This review covers My Word
Coach as well as My Spanish Coach and My French Coach
Many times when you see a
game hit the market that aims to teach the purchaser a thing or two about
education, the only thing the customer winds up learning is not to buy a
videogame so irrationally ever again. Luckily for the poorly educated gamers out
there, Ubisoft has taken it upon themselves to create a gaming experience that
is not only entertaining, but also as educational as any Hooked on Phoenix
cassette tape could ever be.
My Word Coach for
Nintendo DS is basically a portable English teacher that any DS owner can carry
around with them. That might not sound like the biggest piece of fun, but
Ubisoft does everything it can to prove that learning can be entertaining while
also being informational. The entire Coach series focuses on slowly but surely
teaching the player how to use proper grammar, spell words correctly, learn new
words altogether and even learn different languages. By implementing a very
simple gameplay scheme, My Word Coach encourages the player to learn while
having as much fun as possible.
As you play, you will
utilize the stylus and touch screen more than any other Nintendo DS feature.
Your main gameplay mechanic will lie in touching specific letters or drawing the
correct letter. As progression takes place, your interactive “Coach” will record
your progress and continue to challenge you accordingly. All the mechanics are
as simple as possible, so that most of the player’s focus remains on the content
of the game itself. Your Coach will even advise you when he thinks you’ve
learned enough for the day and ask you to return again tomorrow. I mean, who
doesn’t want to spell for hours and hours every single day? If you wait a week
to pay a visit, the Coach will scold you slightly as well.
My Word Coach contains
16,800 different words taken directly from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary for you to learn, so players of every age group are bound to find
some form of challenge within the game. Each mini-game will aid in your
understanding of the words available, and at the same time utilize the unique
functionality of the Nintendo DS. The compatibility between DS and Wii versions
of My Word Coach create an extra layer of entertaining depth and intuition, but
only provide entertainment for a few sessions.
My Spanish Coach and My
French Coach both expand on the original concept by incorporating a different
language into the same interactive learning experience. Instead of learning
English grammar and definitions though, you are tasked with learning Spanish or
French words, conjugations, and phrases. At the beginning, you’ll take a
preliminary test to determine how advanced you are with the given language, and
as the game progresses, you will begin to learn more words and phrases, as well
as simple verb conjugations via 8 mini-games. Each edition will offer nearly
10,000 words to learn.
The most interesting and
intriguing feature of the Spanish and French versions is the compare option.
This wonderful feature allows the player to record his or her voice and play
back pronounced words or phrases compared to a pre-recorded version of the same
word or phrase. This will aid with pronunciation, and could also create some
very comical moments. Each version can also be used as a language dictionary for
trips to foreign countries or cheating in class.
Graphically, none of the
Coach games do anything splendid, and each version looks remotely the same. The
visual concept was obviously not a front runner in this game’s conception. Audio
detail relies on mildly catchy tunes that generate annoyance from the gamer
fairly quickly, aside from listening to yourself try and fail at speaking French
and Spanish.
Each game has a specific
purpose, as stated in the title on the box, and each game serves its stated
purpose well. If you pick up My Word Coach for Nintendo DS, you are bound to
learn a few new things about grammar and spelling, but the overall experience
will be less than hoped for. The Spanish and French versions could prove to be
more beneficial, but only to those customers who are already searching for a new
fun way to learn a fresh language. These games are meant for educational
purposes, so expecting any more than minimal entertainment is ill advised.
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Gameplay: 7
The Nintendo DS
stylus and touch screen never seem to get old, and utilizing this pair of
intuitive features in any game is a must. Luckily, The Coach franchise does just
that, with simple yet structured gameplay tailored around the handheld’s
strongest mechanics.
Graphics: 5
My Word Coach is
not meant to be a visual powerhouse, with a majority of interaction directed
towards the content. The same applies to My Spanish Coach and My French Coach.
Ubisoft voted not to take away from the learning aspect, but this direction did
take away from the visual score.
Sound: 6
In all honesty,
none of the games do anything remotely special via an audio experience. The only
perk is the compare option, which allows you to record your sad attempts at
speaking foreign languages and play them back to the amusement of your peers.
Difficulty: Medium
Each game
presents a balanced gameplay mechanic that can determine how advanced you are in
the given subject and challenge you accordingly. Then, as the game progresses,
so does your knowledge of that subject.
Concept: 7
Conceptually,
each Coach game aims to please at an educational level, while still proving that
learning can be fun. The only downfall is that the mini-games aren’t fun enough
for long enough.
Overall: 7
If you have a
need to learn Spanish, then My Spanish Coach will teach you in an interactive,
entertaining manner. The same goes for learning French with My French Coach. But
beyond having these needs, I can’t really imagine any other reason why a gamer
would want to pick up any of the Coach versions. But to the targeted audience,
these games will please well enough.
