Simon CrispNovember 21, 2014Review: LeapFrog LeapTV educational games console

Gizmag takes the LeapFrog LeapTV games console for a spin (Photo: Simon Crisp/Gizmag.com)

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When should you introduce your child to a TV games console? I planned on waiting until my son was four to begin his console education. We'd start with old Atari titles from my childhood, before slowly working through classics from the likes of Sega and Nintendo and bringing him up-to-date. But that all went out of the window when we were sent the LeapFrog LeapTV games console to review.

For the uninitiated, the LeapTV is a new games console which has been designed for children who are too young for a traditional games console. It's been described as a bit Wii and bit Xbox Kinect, because it includes a motion controller and a camera which puts children into the games and gets them moving.

But for parents eyeing up the LeapTV as a potential Christmas present, its the educational aspect of the console which is probably key in their decision-making. That's because every game on the console has been both educator-approved, and includes elements to help young gamers learn about subjects including Maths, English and Science while playing.

What's in the box, and is setup child's play?

The LeapTV passed its first test with flying colors. We were able to get it up-and-running in under 10 minutes, and that included pausing approximately every seven and a half seconds to answer the recurring "is it ready yet?" question from an anxious-to-play three-year-old. He went quiet once given the quirky shape-changing controller to play with, even though it hadn't yet got its two AA batteries in.

The simple setup involved connecting the console to the TV via HDMI, attaching the LeapTV camera and popping it by the TV, and then plugging in the power. A very simple menu then walks you through the process, including pairing the bundled controller, connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and setting up profiles for your little ones, including info like their date of birth so games can be set at the right level of difficulty.

The only delay comes if you don't already have a LeapFrog account and need to go and register one on another device. While you could skip this process, it would mean missing out on the bonus free Pet Play World game. This would be a shame as it introduces gamers to the three ways to play on the Leap TV: Body Motion, Classic Controller and Pointer Play.

In Body Motion games, kids' actions are incorporated into the game via the camera which is optimized for them. If you want to join in, all but the most vertically-challenged adults will probably need to be playing on their knees. Classic Controller games involve using the controller buttons in a more traditional manner while in its boomerang shape, and for Pointer Play you press a button to click it straight and then wave it around like a Nintendo Wiimote.

The main interface is a simple carousel of the games you've either got installed on the 16 GB internal memory, or inserted. A nice touch for younger gamers who aren't yet reading is that menu options are also spoken, and they'll also get told what sort of gameplay a selected title uses, and whether they need to transform the controller. A handy "?" button can also be pressed for more information, while a parental section lets you manage user profiles, and all the menus look clean and sharp, showing off the HD 720p graphics.

The serious business of playing

After being told that he needed to use the controller to select which game he wanted to play, my son Emmett instinctively jabbed the chunk of white plastic into the TV screen. Ouch! I guess he's used to prodding at which of his favorite apps he wants to play with on the iPad. Anyway, after a little lesson in how to use the analogue thumbstick and buttons to make selections, he was soon able to navigate his way around.

The first game Emmett was itching to play was LeapFrog Kart Racing: Supercharged! After selecting his racer of choice (Mr. Pencil) and track in a very Mario Kart manner, he then had to answer six basic math questions to "tune up" his kart. After getting most of the questions right, he was soon bouncing his way around the track using motion controls. Within a few tries, with the math questions getting more age-appropriate, he'd got the hang of steering and was having fun.

Next up was Pet Play World, where you get to look after and play with multiple pets of your choice (dragons and monkeys are on offer along with cats and dogs). Here, a number of mini-games show off the various ways to play LeapTV. In Salon gamers have to jump around on-camera to turn off flashing lights and wash their pet, and Sprint sees users answer questions before playing a basic platform-style game. These games were a hit, partly I think, because of how well LeapTV responds to children's movements. If they were faster and harder to control, I'm sure we'd have encountered more frustrations.

When I finally got to play the LeapTV for myself, I was surprised at just how slow and basic everything felt, from the speed of gameplay to the quality of graphics. However, I think that's by design rather than a limitation of the hardware's 1 GHz Quad core processor and 1 GB RAM. Controls which felt sluggish and unresponsive to me, had been just right for my son. Similarly, the basic graphics were bold and clear for him to see, which I guess is the whole point. Being so optimized for little ones, this isn't a console you'll enjoy gaming on by yourself, but it can still be fun to play with them.

