Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids

What’s a young explorer to do when a polluting octopus threatens an undersea kingdom? Well, if you are Dora the Explorer, you enlist the aid of friends and set out to thwart the plans of the evil octopus.

That is the precept behind Dora Saves the Mermaids, a 2K Play title for the PlayStation 2 console system. The game is a learning adventure with a very gentle learning curve and collectibles that should delight younger gamers. Featuring five locations, four main interactive objects, and 11 other characters to interact with, the game is bright, lush and should have definite appeal for the younger set.

Emma, 11, tackled the game and submitted the following review:

Dora the Explorer is a great learning show for small children, and that’s exactly what Dora Saves the Mermaids is – a great learning game for ages 4-7.

The game has Dora, Boots and Swiper in it. What you do in this game is quite easy: you go through different places and explore islands. The object of the game is to stop the evil octopus from dumping trash onto the mermaids and the mermaid kingdom, but to do that you have to get Mariana’s Magic Crown back from the octopus. You also have to collect the crown jewels on your way to the Mermaid Kingdom so that the magic works.

In the game you use the map to find where you have to go. All you have to do is click on a picture on the map. You can walk around and be adventurous. You can talk to mermaids and you get to ride on dolphins and all sorts of fun stuff (for 4-7 year olds).

This game kind of has multiplayer because parents can get on using the mermaid helper feature with another controller. So if a child needs help their parents can help them.

The controls in this game are quite simple. All you use are five buttons (which X, Start, Square, Triangle and the Circle), and the analog stick. The game is easy to control on the PS2.

(Editor’s note: The analog stick controls movement; the hot keys are the action buttons and the start button will pause the game and return to it after you pause.)

The graphics on this game are really nice; everything looks 3D. You can hear instructions really well, but I think the coolest part is where you can hear all the background noises, which are the dolphins and the water.

I think this game is a great learning game for children under the age of 8. They will learn how to count, identify colors and all sorts of other things.

(Editor’s note: The scoring below also is Emma’s. She completed the game in 58 minutes but the skills and puzzles were geared for a much younger child.)

Gameplay: 7.5
This game is easy and fun to play. Young players should have no trouble playing this game.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics are really great in this game. Everything was easy to see, the colors were really nice and the characters moved really well.

Sound: 8.0
You can hear everything in the game very well.

Difficulty: Easy
This game is fun to play but it is for younger children.

Concept: 8.0
The game is great for teaching and it is just like the television show.

Multiplayer: N/A
This game is for one person but parents can help their child – which is great.  

Overall: 7.8
This game has a great concept to draw young people in to learn but at the same time play. I think it is a great way to get kids to love to learn.