reviews

Games (suitable for PC or Mac)

Deadly chocolate
Max on the Moon
Great Games Compendium 2
Music: Split Level Live!
Books: The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde

Deadly Chocolate (Tivola Super Sleuth Series, £19.99)

Tivola specialise in "edutainment" - fun games that are educational as well - and this is a detective caper aimed at those aged eight and upwards. TKKG (Tiger, Kevin, Katy and Grunter) are the young teen supersleuths who you direct to solve a mystery - in this case the blackmailing of Sourby, the chocolate magnate and Grunter's Dad.

It's essentially a point and click game where you choose which character to be, and go to various locations asking questions of suspects and witnesses, until you can solve the crime. It's quite fun and is aimed at helping youngsters analyse and weigh up evidence, thinking things through as they go. If you're after flash animation and whizzy effects, forget it, but if you enjoy a good tale and a bit of detective work, this will keep you interested.

Just a couple of criticisms: it is quite easy to get stuck and under 12s might lose patience with it (although there is a help file to rescue you if you get completely stuck), and because Tivola is a German-based company, the synchronisation of the characters' mouths with the English they speak is at times way out. Still, you linguists can also play the game in German!

Rating: Good
CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY

Max on the Moon (Tivola, £19.99)

The chirpy young cat (or is he a dog?) Max heads into outer space for the latest in his point and click adventures for 3-7 year-olds. Here he's on an intergalactic search for moon chickens to help out his astronaut friend Mona.

Laid out in such a way as to encourage reading, the storyline is simple but the graphics and animation are charming, with plenty in each scene for young mouse-movers to explore. Based on the picture book format, it also offers the opportunity to play the game in French, German or Spanish, as well as English. Some nifty games, including Make Your Own Music, and The Alien Gallery, are plenty of fun.

Happily unsophisticated, it will have your child returning again and again. And they've thought of that too - each time you play, the moon chickens have been hidden in different places!

Rating: Excellent - CFN recommended
CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY

The Great Games Compendium 2 (Tivola, £9.99)

Here's a cheap and cheerful collection of five games for all the family, which can be played solo or with two players. Designed for simplicity and playability, the five games included only involve mouse movement and clicks, plus a little subtle strategy.

Peck the Woodlouse involves a quick hand as you click on the insects scurrying through the bark of a tree, Move the Muddle is a sliding squares picture game, and Shooting Stars involves catching falling stars in a bucket. Feeding Frogs needs timing and swift reactions, as you help your frog jump to swallow flies but avoid being eaten by the stork, and Get The Girl involves a race up a lighthouse to rescue Rapunzel, by climbing her tresses - with a few surprises in store.

Undemanding, and more fun for younger children.

Rating: Good
CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY

The Christian Family Network review team
Back to top

MUSIC

Energetic rock

Live! Split Level, ICC Records, CD £14.99

THREE-piece rock outfit Split Level have long been known as one of the hardest working bands on the circuit, and their popularity extends beyond these shores. In particular, they’ve built up a substantial following in Germany, recording this live set at the “Christmas Rock Night” in Ennepetal.

Hard on the heels of the instrumental intro comes the energetic Twister and singalong favourite Julia before they take a much-needed pause for air. Rock ballad If I Should Leave takes the pace down a few notches, but then it’s full speed ahead again for their cover of The Undertones’ Got My Number.

After the moodier Healed and Window Shopping comes another cover, a gritty rendition of Maria McKee’s I Found Love, which is definitely one of the highlights of the set. And on they go, powering through Miracle, Everything and Shrinking Brain to storming finale Holy Fire.

A minute of enthusiastic chanting afterwards gives ample indication of the warmth of the audience’s response on the night. On the CD however, it’s still far from over – studio cuts of Window Shopping and power ballad Every Breath (a worship track in many respects) are an extra bonus, and more than suitable as an encore.

Peter Dilley is a part-time studio technician and bass guitarist
Back to top

BOOKS

Reaching for the good

The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, by Joseph Pearce.HarperCollins £17.99

OSCAR Wilde and G K Chesterton have at least two things in common. Both have been written about by Joseph Pearce, and both have been particular favourites, not only of mine, but also of one of my sons since he was quite young. Not over confident at school, he loved the one-liners attributed to both men, and learned several, to be delivered at key points in English lessons. His teacher might make a negative comment about monotony, for instance.

“Yes,” David would languidly comment, secretly elated that after weeks of waiting his moment has come, “but don’t you think if you stretched monotony far enough it would break with a sound like a song?”

“Well, at least you’ve got a conscience,” says his unsuspecting pedagogue on another occasion.

“Ah, conscience may be nothing but misnamed cowardice,” admonishes my offspring, wagging a wise finger.

I think my own fascination with these writers (I shall find Pearce’s book on Chesterton and devour it) is something to do with sensing that there is a deep desire to be good and loveable beneath the public displays of personal style and crackling paradox.

Of course, this is much more clearly evident in the case of Chesterton, but I particularly enjoyed this book because it – rightly in my view – emphasises the conventional morality at the heart of Wilde’s art, even in such pieces as Salome and The Picture of Dorian Gray, both vilified as obscene and decadent in his lifetime.

The soul of Oscar Wilde, continually reaching for and retreating from the Catholic church, is to be found in its purest form in his prose, his poetry and his plays, rather than in those things which ambushed the pursuit of his deepest instincts.

