Awesome Animated Monster Maker Ultra

by Simon & Schuster

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005AH81
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: March 2, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,872 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #63 in Software > Children's Software > Art & Creativity
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Create a monster out of bits and body parts--and then take it on a tour of a creepy castle. Awesome Animated Monster Maker Ultra lets you choose between various types of torsos, toes, teeth, tails, and eyeballs in a computer-generated Frankenstein's lab. All of these pieces can be combined in any fashion you like--the only limit is your imagination.

Aimed at children in the 4- to 7-year-old age range, this program features wacky animations that encourage players to delight in the bizarre. Users can make fluffy, pop-eyed friends or gory, bat-winged nightmares, coloring each limb and hairy toe so that it harmonizes tastefully with the rest--or clashes as badly as possible. Once the monster is completed and has been assigned a brain, players can take their creation through various activities and games--a photo shoot, a judo match, and a dozen more.

Awesome Animated Monster Maker Ultra is tremendously fun, but it is an older game, and it shows. It refuses to run on anything but a 256-color video setting, so users with newer computers will have to reset their PC every time the program is played. Each of the monster body parts is fixed in one position, lacking the capacity to be flipped or reversed before attachment to a monster. Finally, the activities--while indisputably entertaining--may fail to engage children who have been exposed to more sophisticated games.

For users with older computers, though, and children who are new to computer gameplay, Awesome Animated Monster Maker Ultra offers laugh-out-loud fun, a magnificent creative outlet, and a delightfully irreverent way of bringing bedtime's scary monsters into the light of the waking world. (Ages 4 to 7) --Alyx Dellamonica

Amazon.com Product Description

The adventures begin in Dr. Lizardlips's lab: create your very own monster from hundreds of wacky, squirming parts, and choose your monster's personality. Then it's time to explore! Roam through 14 rooms of Creepy Castle with four games that challenge your creativity. Your monster talks, laughs, and does tricks. Cook up a storm with Spaghetti and Meatball or dance the night away with Slippo and Mergatroid, take on Diaper Dan in a judo match, or Jet Ski with Kelpy. Take your monster's picture, print it out, or save it for further adventurers. An easy-to-read children's manual is included.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Animated Monster Maker, January 10, 2002

By 

"vnorman629" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Awesome Animated Monster Maker Ultra (CD-ROM)

This program is really fun for kids of all ages. When you turn on this interactive gem, you will immediately enter a magical world of monsters. Of course, the lab is where you will first encounter this free-floating world. There, you choose body parts and other interesting appendages as you create your own monster. Then, it is off on an adventure with your new friend. Under the sea and chasing through labrynths you will go together. Never will you be scared, however, but rather will feel secure knowing that your monster is one that would be most welcome under your bed!

5.0 out of 5 stars OK, I am biased, June 10, 2008

By 

David Vronay (Issaquah, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Awesome Animated Monster Maker Ultra (CD-ROM)

As one of the creators of this game I am biased, but I think this title still stands up pretty well. There are not a lot of creative play titles for kids these days. It is a shame. One of the great features of this program is that it can print your monster as a line drawing that you can color in!

If you want to run Monster Maker, it still works fine even on Vista. Just right-click on the program or shortcut, choose "Properties", select the compatibility tab, and check Run the program for Win 95. Also check all of the boxes for settings. This will put your machine in Win95 mode when you launch the game and switch it back when you are done.

Also - the editors review is incorrect! You can flip parts very easily. If you move the part rapidly to the left or right it will flip from velocity (including your whole monster). You can also double-click a part to flip it in-place. :-)

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's okay, February 23, 2008

By 

Lisa Hall "loislane88" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Awesome Animated Monster Maker Ultra (CD-ROM)

This game is okay but kind of limited with what you can do. I bought this for my seven year old thinking it would be an easy game she could play. It's just okay not amazing!