The selection of titles on offer will likely also hit the spot with younger gamers, and the chances are some of your child's favorite characters will be represented. There are games featuring Disney's Sofia the First, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Spiderman plus Pixar favorites including Nemo, Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc, and the gang from Toy Story amongst others. Despite the console looking like a portable CD player (remember those?) these games come on cartridges or, from December, as digital downloads.

Learning or just having fun?

As we've already made clear, the gameplay and graphics of the LeapTV are not a reason to opt for the system over another console, not by a long stretch. But the guaranteed educational aspect of the games could well be! That's because every single game on the system incorporates key elements of learning from across a broad curriculum.

The educational aspects of games also develop with your child, so whether they are three or eight years-old, they should get an appropriate challenge. In our experience this worked well, and while on some occasions the questions were too difficult for Emmett, the next time he encountered them they'd have leveled-down and become a bit easier.

But it's not just young minds that get a work-out, as many of the LeapTV games involve physical movement seen by the motion-sensing camera … and they left me exhausted just watching. Being a typically lively child, games which involved jumping around obviously were some of Emmett's favorites. Games like the LeapTV Sports and Dance titles, which teach mathematics and reading in the process, really are something you can't get on most tablets.

It's interesting to see how these learning aspects are incorporated into games, too. On some, like Kart Racing or Sprint within Pet Play World, it can feel like a chore which has to be completed to get to the traditional playing part. There was more than the odd occasion in which Emmett tried to hand over the controller saying "you can do this bit" when we reached an educational section. However, in others, like Pet Play World Salon where it's a core part of the game, it seems to work much better.

An educational professional who happened to be visiting us while we played on the LeapTV said they thought it was great to see educational games on the TV, and were impressed by the level of learning that was going on. However, they did later say that in games in which the educational parts feel less integral, you might as well be letting a child play on an appropriate game on a typical console as a reward for doing their homework.

Keeping parents happy

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While parents who buy the LeapTV will no doubt be please to see their little ones learning while having fun, the lack of parental controls could be a concern for some. Once up and running, the LeapTV is there to be played with, with any installed games or cartridges that are lying around available. It's worth noting though that while the console connects to the internet there's no browser to worry about, or any way for users to communicate with others.

I was slightly disappointed that parents are not able to set time limits for gaming sessions, allow a set amount of gaming time as a reward for completing a chore, or control settings via a smart-device. These are all features which are becoming more common on kid-focused tablets. Then again, you're most likely to be in the same room as your young children as they are playing on the LeapTV anyway.

We were not able to try out buying and installing digital downloads of games as that side of LeapTV is not yet live. It should be turned on in December when users will be able to make purchases of digital downloads (which will include games, music and videos) direct from the console itself.

Summing up

Our experience of the LeapTV was a generally positive one. I liked that my son got to enjoy playing video games, but without the worry he was going to encounter inappropriate subject matter. The educational and movement aspects of games also helped alleviate the feeling of bad-parenting that you get when seeing your three-year-old clutching a game controller.

Despite a few early frustrations when he couldn't control games as well as he'd like (he's still at the lower end of the LeapTV target three to eight-year-old demographic) Emmett also seemed to get a kick out of playing on the TV. However, whether it was a kick worth the US$150 for the LeapTV console, $30 per cartridge game, and another $30 for a second controller to allow multiplayer gaming, I'm not quite so sure.

That brings me on to the question of whether you should buy the LeapTV. If you've got a child who is too young for a traditional console, maybe three to five years old, but who is desperate to play video games on the TV, or that you want to experience video games, this is a great worry-free way to do it. They get to play on the TV, and you get to smugly know they are actually learning.

However, if your would-be gamer is that little bit older, or has already experienced video games elsewhere, the LeapTV might not cut it with them, even if you would prefer to see them playing on this over another console.

Product page: LeapTV

LeapFrog LeapTV支持体感的儿童教育游戏机

西蒙CrispNovember 21，2014Review：越级LeapTV教育游戏控制台
Gizmag采取越级LeapTV游戏机兜风（摄影：西蒙·克里斯普/ Gizmag.com）
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你应该在什么时候介绍你的孩子到电视游戏机？我计划等到我儿子四岁开始他控制台的教育。我们会首先从我童年的老雅达利游戏，从世嘉和任天堂的喜欢通过经典慢工作，使他起来到日期之前。但是，所有出去的窗口，当我们被送到越级LeapTV游戏机审查。
 
