My oldest daughter loves playing her Nintendo DS and lil’ sis always steals it to get in on the action. The problem is that my youngest doesn’t quite understand the goal of the games or have enough dexterity to successfully complete it. As you can imagine, frustration and often tears follow.
I was so happy to get the opportunity to try VTech’s MobiGo 2 and introduce it to my four year old daughter. This handheld gaming system looks similar to the Nintendo DS, so she was all over it (once she got over the fact that it was NOT pink). My daughter and I spent a few minutes going over the basics like how to turn it on and navigate the options but she was off and running on her own in no time.
Her favorite included feature? The coloring book! By nature she is quite artistic, so she loved being able to create and color pictures on the MobiGo2 and she was down right elated when she figured out how to make her pictures move by tilting the gaming system. The motion sensor is all new for the MobiGo 2 and my daughter LOVES it. In addition to the coloring book, she loves the included game, Hamster Highway, which allows you to use the motion sensor to navigate a hamster though a series of tracks.
Once she put the system down, I decided to register and set up the software on my laptop. I simply installed the Learning Lodge Navigator from the included CD onto my laptop and created a user account. After the initial set up, I connected the MobiGo 2 via an included USB cable and updated the system. Now, the fun part! I browsed through 17 pages of downloadable games! The MobiGo 2 comes with three free downloads, so I picked the ones I thought my daughter would most enjoy and downloaded them all in under one minute. We decided to try:
- Carrot Patch: teaches letter recognition, spelling and use of the QWERTY keyboard
- Shopping Spree: matching and speed
- Hide and Seek Hounds: counting
I allowed my daughter to take her MobiGo 2 on the go for a day of running errands. She had a chance to try out all three new games and fell in love with “Shopping Spree”….girl after my own heart! The game is very easy to play and utilizes the touch screen.
Overall, my four year old daughter loves the MobiGo 2. The updates such as the motion sensor and built in games are great considering the price stayed the same as the original model at $59.99. The handheld gaming system is recommended for ages 3-8 and aims to teach not only basic skills such as math, vocabulary, reading and spelling but creativity, too.
Where will you go with the new MobiGo 2?