Customer Reviews

Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Every once in a while, a game comes along that transports you to a magical destination. These types of games are full of adventure, charm, and whimsical fun. Sometimes a game can lift the burden of every day life and let you be a kid again. Sometimes a game can let your kids be the decision maker. And sometimes there are games that blend both perfectly.

If you have small kids in the house and are looking for something fun and educational, then "Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster" may be the perfect thing for them. Once upon a monster is a kid-friendly Kinect game that brings to life the same show that has been watched by kids around the globe. All the favorite characters, and even some new ones, stop by and help teach some great life lessons.

The free demo is available on the Xbox marketplace and is a fairly good representation of what the game is about. Although there is a huge market for people seeking nostalgia, adults probably will not be playing this game solo. While there are some kid themed games on the Kinect that adults may enjoy, Once Upon a Monster really comes to life with a younger audience in the room. Playing side-by-side with a younger participant can yield great rewards. This is perhaps the best game on the Kinect where the parent can play with the child at the same time. This is perhaps also the best game on the Kienct where two siblings can be playing at the same time. Having a shuffling living room is no problem, because Once Upon a Monster follows whomever is playing without any hitch. Players can jump in and out as they please, at any point in the game.

There are six chapters in this living story, with the ability to add content through possible future downloadable expansions. There are a set number of activities in this game, but they don't become boring or repetitive thanks to the changing story. Some of the activities include: posing, dress up, flying, drumming, tossing, and much more. All of the activities are fairly simple, but those trickier tasks can be aided with the help of parents. Each activity page of the chapter is given a star rating and each activity can be played over to achieve up to a 5 stars.

As chapters are unlocked, they are then made accessible for returning at any time. This game doesn't have free play areas, like some other Kinect kids games, but again all the activities can be played as many times and whenever the player desires. The story seems like it takes about 6-8 hours to complete, with a little over an hour to go through each chapter.

There are some areas that may be a little frustrating for little ones, but all is made fixable by the incredibly easy partner assist and/or tag team approach to playing. The only problem with jumping in and out of the game so easily is earning achievements. The Kinect does a really good job of spotting who is playing and who is earning the achievements, but doesn't like to give them out for playing as a family affair. In other words, if you are sitting down when your kid earns an achievement, don't expect it to show up in your profile. You have to earn it yourself.

The graphics, sounds, and presentation are all totally on par with what you would expect from a Sesame Street show. This game really feels like the show, but made more interactive. I was hoping to see more of Double Fine's fingerprint here, but Sesame Street is clearly the main theme in this game. This is actually a great design choice, because it really encourages kids to play along. I was amazed at how active my kids were in each activity. They picked it up and were carried away to a whole different world. They were literally in Sesame Street's universe.

In reviewing games, I like to look for the five f's: fitness, fun, family, functionality, and firsts. This game is not billed as a fitness game, but will definitely get your kids moving (and you too). They will be jumping, flapping, dancing and more. There is definite fun to be had by kids who are of the Sesame Street watching age. The older fans of Sesame Street may have some fun, but nothing is like playing the game with or as a child. The game is very family friendly and has a lot of great life lessons to share. As for functionality, the game is technically great. There are a couple of places young kids could get hung up on, but nothing an able-bodied parent wouldn't be able to fix. And as for firsts, this is the first story themed game for Kinect and one of the first games to absolutely nail the in and out ability of different players.

In summary, if you have kids in the house of the Sesame Street watching age, this is a true gem to add to your Kinect collection. The game is easy to pick up and lots of fun to go through. While there aren't really any free play areas, each activity and story section can be played over. Once Upon a Monster may be a bit repetitive for the older crowd playing solo, but will bring a golden smile to anyone who plays with kids.

At its simplest core, Once Upon A Monster is an incredibly well done collection of mini-games suited for children; however, this game has both the quality and whimsical tone that many adults will find heartwarming. In the same way Pixar films can be viewed and appreciated by everyone, I believe Once Upon A Monster is very much the same. Granted, it's still something that's more geared towards kids, but many will find Double Fine's work on this title admirable regardless of age. Hey, kids deserve quality games, as well as adults, and this game is a perfect buy for those out there with kids of their own, as it's a good time for any family.