对于新手来说，在LeapTV是一个新的游戏主机已被设计为孩子谁是太年轻了传统的游戏机。它被形容为有点Wii和位的Xbox Kinect的，因为它包含了运动控制器和一个摄像头，使孩子们进入游戏，让他们感动。

但对于家长将目光投向了LeapTV作为一个潜在的圣诞礼物，这可能是他们决策的关键控制台的教育方面。这是因为在控制台上每场比赛都一直两者教育家批准，并包含元素，以帮助年轻的游戏玩家学习科目包括数学，英语和边玩科学。
是什么在框中，并设置儿戏？
 

该LeapTV通过了第一次测试出色。我们可以得到它在10分钟内上升和运行，而这包括暂停大约每七年半秒，回答经常性“是准备好了没有？”问题从焦虑到打三十岁。他安静下来，一旦给定的古怪形状变化的控制器一起玩，尽管它尚未得到了它的两节AA电池研究。

简单的设置涉及到通过HDMI连接的控制台连接到电视机，附着LeapTV相机和电视机弹出，然后插上电源。一个非常简单的菜单，然后引导您完成整个过程，包括配对捆绑控制器，连接通过Wi-Fi或以太网网络，并为您的小家伙们建立档案，包括像其出生日期信息，以便游戏可以被设置在正确的难度级别。

唯一的延迟来，如果你不已经有跨越式的帐户，需要去注册一个在其他设备上。虽然你可以跳过这一过程中，这将意味着在奖金免费宠物游戏世界的游戏错过了。这将是一种耻辱，因为它引入了玩家的三种方式的飞跃电视机上播放：身体运动，经典手柄和指针播放。

 

在车身的运动游戏，孩子们的行为是通过它为他们优化相机整合到游戏中。如果你想加入，除了最垂直的挑战成人可能需要打他们的膝盖。经典手柄游戏涉及使用控制器按钮以更传统的方式，而在它的回旋镖形状，并且指针播放按下一个按钮，直接点击它，然后挥动它周围像任天堂的Wiimote。

主界面是你要么得到了安装在16 GB内部存储器，或插入游戏的一个简单的旋转木马。一个很好的接触为年轻游戏玩家谁尚未阅读的是，菜单选项也说出了他们还会得到告诉选定的标题采用什么样的游戏，以及他们是否需要转换控制器。一个方便的“？”按键也可以了解更多信息压制，而父母的部分，您可以管理用户配置文件，以及所有的菜单看起来很干净，犀利，展露720p高清显卡。
演奏的严重的企业
 

被告知，他需要使用控制器来选择哪个游戏，他想打后，我的儿子埃米特本能地捅了白色的塑料块到电视屏幕上。哎哟!我猜他是用来捅了捅，在其中他最喜欢的应用程序，他希望与在iPad上玩。无论如何，有一点教训，在如何使用模拟摇杆和按钮进行选择后，他很快就能来浏览周围他的方式。

首盘比赛埃米特是渴望发挥得越级卡丁车赛车：增压！选择在一个非常马里奥赛车的方式他选择的赛车手（铅笔先生）和轨道之后，他便只好回答六个基本的数学问题，以“调补”他的卡丁车。得到大部分问题的权利后，他用运动控制很快反弹途中在轨道附近。在几次尝试，用数学问题越来越转向更适合年龄的，他已经得到了窍门，并获得乐趣。

接下来是宠物游乐世界，在那里你会得到照顾，并与您所选择的多种宠物玩（龙和猴子都在提供与猫，狗）。在这里，一些迷你游戏炫耀的各种方式发挥LeapTV。在沙龙玩家跳来跳去的相机，关闭闪光灯，洗自己的宠物，和Sprint认为回答网友打一个基础平台式的比赛前的问题。这些游戏被车撞了，部分原因是我想是因为LeapTV如何回应孩子的动作。如果他们速度更快，更难控制，我敢肯定，我们会都遇到过更坎坷。

 

当我终于玩LeapTV我自己，我很惊讶于有多么缓慢，基本什么都觉得，从游戏的速度，显卡的品质。但是，我认为这是由设计，而不是硬件的1 GHz的四核处理器和1 GB RAM的限制。控制哪些感觉呆滞，反应迟钝对我来说，已经挺适合我的儿子。同样，基本图形是大胆的和明确的给他看，我的猜测是整点。对于小家伙如此优化的，这不是一个控制台，您可以享受自己的游戏，但它仍然可以很有趣和他们一起玩。

