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spacer all reviews > > > problem solving software

Spy Fox Operation Ozone

Humongous Entertainment

Ages 7 and up

Rating Scale
5 = great,    1 = poor
Educational Value
2.5
Kid Appeal
3.5
Ease of Use
4.5

Spy Fox Operation Ozone Screen Shot arrow indentSystem Requirements

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Spy Fox Operation Ozone by Humongous Entertainment, features a cartoon, 007-style fox whose mission is to save Earth from a hairspray can space station controlled by the evil Poodles Galore (who is destroying the ozone layer so Poodles can take over the sunscreen market). Honest. Enough said about the plot complexities.

Spy Fox has plenty of gadgets like the Granny Grappler, the Sticky Stun Bun, his spy watch, and helpers like Monkey Penny and Professor Quack to assist him in his mission.

Educational Value

Spy Fox Operation Ozone is designed for adventure entertainment. Players explore their surroundings, discover secret codes, and useful information that helps assist Spy Fox in his mission of good to defeat the evil Poodles Galore's misuse of power. No useful technical educational tidbits are imparted other than aerosol cans are bad for the environment.

Kid Appeal

The CD packaging states that Spy Fox Operation Ozone is geared for ages 7 & up. Among our reviewers, one 6 year old found it fun and challenging but it was too difficult to progress with the detective work by himself. Our 8-year-old tester genuinely seemed to enjoy the program and said it was both "challenging and fun". He, in turn, had frequent questions for the 11-year-old who admitted it was a challenging but "stupid game." Alas, Spy Fox Operation Ozone appeared in our testing to have a narrow age of appeal. While not necessarily a "boys" game, the Saturday morning cartoon-style characters make it a confection most enjoyed by those 10 and under. Although appealing to the kindergarten-plus set, many will find it too difficult to make sufficient progress without frustration and the assistance of somewhat older kids who have outgrown the characters. A small group of children of varying young ages can help each other out.

Ease of Use / Install

On our Windows ME test machine, the installation was without problems. Navigation through the program required no expert adult assistance (as long as an 11 year old was around). Reference to the written instructions was unnecessary.

Best for... / Bottom-Line

Children in the 8-10 year range will enjoy Spy Fox Operation Ozone the most. Sophisticated 11+ year olds will not appreciate the silly characters and plot -- even though it is not easily solved -- and younger kids will find it a bit difficult without guidance. Parents will find nothing offensive in the plot or characters.

See SuperKids' comparisons with other Problem Solving software titles, and the Buyers Guide for current market prices of the PC and Mac versions.

System Requirements
PC: Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000, or Me, Pentium 133MHz or faster cpu, 32 MB RAM, CD-ROM .

Mac: System 7.5.5 or later, PowerPC 133MHz or faster cpu, 32 MB RAM, CD-ROM .

Reviewed on:
-     Pentium II - 450 running Windows 98, with 128MB RAM and 24x - CD-ROM
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