There are a bunch of different mini-games in Once Upon A Monster, all with very intuitive and well done Kinect controls. Sadly, outside of the main dish, there's no other additional game modes, which makes the package a bit slim when it comes to content. However, while it's not packed with a ton of features, what's here is good and quality gameplay, nice graphics, and some enjoyable scenes with your favorite Sesame Street characters.

Once Upon A Monster is right up there with The Gunstringer as one of the best examples of what the Kinect can do if developers take their time and make something good.

4.5/5 - Docked a little because it's on the short side, but I do believe it's a very replayable game.

Absolutely love this game for my 3 year old daughter... she can do most activities on her own but when she needs help i can just go stand next to her and it turns into a two player team activity. Love the stories music and graphics too

Bought this for my son who is almost 4 for Christmas. It'd gotten pretty good reviews so I felt that it was a safe bet to spend my money on. BIG mistake! While the idea of playing with the Sesame Street characters is great, pretty much everything else about this game is such a pain in the rear.

The "menu" is extremely hard to navigate and took two grown adults to figure out. My son is doing the correct motions but either the page won't flip or open correctly and for some reason it never saves his progress so he plays the same 3 levels over and over. It's so frustrating for all of us whenever he "tries" to play that we find ourselves not wanting to pull the game out because it sucks the fun out of play time. Save your money for something that the smaller kids can actually play, and enjoy, on their own.

I bought this game for my son's 5th birthday. He loves it! He has so much fun playing with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover, Oscar, and the rest of the gang. The game picks up the moves pretty well and I like that the game is made to look like a storybook with each activity being a different chapter. Also, the activities aren't super short and the child has to listen to the directions which is a plus. I definitely recommend this game.

I purchased Once Upon A Monster for my 4 year old son. Since we've received it, he has played the game nearly every day and loves it.

If you are to buy any Kinect game to play with your little ones or sibling let this game be it. It truly is a wonderful experience to play without controllers and use the Kinect Sensor with this game. Truly the coding for this game impressed me and at times there are hiccups but when it plays smoothly it is fun. My little sister and I were able to bond and play with our favorite Sesame Street Pals. Elmo, Grover, Oscar, and Cookie Monster are the ones only in this game, so if you like Zoey, Big Bird, Rositta or Baby Bear your out of luck. The characters are cute, fuzzy, and ready to shake it with your kid, sibling, friend, you name it! Truly a great experience and a shame for anyone to miss this game out. Buy it!

We bought this game for our 3 1/2 year old daughter for Christmas after reading good reviews. I would not waste your money on this game. This game is so frustrating because it never recognizes her and doesn't follow her motions. My wife and I both had to help her to even get started on this game. She has no problems with any of the other Kinect games. For the money, this game was very disappointing. I definately would not recommend for smaller children. By the time we get the game to work she has lost interest and wants to play Kinect Sports or a dance game (which again they have no problems recognizing her). Cute idea for a game but definately not worth wasting your money on.

We bought an Xbox with Kinect for the family for Christmas, and this game was one we got to go with it for our four year old. She loves Sesame Street, and I thought it would be a hit. However, it is too difficult to control, and is extremely frustrating for her and us. Once we can actually get her into a chapter, she has lots of fun and for the most part she has no problems playing. But, trying to get into the chapters is maddening. The dress the monster game is very tough too. Even though she's new to Kinnect, she has no problems controlling our other games, and in fact does better than we do most times. Our eight year old has trouble controlling this game too. I hate to give the game itself a bad review because I think it's a great concept and has lots of fun elements, just way to tough to control.

This video game seems to be centered for the "elmo audience"- the 4 yr old group, but its too hard for them to do alone and it is incredibly boring. My kids left the game after a couple minutes and despite attempts to lure them back in, they never regained interest. It needs to be faster paced for this age group or more challenging for older kids.