所提供的标题的选择可能也创出与年轻玩家现场，和机会是你的一些孩子最喜欢的人物将代表。有游戏特色迪斯尼的小公主苏菲亚，杰克与梦幻岛海盗，蜘蛛侠以及皮克斯的最爱，包括尼莫，迈克和蒙塔从怪物公司和玩具总动员团伙在其他之中。尽管控制台看上去就像一个便携式CD播放器（记得那些？）这些游戏来吧盒或从12月，作为数字下载。
学习或只是觉得好玩？
 

正如我们已经明确表示，游戏和LeapTV的显卡是不是一个理由选择系统对另一台，而不是由一个长长的。但比赛的保证教育方面很可能是！这是因为系统中的每场比赛采用了来自全国各地的广泛课程学习的关键要素。

游戏的教育方面也制定了你的孩子，所以无论他们有三个，八年之久，他们应该得到适当的挑战。在我们的经验，这效果不错，虽然在某些情况下的问题是太困难了艾美特，下一次他遇到了他们，他们不得不夷为平地下来，并成为一个更容易一些。

但它不只是年轻人的思想是得到一个工作了，因为许多LeapTV游戏涉及看到的动作感应摄像头的物理运动......他们给我留下疲惫只是看着。作为一个典型的活泼的孩子，游戏其中涉及跳来跳去，显然是某些艾美特的收藏夹。像LeapTV体育舞蹈冠军，其中教授数学和阅读的过程中，真正的游戏是什么，你不能得到大多数平板电脑。

 

这是有趣的，看看这些学习方面纳入比赛了。在一些像卡丁车赛车或冲刺中的宠物游乐世界，它可以觉得自己像一个苦差事有完成去传统的演奏部分。有一个以上的奇数场合中，埃米特试图交出控制器说：“你可以做到这一点”当我们到达一个教育部分。然而，在其他国家，像宠物游乐世界沙龙，这是游戏的核心部分，它似乎运行得更好。

谁碰巧访问我们，而我们打的LeapTV教育专业人士说，他们认为这是伟大的，看到电视上的教育游戏，并通过学习水平是怎么回事留下了深刻印象。然而，他们并后来说，在游戏中的教育部分感觉不那么积分，你还不如让一个典型的控制台作为奖励写作业在适当的游戏孩子玩。
保持父母高兴
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当父母谁买LeapTV无疑将请看看他们的小孩子一边玩一边学习，缺乏家长控制的可能是一些关注。一旦运行起来，在LeapTV有与播放，包括所有已安装游戏或墨盒都躺在附近可用。值得一提的，虽然，虽然控制台连接到互联网没有浏览器而烦恼，或任何方式为用户与他人沟通。

我有点失望的是，父母不能设置为游戏会话时间限制，允许游戏时间固定金额作为奖励，通过一个智能设备完成一件苦差事，或控制设置。这些是对孩子为本片剂变得越来越普遍的所有特征。话又说回来，你最有可能是在为他们在玩的LeapTV反正同一个房间里的孩子。

我们没能尝试购买和安装数字下载的游戏，LeapTV的那面还没有住。应打开了在12月，当用户将能够进行购买数字下载（其中包括游戏，音乐和视频）直接从控制台本身。
加起来
 

我们的LeapTV的经验是一个普遍积极的。我很喜欢我的儿子一定要喜欢玩电子游戏，但不担心他会遇到不合适的主题。游戏的教育和运动方面也有助于缓解不良养育你看到你的三十岁抓着一个游戏控制器时，你得到的感觉。

尽管在他无法控制的游戏，以及他想（他仍然在LeapTV下端瞄准三至八十岁的人口）一些早期的挫折艾美特似乎也得到一个踢出来的打电视。然而，无论是踢的价值US $ 150的LeapTV控制台，$ 30元墨盒的比赛，和30第二个控制器，允许多人游戏的另一个$，我不是十分确定。

这使我到你是否应该买LeapTV的问题。如果你有一个孩子谁是太年轻了传统的控制台，也许三五年了，但谁是不顾一切地玩视频游戏在电视上，或者你想体验视频游戏，这是一个伟大的worry-免费的方式来做到这一点。他们得到的电视机上播放，并且您得到得意地知道他们实际上是学习。

不过，如果你想成为游戏玩家是有点年纪大了，或者已经经历了视频游戏的其他方面，LeapTV可能无法与他们削减它，即使你愿意看到他们玩这个了另一个控制台。

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