Circus! is a graceful and amusing CD-ROM simulation of an intimate one-ring circus that feels like a TV cartoon under your control.
Aided by an appealing ringmaster mouse named Zippy, children (ages 3 and up) can pick from eight animated circus acts in the Main Tent. A dress-up parade and the trapeze seem to appeal to children who like fantasy and role-playing, while the human cannonball and lion acts draw those who enjoy making judgments about spatial relationships and playing in competition.
It's easy to make trapeze artists miss each other in midair or accidentally shoot cannonball clowns out of the tent. But if a child doesn't fully figure out an act, he or she never truly gets stuck - after a while, the routine gently concludes.
A separate environment, the Music Tent, offers interactive music numbers that succeed in their own simple way, better than most interactive music CD-ROMs for adults. And a clever mousehole whisks you from place to place so you never have to laboriously retrace your steps.
Traditional animation techniques and character voices by Ayshe Farman-Farmaian and team are superb, but the original songs may echo through your head for longer than you'd wish. Circus! offers a gentle alternative to the obsessive level-hopping that dominates interactive games for children.
Circus!: US$39.95, Mac and PC. Voyager: (800) 446 2001, +1 (212) 431 5199.
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