from it...the classic games, the exciting newness of the home console, the sore palms

from that rigid controller. I even remember all the educational games...especially the

Sesame Street titles. It was a win-in. I loved learning, I loved puppets.

Yeah, it is. And I'll be honest, my first inclination was to laugh at this game. It's,

like, an hour long, it's about this underwater farm or something. Listen, my office is underwater.

And I gotta tell you...there are no aquatic chickens or mermaid children under the sea.

There's total darkness, fatal levels of water pressure and horrors unimaginable.

There are mermaids, but...they don't exactly help with your vocabulary.

But before I could laugh, I thought about Sesame Street. Sesame Street ABC, to be exact.

I thought about Big Bird's ferris wheel of spelling and Ernie's bath tub. I thought

about how...they're short, there's almost nothing to them. And I realized that, if I

were introduced to them today, my first inclination...would be to laugh.

I don't want to laugh at Sesame Street ABC. And for some kid, this...whatever it is...is

probably their Sesame Street ABC. Yeah, it's short and weird and it's nowhere near as

cool as puppets...but it's not my place to crap on the Bubble Guppies.

For a five-year-old preschooler, this is a sweet little DS game.

Obviously, I've spent a lot of time reminiscing and making comparisons, and that's because...there's

really not much to say about the game itself. This is a very simple educational game for

preschoolers, based on the popular Nickelodeon series. It's a collection of more than 20

little problems and minigames, all with an emphasis on preschool learning—shapes, color,

vocabulary, agricultural development.

The game is arranged into a linear story, so there's a sense of progression. As you

complete minigames, you earn traffic cones that allow you to guide a little bus to the

next location. The minigames all use the touch screen in some capacity, which is an awesome

way to introduce and acclimate kids to the technology of touch.

No chuckling. I said there'd be no laughing. Knock it off.

This is definitely a fun, safe and smart game for little kids, but I do wonder about the

price and format. I mean, this is a $30 Nintendo DS game that requires a stylus. You can find

awesome educational games on the App Store for literally a fraction of the price...and

without the need for a stylus.

But if your kid is as enthralled by the Bubble Guppies as I was by Oscar The Grouch, well...this

is a game they'll remember for a long time.