Review : Welcome To Monster Isle in 3D for iPad
Mobad Games has produced a few iPad storybook apps for kids that are pretty darn good. My kids frequently read and interact with them, even after they know the stories almost by heart. The latest app, Welcome to Monster Isle, isn’t their best offering, but it’s pretty decent nonetheless.
The adventure starts on a short boat tour that goes awry. The tourists land stranded on an island that just so happens to be the home to, well, monsters. The monsters themselves aren’t particularly scary and the story tries to weave in plenty of comedy and fun, which plays out a little odd at times, but makes for an interesting app and read for kids.
There are plenty of things to find within the app on almost every page, hidden map pieces, and a sort of 3D element to the pages that makes use of the accelerometer. There are not a ton of actual interactive pieces within the app, however kids can tap on characters for additional sounds and movements, which is enough to satisfy curious hands on the glass screen. I love that the text is perfectly crisp and clean, and can either be displayed or hidden while being read to or after reading it. It also highlights as it’s being read if one has chosen the “read to me” feature, and any word can be tapped to be heard again as well. To top it off, the narration is well done and works well with the story at hand.
Graphically “Welcome To Monster Isle” is pretty well crafted. The graphics don’t try to do too much and are done in a child-friendly way, and honestly, my kids really enjoyed the monsters more than anything. It’s a different style of story than most apps out there, it’s a combination of different styles and story types (scary and funny in this case), into a single tale.
Overall, Welcome To Monster Isle is a nicely created app that kept my kids entertained. It’s not the most impressive story, or even the most interactive storybook for the iPad, but my kids (ages 5 & 7) liked it and in the end that’s what counts. It may be a bit overpriced at $4.99, but this seems to be the going rate for these apps right now, so perhaps I’m the one who is off with that idea.