I was going to have one of the rooms here at Two Fedoras headquarters converted to a sweat shop. I thought it would have served well to mass produce reviews the few children’s edutainment titles that come out on the XBLIG service. Unfortunately, both “laws” and a “lack of a headquarters” kept that from becoming a reality. So instead I’ve taken it upon myself to get in touch with my inner child and review for you Caps Lock Soulutions’ exceedingly charming Snail Story.

Gameplay

As you may have picked up already, this game is designed for children. It’s all about shapes, colors, and letters – oh and distinguishing a bass guitar from a standard guitar. The gameplay itself is very simplistic, it generally consists of picking the appropriate shape, color,  musical instrument, or letter out of a series of moving cards.

All of the mini-games use this card mechanic. Exactly how you get the card differs each time. For example in one level the snail will stand upon a bridge and collect the appropriate shape baring cards as they descend. Another example would be where our snail hero rides a leaf down a stream and similarly gathers the appropriate cards. As you can see much of the game is centered around this very simplistic shape recognition and matching mechanic that should challenge and stimulate very young children.

It would be difficult for me to say I found Snail Story engaging or entertaining, since Father Time is constantly reminding me that I am perpetually drifting away from its target audience. I can say, however, that I think it would just be the bee’s knees to a 2-5 year old. And lets face it, all you gaming parents out there are just chomping at the bit looking for good wholesome ways to indoctrinate your little bundle of joy into the world of gaming.

As far as build quality, everything felt suitable for what it is. The jumping physics of the snail felt a little off, but I think that is a ridiculous criticism in this case. I do have one gripe though, in that I’m almost positive I was instructed to pick up a flute card and no flute card ever appeared and it was a serious blow to my ever developing ego to not beat that level perfectly!

Audio/Visual

Edutainment or not, there are few games that have as charming a look to them on the XBLIG. The art is perfectly suited for the style and focus of the game. It is all in a wonderful hand drawn style with lots of little touches here and there that make it all the more enjoyable. This is easily the strongest aspect of the title.

While the musical aspects of the game don’t impress as much as the visuals they more than adequately do their job. The voice acting, which appears to all be done by a child, is shockingly good. The over all consistency and quality of the game’s sound, which is subdued yet effective is a major win for the game. Because let’s face it, if it was annoying, you couldn’t let junior drool in front of it for an hour while you went and played mommy and daddy games like Farmville.

Summary

If you don’t have children, know children, or babysit children, I don’t honestly know why you are still reading this review. However, if you do happen to ever have a child and an Xbox 360 in the same place at the same time, I can assure you the 240 Microsoft Points will probably be well worth the several minutes of silence you just bought yourself. And if you are concerned about whether you’re little ones descerning taste may make it a dud, simply plop them in front of the demo first.