Creature Create is a unique Leapster title as it does not teach the usual numbering or vocab tutorials. Instead, this title teaches something that is often considered an afterthought in today’s schooling: art and music.
Creature Create is by far the most customizable and artistic Leapster game to date. When the game first boots up, the player must put together a creature. Using a character editor, the player can choose from many different combinations to put together a unique creature every time. Things like eyes, body type, hands, feet and more all are customizable. Plus, putting together your creature is an easy but fun process thanks to the stylus control.
This created creature then becomes the player’s avatar for all the mini games that follow. After this avatar has been created, the player even gets to design a pet creature as well. With the number of different combinations available, the player can literally spend hours just customizing the perfect creature.
Once your avatar has been crafted, the player can participate in a number of mini games with this creature or the creature’s pet. Pet Race is a simple maze game in which the player controls your pet to reach the end of the maze. Guided by a narrator, the player must travel through the maze with spoken instructions in order to reach the end. The player’s fastest time is stored for record keeping purposes.
Picture Puzzler teaches memory and problem solving skills through visual observation. The player chooses a vacation destination, then snaps a photo of that place. This photo them becomes jumbled and it is up to the player to put it back together.
Boogie Woogie might be the only dance editor I have ever seen in all of gaming, not just in a Leapster title. Using your character, the player actually uses the stylus to move the creature’s body in ridiculous ways according to a number of different musical tracks. Once a pose is formed, the player can then adjust the speed of this dance by using a slider bar. Unlike any other Leapster mini game, this game focuses on musical composition, rhythm, and expressing how visual cues can interject with audio.
Exploration Station is the most fleshed out game in this title. The player is given the task to design a house for the created creature. But the game does more than let the player design the outside structure of your building. Each individual room can be designed how the player sees fit. By adding furniture, changing the color scheme, or by adding a customizable painting, this mode can very well suck up hours of time. And thanks to the brighter color pallet, this mode can spark any youngster’s imagination and even introduce them to the world of interior design.
I just wish to stress this point again; Creature Create is a very artistic game. As an art major, I can honestly say that if I was given this game when I was in kindergarten, it would have only strengthened by enthusiasm for the arts and the entire creative process. If you have a child who pushes away math or vocab lessons, Creature Create should be a great alternative. In a world that gives art and music a back seat to writing, math, and history, Creature Create is a breath of fresh air.
Leapster games are designed to be a visual and friendly way to develop the minds of young children, and Creature Create is a game that does just that. Definitely check this one out.