Fantastic 3D graphics and popular Veggie Tales characters are not the only thing going for this adventure-style program. VeggieTales: Mystery of Veggie Island features scavenger hunts, a rich storyline, and plenty of mini-games to hold children's interest. Subtitled "A Lesson in Helping Others", this CD-ROM attempts to instill positive values in young players, in keeping with the Veggie Tales direct-to-video series.

The Veggie kids are going on a Cub Sprout camping trip to Veggie Island. Popular characters Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato lead the trip. While the initial goal is to earn three Cub Sprout merit badges, once players get their badges, much more adventure is in store for them.

Kids lead Junior Asparagus around the campgrounds — to the beach and the waterfall at the beginning of the game. Kids earn their three merit badges by playing mini-games. For example, an aiming badge is acquired after successfully helping squirrels get acorns into their nests. Children must predict the paths of the squirrels and use their slingshot to shoot acorns to the animals. An especially worthwhile activity that requires strategic thinking skills is found at the waterfall. Players need to "chase" frogs onto a lily pad, but they must use their heads in order to move the frogs in the right direction. This clever style of game is repeated later with bunnies in the garden.

Only once players earn all three merit badges comes the realization that the Veggies are stuck on the island (their canoe has drifted away). Of course, children will want to help out by finding another way off the island. A boat at the beach is a logical answer, but the Veggies wouldn't just take the boat without first finding its owner and getting permission! Even though the boat's owner, Mr. Nezzer, is not so willing to help them out, the Veggies end up helping him out of a jam.

This program is brimming with mini-games and objects to collect. Many times children will have to "unlock" new areas of the game only after completing other tasks. For example, they cannot get onto the Pirate Ship without a rope. The rope, in turn, is locked in a shed, and players will need to earn the key to the shed by completing a mini-game. Finding all of the pieces of a treasure map is another story-within-the-story. Plenty of puzzles, hunting, and games are required in order to reconstruct the treasure map. Along the way, children collect musical notes—these unlock a total of ten Silly Campfire Songs With Larry. Plenty of fun hotspots, silly humor, and little surprises (such as video clips from the VeggieTales show playing on an old television in the house) add entertainment to the CD-ROM.

Young fans of the show will have a great time with this adventure. On one hand, replay value is questionable because the gameplay doesn't differ much in subsequent games. However, the content is fun and quite satisfying for children ages 4-7, and many kids will nevertheless enjoy repeating the game. The Christian-themed lessons offered in this program are relatively subtle. We were impressed with the game's rich story line, problem-solving challenges, strong graphics, and very enjoyable puzzles and mini-games.

Technically Speaking
This is a Windows-only CD-ROM. Minimum requirements are Windows 95/98/Me/XP, Pentium II 300 MHz or faster, 64 MB RAM, 4 MB Video RAM, 8X CD-ROM, DirectX-compatible sound and video cards, and 60 MB hard drive space.

Skills Covered
Problem-solving, strategy, eye-hand coordination, social lessons.

Educational Value
Although largely an entertaining program, this CD-ROM does offer some opportunities to exercise strategic thinking and spatial relations skills.

Entertainment Value
This is a humorous, musical, and visually intriguing program. Fans of the show will enjoy leading their favorite characters through colorful 3D screens.

Design
Intuitive to navigate, this program is appropriate for independent play. Children may get stuck at times and need help with problem-solving issues, but the design of the program is logical enough to understand. Parental controls offer a "Virtual Egg Timer". With this timer, parents have the option of regulating time spent playing the game at any one sitting by setting the timer to the desired length of play time.

Replayability
While we are pleased with the overall length of the game for young players, repeating the game once successfully completed doesn't offer much variety.

Dollar Value
Suggested retail price is $20 US.