Producer: Mirrorsoft
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £7.95
Age Range: 3 to 9 years (pre-readers with an adult)

Caesar's Travels is, according to Mirrorsoft's publicity handout, 'a unique combination of animated story program and complete 64 page illustrated storybook. It's the first of a new generation of story corner bedtime story resources that is equally useful in the classroom or at home'.

The format of the book might best be described as being a cross between a traditional story and an adventure program. After each section of narrative, the child is faced with various options, for instance after Caesar the cat is thrown out into the yard by his owner, an unfriendly-looking dog appears. The question is posed: 'What will you do now Caesar? jump over the wall.... go to page 2. Climb the fence.. go to page 3.' The child can, therefore, follow many of the story routes leading to one of 18 endings, and each of these 38 different routes is a complete story in itself.

The computer game is a condensed version of the book, and features quite excellent animation of the chosen route, together with some very realistic sound effects. Many teachers and parents today fear that the growing fascination for computer games will drive children away from the pleasures of reading, but this package is an excellent example of how the two activities can be related. Indeed, if used correctly, the computer may do much to positively encourage reading.

The game itself is very simple for a young child to play. A key card is supplied which, when placed above keys 1 to 6 at the top of the Spectrum keyboard, shows the choices available - if the player wants Caesar to RUN, he presses the number key below the word on the key card. The pre-reading children who tried out the game for me had no trouble at all in learning to recognise the words on the card, and thoroughly enjoyed the program.

The book and the game are extremely useful for encouraging young children to make decisions, either on their own, or after discussion with others, and are great fun to use.

COMMENTS

Control keys: key card supplied so that the input of commands such as RUN, WALK, JUMP etc is executed by the use of a number key. ENTER to go back or answer key for puzzles. SPACE to continue, move arrows or start a new game.
Keyboard play: fast
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: young children will love the animated cat

Publisher: Mirrorsoft
Memory: 48K
Price: £7.95

Caesar, the cheeky Daily Mirror cartoon cat, has appeared once before in a mouse-catching arcade game. Now he is the star of Caesar's Travels, described by the publishers as an animated story program and intended to attract the three to nine age group.

The hand-outs with the program make great play of the educational benefits of the game and so it seems fair to look at it as an aid to learning.

The game is basically an option adventure with the animated figure of Caesar walking through various scenes looking for a new home - he has been kicked out by his disgruntled owner Mr McGregor for smashing too much crockery in his pursuit of mice.

Each location is a full screen picture with text written above. There are six main options but no more than two appear on each screen. You may decide, for instance, to jump over a wall or hide in a dustbin.

There are 38 routes through the game and 18 different endings, all happy and non-violent - a point in the game's favour.

The graphics are bright and cheerful, very similar to the style of the earlier arcade game. However, Caesar flickers as he moves and the attributes tend to clash. Despite that, the cat is an appealing figure for children.

I am not sure that Caesar's Travels is successful as an educational tool as there are a number of inconsistencies which may only serve to confuse younger children.

At one point Caesar is disturbed in the night by a posse of alley cats. The player is asked to count the cats in the picture, but the other cats are depicted only as pairs of eyes glowing in the night. Even if you work out that those are the enemy cats you are not allowed to count Caesar who is the only really visible cat. Here then, you are expected to look through Caesar's eyes.

In contrast, at another decision point, you are given the option of going left or right. If you try to do this from the cat's viewpoint you will be told you are wrong.