Leapfrog LeapMove Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Emily B
I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to review the new LeapMove gaming system by LeapFrog. If like me you have a small child who is partial to some early morning children’s TV you’ll have no doubt seen the colourful new adverts. This new device is described by LeapFrog as ‘learning through motion’ which sums it up pretty perfectly. It’s time to rethink computer games!
The premise of the story is that each player becomes a guardian of the forest, setting up their own profile to save their progress as they complete challenges and win trophies. This game mode guides you through areas of an island taking part in a sequence of pre-set games to advance to the next section. There are fifteen sections which each results in a trophy that you can view in the menu. Additionally there is a free-play menu of 10 games allowing them to choose their own games and jump in and out. The front of the box states that there are 25 games offered, some of which are presumably embedded in the storyline of the game and we haven’t yet advanced this far.
My personal favourite is the game named Crystal Cavern in which you hide yourself behind crystals shown on the screen to avoid the spotlight being carried by a forest creature and collect keys when the light isn’t on you. Make sure you aren’t caught! Once you’ve collected the keys you then complete the alphabet challenge by selecting the letter shown, then by remembering which it was, and then selecting the item that starts with that letter.
My daughter’s favourite game was Dance! Match the movements shown by the fox to win golden stars. There are five tracks to choose from in this game offering variety and she won all 3 stars on both plays.
Other games include Jungle Ruins where you are a cat trying to break through the wall by bouncing an orb at the wall. It reminded me a little of the classic game Pong except you’re using your own body. Super Smasher was another fun concept whereby you break apart sparkling geodes to collect phonics. This is another one to get the heart rate up!
In the Forest Friends game you must use your body to create a bridge between trees on the left and right of the screen and time your movements to carefully pick up the forest animal on one side, they cross your body, and then you deposit them on the other side. My newly four year old struggled slightly with the concept of this and was often reaching towards the screen rather than understanding it as a mirror of her movements.
Our other stand-out was Armadillo Dash which is reminiscent of Sonic , racing along, collecting stars, jumping and ducking underneath obstacles. It can be difficult for taller participants to fit on the screen but I did have a few goes at this game and it was surprisingly good exercise in addition to the challenge of collecting all of the stars!
All games have a choice of learning levels so that you can ensure the right level of learning for your little one. This includes two different preschool levels. Once familiar with the different games and their teachings you can choose different levels depending on skill level – it isn’t set across the entirety of the game. As with the other Leapfrog products we have used the games designed with education in mind but are really well balanced with the playful aspects to keep children engaged.
I was unnecessarily daunted on receiving the box and called for local IT support (my husband) to come and set it up for us. But all it needs is HDMI and USB2.0 cables plugging directly into your TV and away you go! The camera has a clip which allows it to sit on top of your TV and an easy zoom dial on the side helps you to focus it to get the correct distance. I have seen images showing it underneath a TV but have yet to try that set up.
You do need a good amount of floor space for the game as the player needs to stand within a guide semi-circle shown on the tv with their whole body visible. The device is really precise and requires to be able to see feet within the semi-circle which caught us out when I tried to play a game on my knees! As the menus are controlled by your arms it’s also important that the alignment is correct so that hands are recognised at the right height. Make sure that there is no one else in the cameras view.
One frustration we had was that at times the camera wasn’t picking us up as far to the side as the game was playing on screen, meaning that objects we needed to ‘touch’ or ‘catch’ were out of reach and we lost points. At other times it didn’t register her jumps or actions which she soon felt frustrated by. The menus can also be tricky, even for adults, as they are controlled by your hands, and on some menus are close together making the hand movements to control them quite precise.
We really enjoyed exploring the offerings of LeapMove and even Grandma joined in. If you’re looking for something a little different to the usual options it would make a wonderful gift for your 4-7 year old this Christmas, especially for those who enjoy physical play. Be prepared to have this immediately set up and the floor cleared as it won’t stay in the box for long!
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £59.99
Pick yours up at your nearest Smyth’s Toys Superstores or order online at www.smythstoys.com/uk.