Disney/Pixar's Monsters Inc. Scare Island

It might not be OK to jump out from behind bushes to scare kids in real life, but in Monsters, Inc. Scare Island, players won't get very far without freaking out plenty of virtual kids. Playing as either the diminutive Mike or the gigantic Sulley, the goal is pretty simple: to maneuver through training grounds on Scare Island, avoid menaces like toys and alarm clocks, grab food, and scare as many little ones as you can in the time allotted. Robotic children called Nerves are designed by the monsters to test players' abilities and separate the elite Scarers from the "wannabes."

The controls are very simple to learn and use--tapping the arrow keys and a few letters will have the onscreen monsters bouncing, yelling, and shaking their scary-makers. That said, we recommend using a gamepad rather than your PC's keyboard for better overall control. The 3-D animation features some cool backgrounds, including desert, mountain, jungle, and city scenes, but the characters are a little blocky; this doesn't affect gameplay at all, but those used to the slick Pixar look might be mildly disappointed.

Gameplay is fast and funny--most folks will find themselves mastering the scare techniques in short order and blasting through the 16 zones. While exciting and oftentimes humorous, these hijincks provide little educational value and can even be a bit frightening for children on the younger end of the recommended age range. The characterizations, sounds, and bonus film clips do make the software a great addition for fans of the movie, but the game itself probably won't keep most players' attention for very long. (Ages 8 to 11) --Rob Lightner...(click for less)

It might not be OK to jump out from behind bushes to scare kids in real life, but in Monsters, Inc. Scare Island, players won't get very far without freaking out plenty of virtual kids. Playing as either the diminutive Mike or the gigantic Sulley, the goal is pretty simple: to maneu...(click for more.)