Rugrats Adventure Game

Rugrats Adventure Game is an educational adventure game based on the Rugrats television series. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh on September 30, 1998. It was developed and published by Broderbund (at that point a subsidiary of The Learning Company). It was the first in a series of video games based on the show.

Rugrats Adventure Game
Cover art
Developer(s)Broderbund
Publisher(s)Broderbund
SeriesRugrats
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh
Release
  • US: September 30, 1998
Genre(s)Adventure, educational
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot and gameplay

The plot sees evil alien Queen Angeleeka (Angelica) kidnap the mighty Reptar (Tommy's action figure), and the main characters' goal is to rescue Reptar so he can defeat the Queen. This plot is contextualised as the imagination of the babies, and the game itself is set in Tommy's family home.

The game is a standard adventure title that plays like an interactive episode of the cartoon—even getting an in-game title of "Reptar vs. the Aliens", after the in-universe TV film the babies were watching at the beginning of the game—where the player collects items, interacts with characters, and solves puzzles to advance.[1] The game aims to teach problem-solving, strategy, critical thinking, logical reasoning, memory, and mouse and keyboard skills.[2]

Production

Rugrats Adventure Game was released with two companion CD-ROMs entitled Rugrats Movie Activity Challenge and Rugrats Print Shop on September 30, 1998, in anticipation of The Rugrats Movie.[3] The Learning Company president said, "The unprecedented strength and breadth of the Rugrats franchise offers us the opportunity to promote the Rugrats CD-Roms on a broader scale and with much greater impact than our competition."[3] Broderbund held a promotion where the purchase of any Rugrats title from November 1998 to June 1, 1999, would give consumers 20% off a second Broderbund kid's product.[4] As part of a cross-promotion, 200 copies of the game were available as second prize in a scratch-n-win sweepstakes by Simon and Schuster Children's Division, which sold Rugrats books.[5][6]

Critical reception

AllGame recommended that players sit with their kids to help them if they get stuck.[7] MacHome described it as being " extensive and richly animated", and a mix between Myst and a Huggies commercial.[8] Just Adventure felt it was a fantastic title to develop computer skills and a love of adventure games within youth.[9] Hartford Courant liked the game's "playful" graphics and music.[10] CBS News conducted a children playtest of the three Rugrats CD-ROMs and found them all to be "winners".[11] The Boston Globe praised the variety of the three CD-ROMs.[12] Boston Herald called Rugrats Adventure Game a "waste of money and time".[13] The Baltimore Sun said the game's requirement to get items in a certain order is frustrating and that it slows down the pace.[14] The Washington Post deemed it "silly" and "fun".[15] Los Angeles Daily News praised the title's educational skill-building.[16] The News-Press felt it was "dull and confusing".[17] The Los Angeles Times found the main characters' "mangling of the English language" to be grating.[18] Kiplinger's Finance felt it was "convenient" that the title was tied to the theatrical film.[19] PC Direct liked the game's mix of comedy, madcap antics, and puzzles.[20]

The game was nominated for a 1999 Interactive Achievement Award for Computer Children's Entertainment Title of the Year, ultimately losing to Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life Action Game.[21]

Rugrats Adventure Game was among the best-selling PC games of October 1998,[22] and was 9th-best-selling home education software for 1999.[23]

References
  1. "SuperKids Software Review of Rugrats Adventure Game". www.superkids.com. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  2. Williams, Marifrances D. (February 22, 1999). "Are your kids game for some Rugrats adventures?". ProQuest 221015347. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "Rugrats crawl onto computers". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  4. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1998-11-14). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
  5. Willson, Sarah; Klasky, Arlene; Germain, Paul; Csupo, Gabor (1999). The Perfect Formula. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780689826771.
  6. "SimonSaysKids.com: Rugrats". web.archive.org. 1999-10-04. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  7. "Rugrats Adventure Game - Review - allgame". web.archive.org. 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  8. "macHOME". web.archive.org. 2004-10-30. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  9. "Review: Rugrats Adventure Game". web.archive.org. 2001-02-22. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  10. UBINAS, HELEN. "'RUGRATS' JUST RIGHT FOR KIDS". courant.com. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  11. "Rugrats on CD ROM". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  12. Rosenberg, Beth (1998-10-29). "Test Drive: From aardvarks to Zooks". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-05-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "KID TECH Rugrats CD duo hits and misses". Boston Herald. 1998-10-18. Retrieved 2020-05-24 – via NewsLibrary.
  14. GALLAGHER, PAULA. "Familiar characters aid learning Education: Software for children features their favorite figures from books and television". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  15. Katz Gibbs, Hope (November 20, 1998). "Screen Shots". The Washington Post.
  16. "LET THE GAMES BEGIN; SOFTWARE FOR PLAYSTATION, N64 AND PCS GETS READY FOR PRIME TIME". www.thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  17. "News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida on December 14, 1999 · Page 73". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  18. CURTISS, AARON (1998-11-09). "'Spyro the Dragon' Is a Colorful, Nonviolent Adventure". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  19. Inc, Kiplinger Washington Editors (December 1998). Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.
  20. Corless, Fiona (January 1999). "Rugrats Adventure Game". PC Direct (UK). Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  21. "Awards Category Details". www.interactive.org. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  22. Feldman, Curt (1998-11-13). "Top-Selling PC Games for October". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 1999-04-27.
  23. "Top-Selling Software, 1999". The World Almanac and Book of Facts. 2000. p. 262. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
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