Nat Geo Challenge for Wii and PS3 combines quizzes, puzzles, and even a creative card game with some of the Nat Geo Channel's most popular programming to deliver a Wii experience that will challenge the brains of older kids, tweens and teens.
Up to four players can play Nat geo Challenge Wild Life, and the Wii version of the game offers a very flexible control scheme that can either involve pointing the Wii-mote at the screen, or using the directional pad and button-presses for selections.
The game offers a variety of different quizzes and puzzles based on Nat Geo shows such as Amazing Planet, Dangerous Encounters, Aquatic Life and Predators vs. Prey.
In the game’s Quiz mode, players answer a number of questions about the selected subject matter. When setting up the game, families can choose an easy, medium or hard difficulty level, as well as the number of questions to answer. Instead of just being a straight quiz, the gameplay is divided into a number of rounds, each with a slight variation on what you’re supposed to. In one round, everyone can answer. In another, every player bets a certain number of points on the question before it is asked. And other may ask players to be the first to identify a slowly revealing picture.
The game also features a Quest mode which allows families to select different episodes at different points of the globe to try and master. So, you may watch a short video clip on underwater life, and then work to answer enough questions in order to unlock even more. Throughout the quest mode, you’ll also find various slider puzzles and jigsaw puzzles which you can complete and later access from the game’s main menu.
The final game mode in Nat Geo Challenge Wild Life is the Stat Battle Mode, which is essentially a game of war played with cards featuring animals and their “stats” in different vital categories, such as “Speed” or “Bite Power.” The goal is to play cards with a higher value than your opponent, and is very similar to the card game War. After a few rounds, whoever has the most cards wins.
Even with the ability to select difficulty levels, Nat Geo Challenge Wild Life definitely puts an emphasis on the word challenge. The questions are far from simple, and even the slider puzzles and jigsaw puzzles have lots of pieces and take a good deal of thought and effort to do. Younger kids may not have the knowledge or patience to deal with these options, but it’s also a very nice sense of accomplishment when you do complete a challenge in the game.
Nat Geo Challenge Wild Life is a great educational video game for tweens and up. Although many of the games questions and challenges may be too difficult for younger kids, older kids may surprise with their ability to answer tough questions. This game is packed with science and geography educational value, and offers a fun chance for kids to outsmart their parents in the competitive quiz modes and creative stat battle card game.