GameZaper: Android Game Review: AppleQuest

A new day, a new review and today a special one: today I’ll be reviewing “AppleQuest” by developer Pandaknows LLC. AppleQuest has specifically been designed to teach kids to recognize shapes and teach them math. Very interesting and I’ll try and see this Brain & Puzzle game from the perspective of an adult, as well as from the perspective of my inner child.

Graphics: Those are some special apples

AppleQuest’s graphics consist of an apple tree and falling apples. Currently there are four different types of trees available, that help kids learn about: figures & colors; add; subtract; and add & subtract. The developer has announced that different exercises will be added. The background graphics are the same: a blue sky, a green field and an apple tree. The apple tree seems to be magic, since (depending on the type of tree) apples with drawn on figures or numbers fall out of the tree. The apples can be red or green. The figures on the apples can a large number of colors (from brown to turquoise), the numbers on the apples reach from 0 to about 17. The numbers are scribbled on the apples in white, especially the numbers on the green apples can be hard to read. In the more advanced levels, the apples can change color from red to green to yellow.

The graphics of this game for Android are nice and fit the game. The graphics are fun and entertaining, without distracting from the main purpose of the game: learning math. However, cute graphics alone don’t get a high score, in order for the full points the graphics need to be more varied, as well as detailed. Furthermore, I have to subtract one point for the in-between ‘screen of (almost) death’, that is shown right before a level starts.

Graphics: 2/5

Sounds: High-pitched sounds

AppleQuest comes without background music, but with numerous background sounds: a popping sound when the level starts; a high-pitched beep when you don’t catch an apple in your bucket you should have caught; a bumping sound when an apple bounces off your bucked, because its figure/number is not one you need to catch; and an incredible high-pitched swoosh when you slide an apple in your bucket. I think that children will find it entertaining. Me, not so much. However, I do think that the sounds are appropriate for the game. As a consequence, the child will have to practice math alone, because I think that every parent/teacher/babysitter will go insane after a few minutes of these high-pitched sounds. I also think that four types of background sounds throughout the entire game can get boring, perhaps the developer can throw in some more sounds for the different types of trees.

Sounds: 2/5

Controls: All the apples go in the bucket

The controls of AppleQuest work very well. You touch the bucket and can slide it across the screen so that apples can fall into the bucket. It’s also possible to touch and slide apples down into the bucket (or onto the ground, if they shouldn’t be caught). The good thing is that the bucket doesn’t need to be right under the apples, for them to fall into it. A great feature, because it can take some magic moves to have the right apples fall into the bucket. It’s key to keep the bucket moving and to catch the right apples, because apples bouncing off your bucket will cost you points.

The controls of this brain game work fine and are very responsive, although it might take some time to master the fine art of catching apples!

Controls: 5/5

Scope: More to come

Currently there are four trees available: figures & colors, adding, subtracting, and adding & subtracting (the latter one all in one tree). More trees are already announced in the menu, albeit still locked. In the (near) future multiplying, dividing, fractions, zero of a function and much more (16 more trees are announced). This will significantly enlarge the scope.

Right now with the four trees, the scope is quite scattered, with the figures and colors exercise for younger children, but the adding and subtracting for older kids, who’ve already practiced calculus (8+9 is a difficult sum, especially if you’ve just started calculus). What I think is lacking is a tree for younger kids, just starting calculus that will get them acquainted with numbers and the basic principles of calculus. For example, 3 apples in a row, each with an1 on them, then by tapping on the apples the apples will add up and the final result is one apple with a 3 on it.

Looking at the graphics and the trees offered, as well as the trees under construction, I think there’s a discrepancy between the age of the children that will like the graphics and what math is offered. To me it seems as if the graphics are aimed at children that are quite young (starting calculus and math) and I think that the older ones get bored faster with the same graphics and style that make a comeback in every exercise.

Scope: 2/5

Atmosphere: Repetitive

Every level it’s the same tree, with the same apples. Each tree should take about five minutes to complete, there are different stages in-level and you fly up the tree the more you progress in-level. However, I do think that children (and their short attention spans) might find that those five minutes take a long time. I know I did. I think that as a math game it is a success in the sense that it can teach children as they play. However, for kids the atmosphere is very important and the fact that the whole game consists of the same graphics and the same sounds will be a turn off.

Atmosphere: 2/5

Fun Factor: Learn all there is to math

AppleQuest is a game for kids with a mission: teach kids all there is to math. An admirable mission and the developer has tried and made it into a fun quest. The graphics are cute, but come back every level and the levels take quite long to finish. The sounds are fun and appealing to children, but will drive everyone else in the room insane. I don’t find the game all that appealing, but children might. Any excuse to play a game is as a good excuse, right? At least this one teaches them something useful along the way and making math fun is very good business!

Fun Factor: 3/5

Conclusion:

Kids like to play games and AppleQuest is a game that will teach them shapes, colors, and math. Looking at it from an adult point of view I see a game that is very repetitive, but kids like repetition, so that could be very good. I do think that some of the trees that will be added contain math exercises that are aimed at older children, than the graphics are for. However, this is a nice game that allows children to practice and play with math and I’m all for making math fun. There are two versions available of AppleQuest Free and Full. The full version costs 75 Euro cents. You can download it for a child and scrub up on your own math skills, while you’re at it!