Let's face it. Too many Amiga programs for kids are completely lacking in quality. KidSTOP is not. In fact, it's oozing with quality.

Right from the moment you start it you know that great effort has been put into the presentation of this title.

An intro animation brings you to the main KidSTOP menu screen. Kids will find this menu fun and easy to use - just click on a place on the animated screen and you'll be taken to one of the twelve different games/activities.

To get access to all twelve activities you'll have to register, but even the seven activities in the demo version will keep your child well entertained.

Unusually though, I could not find all 7 activities - from the main screen you can access 8 activities, four of which are not available in the demo version. The features section in the manual mentions no more than these eight activities although the register screen (and the register section in the manual) specifically says that the demo editon has 5 of 12 activities disabled. Very strange!

Anyway... on with the review...

As the author puts it "KidSTOP is an educational and entertainment system for kids" and entertaining it truly is - you'll have to pry your children away from the computer once they have tried the TravelToons activity. Unfortunately, I can't honestly say that it is of much educational value.

The MatchIt game progresses really well from easy to difficult and even succeeded to teach me a little about animals but no other activity seemed to be of much educational value.

ABC-123 is supposed to teach the alphabet, numbers and simple shapes but all it does is place either a letter, number or shape up on screen each time the user clicks the mouse/presses a key etc. I'm afraid that, without someone sitting beside them pointing out what each item is, no child is really likely to learn anything from this particular activity.

However, all the other activities are very entertaining and will almost certainly keep the kids away from the TV for a few hours (and away from their homework too for that matter!).

The animation, graphics and use of sounds in the package are fantastic (and very amusing) but the origins of the package betray it a little.

Originally, the package was designed as a touch screen entertainment system for kids to be used in hospitals, dentists etc. However, as a result, it has become a little restricted - for example there is no way of saving any pictures your child has coloured in and younger children may not be able to actually quit out of the program - this can only be done by a key combination.

Conclusion

This software will keep your children happy and occupied for many days and I would love to see it being developed further with inclusion of a greater range of options. If it is going to be developed further, I would definately consider the modest registration fee of $15 (via E-Mail).

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