that there was no on-screen text to facilitate comprehension, I concede that it may not have worked satisfactorily due to the pacy dialogue. It will run in Windows 95 and 3.1x and is also available for the Mac. The package also features a handy parent's guide just in case you get stuck when the kids aren't around to help.
This is an excellent children's title, though it has a fairly hefty price tag. If I have any reservations at all it is that I feel that the game itself is a little short -- though perhaps not so for younger children. However, Muppet Treasure Island is so much fun it could cause mutiny in the household when it comes to allocating computer time.
Copyright © Gordon Aplin 1996.
All rights reserved.
System requirements:
486DX2/66, 8MB RAM, 2xCD-ROM, 35 MB uncompressed hard disk space, 15 MB hard disk space for virtual memory (recommended), VESA Local Bus or PCI video, 256 colour SVGA (640x480), mouse, soundcard. Win 95 or Win 3.1 with DOS 6.2. Also available for Mac.
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