Joseph Pearce writes very entertainingly and with great lucidity. In the early chapters I felt that he was unnecessarily anxious to link title to content, but that is a detail. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Adrian Plass is a best-selling author
Back to top

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		Games (suitable for PC or Mac) Deadly chocolate Max on the Moon Great Games Compendium 2 Music: Split Level Live! Books: The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde Deadly Chocolate (Tivola Super Sleuth Series, £19.99) Tivola specialise in "edutainment" - fun games that are educational as well - and this is a detective caper aimed at those aged eight and upwards. TKKG (Tiger, Kevin, Katy and Grunter) are the young teen supersleuths who you direct to solve a mystery - in this case the blackmailing of Sourby, the chocolate magnate and Grunter's Dad. It's essentially a point and click game where you choose which character to be, and go to various locations asking questions of suspects and witnesses, until you can solve the crime. It's quite fun and is aimed at helping youngsters analyse and weigh up evidence, thinking things through as they go. If you're after flash animation and whizzy effects, forget it, but if you enjoy a good tale and a bit of detective work, this will keep you interested. Just a couple of criticisms: it is quite easy to get stuck and under 12s might lose patience with it (although there is a help file to rescue you if you get completely stuck), and because Tivola is a German-based company, the synchronisation of the characters' mouths with the English they speak is at times way out. Still, you linguists can also play the game in German! Rating: Good CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY Back to top Max on the Moon (Tivola, £19.99) The chirpy young cat (or is he a dog?) Max heads into outer space for the latest in his point and click adventures for 3-7 year-olds. Here he's on an intergalactic search for moon chickens to help out his astronaut friend Mona. Laid out in such a way as to encourage reading, the storyline is simple but the graphics and animation are charming, with plenty in each scene for young mouse-movers to explore. Based on the picture book format, it also offers the opportunity to play the game in French, German or Spanish, as well as English. Some nifty games, including Make Your Own Music, and The Alien Gallery, are plenty of fun. Happily unsophisticated, it will have your child returning again and again. And they've thought of that too - each time you play, the moon chickens have been hidden in different places! Rating: Excellent - CFN recommended CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY Back to top The Great Games Compendium 2 (Tivola, £9.99) Here's a cheap and cheerful collection of five games for all the family, which can be played solo or with two players. Designed for simplicity and playability, the five games included only involve mouse movement and clicks, plus a little subtle strategy. Peck the Woodlouse involves a quick hand as you click on the insects scurrying through the bark of a tree, Move the Muddle is a sliding squares picture game, and Shooting Stars involves catching falling stars in a bucket. Feeding Frogs needs timing and swift reactions, as you help your frog jump to swallow flies but avoid being eaten by the stork, and Get The Girl involves a race up a lighthouse to rescue Rapunzel, by climbing her tresses - with a few surprises in store. Undemanding, and more fun for younger children. Rating: Good CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY The Christian Family Network review team Back to top MUSIC Energetic rock Live! Split Level, ICC Records, CD £14.99 THREE-piece rock outfit Split Level have long been known as one of the hardest working bands on the circuit, and their popularity extends beyond these shores. In particular, they’ve built up a substantial following in Germany, recording this live set at the “Christmas Rock Night” in Ennepetal. Hard on the heels of the instrumental intro comes the energetic Twister and singalong favourite Julia before they take a much-needed pause for air. Rock ballad If I Should Leave takes the pace down a few notches, but then it’s full speed ahead again for their cover of The Undertones’ Got My Number. After the moodier Healed and Window Shopping comes another cover, a gritty rendition of Maria McKee’s I Found Love, which is definitely one of the highlights of the set. And on they go, powering through Miracle, Everything and Shrinking Brain to storming finale Holy Fire. A minute of enthusiastic chanting afterwards gives ample indication of the warmth of the audience’s response on the night. On the CD however, it’s still far from over – studio cuts of Window Shopping and power ballad Every Breath (a worship track in many respects) are an extra bonus, and more than suitable as an encore. Peter Dilley is a part-time studio technician and bass guitarist Back to top BOOKS Reaching for the good The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, by Joseph Pearce.HarperCollins £17.99 OSCAR Wilde and G K Chesterton have at least two things in common. Both have been written about by Joseph Pearce, and both have been particular favourites, not only of mine, but also of one of my sons since he was quite young. Not over confident at school, he loved the one-liners attributed to both men, and learned several, to be delivered at key points in English lessons. His teacher might make a negative comment about monotony, for instance. “Yes,” David would languidly comment, secretly elated that after weeks of waiting his moment has come, “but don’t you think if you stretched monotony far enough it would break with a sound like a song?” “Well, at least you’ve got a conscience,” says his unsuspecting pedagogue on another occasion. “Ah, conscience may be nothing but misnamed cowardice,” admonishes my offspring, wagging a wise finger. I think my own fascination with these writers (I shall find Pearce’s book on Chesterton and devour it) is something to do with sensing that there is a deep desire to be good and loveable beneath the public displays of personal style and crackling paradox. Of course, this is much more clearly evident in the case of Chesterton, but I particularly enjoyed this book because it – rightly in my view – emphasises the conventional morality at the heart of Wilde’s art, even in such pieces as Salome and The Picture of Dorian Gray, both vilified as obscene and decadent in his lifetime. The soul of Oscar Wilde, continually reaching for and retreating from the Catholic church, is to be found in its purest form in his prose, his poetry and his plays, rather than in those things which ambushed the pursuit of his deepest instincts. Joseph Pearce writes very entertainingly and with great lucidity. In the early chapters I felt that he was unnecessarily anxious to link title to content, but that is a detail. I enjoyed this book immensely. Adrian Plass is a best-selling author Back to top © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.