One day, Cookie Monster and Elmo bump into each other on Sesame Street. Elmo was carrying a bunch of books, so after they both pick up the mess, Cookie Monster decides to read a special book to Elmo called Once Upon a Monster. Now you and your little monsters can hop into the storybook with Elmo and Cookie for a fun-filled adventure with new and old monsters. No controllers are needed, as this Kinect game is designed for gamers young and old to play together. This just might be the best Sesame Street game ever made. Want to find out why? Then just click to read the rest of the story (Well, the rest of the review anyway).

Once Upon a Monster is divided into six different chapters. Choose which chapter by making flipping page motions with your arms. In each story, Elmo and Cookie Monster must help a new monster who is sad or lonely. They might have to cheer up a sad monster on his birthday by rounding up guests to have a party, or help another monster’s garden grow big and beautiful. Each chapter is pretty lengthy, too, at least for a kid’s game, so you know they won’t finish it too quickly and get bored.

Each chapter is divided up into activities. You might have to help Cookie and Elmo fly to the top of a giant flower by flapping your arms like a bee and leaning from side to side to steer. Or catch different kinds of trash to throw into Oscar’s can by making catching and throwing motions. Help Slimey the Worm plant flowers by making tossing motions with your hand to throw seeds, then hold out your arm like you’re holding a hose to spray water on the flowers. Grover even gets into the act, complete with his leisure suit from the 70’s as you disco dance with everybody!

Play control is actually pretty good for a Kinect game, which it needs to be since the title is geared toward the very young. The instruction booklet even has handy tips for playing Kinect with your kid, like putting a piece of tape on the ground so they don’t scoot too close while playing! But even at times when the game’s controls don’t register very well, you don’t get penalized and Elmo just gives friendly reminders on what you should do next time.

But if you do particularly well in a game, you can earn stars. Collect enough stars and you can view videos on how the developers made this game. Speaking of which, the developer is Double Fine, a renowned game maker who was responsible for Psychonauts, which won my Game of the Year Award for when it was released. The game’s graphics are some of the most colorful and vibrant visuals you’ll ever see on the Xbox 360, and the characters really move like their Muppet counterparts. Even the new monsters that Double Fine created for this game are as charming and loveable as the rest of them! Definitely a great game for families with young children! And I’m just glad my favorite character made it into a Sesame Street game this time (Oscar the Grouch).

Kid Factor:

Once Upon a Monster is designed for young kids, so no reading is required and the game is easy enough so players of all ages can enjoy it and not get frustrated. But the game is fun enough that parents and older gamers can have fun playing with their younger counterparts. It’s even educational, as expected with a Sesame Street game, because it teaches lessons on helping others, as well as some color and matching skills. Plus it’s great exercise, so it doubles as a fitness game, too! If you have a Kinect and little rugrats around the house, you’ll want to give this one a try. Once Upon a Monster is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews