Growing up in the 80’s, one of my absolute favorite cartoons was The Magic School Bus. I was entertained by the ridiculous animations, wacky writing and catchy tunes while actually learning things that I would probably tune out in school. I have not watched that show in many years, but it has continued to educate and entertain in book and cartoon form, with games soon being added to that list courtesy of The Magic School Bus: Oceans on the Nintendo DS.
The game will consist of seven levels, each one featuring a new School Bus transformation and new areas to explore. Each section, once unlocked, will give players a chance to interact with various sea creatures and environments. This is a learning platform, so expect quizzes from Ms. Frizzle based on both the main adventure and mini-games. Overall there will be about 200 ocean interactions with roughly 100 facts and sea creatures each.
I may not buy a copy The Magic School Bus: Oceans immediately when it comes out this Fall, but considering how much I enjoyed the cartoon as a child I hope the game receives a warm welcome from younger audiences and their parents. Who knows, maybe this will be an excellently developed title and even we older audiences will want to own it. There is no harm in being optimistic.