All in all, Dora Saves the Snow Princess is a great idea that ultimately proves too shallow. Once the excitement of being part of the show wears off, there's not enough gameplay variation to hold the gamer's attention through to the games completion. If High Voltage can find a way to vary the gameplay while finding a better balance between mental stimulation and difficulty, then Dora's next adventure could be the hit with children that people really wanted this one to be.
WP:
"All in all, Dora Saves the Snow Princess is a great game for kids. You can't really fail at any of the challenges, as you're encouraged to try again. You get to control a world-famous cartoon celebrity and her monkey companion, you get to fight against evil and rescue wintery royalty, and you get to yell at a thieving fox. Personally, I feel the repetition gets old, but as my friends with children will attest, kids can and do watch the same show or movie over and over and over. If Dora happens to be on their list, they'll love this game."
This game is right on target for preschoolers. The repetitiveness is exactly what they like. The levels are fun and have lots of action. Kids will have great fun flipping Dora around when she is jumping or sliding in the air. There could be improvements, but what is present is good. The price is a little high for the type of game it is ($35-$40), but if parents want a Wii game for the little ones for Christmas, they can't go wrong with either Dora or Diego.
Gameplay 7.5
Graphics 8
Sound 7
Difficulty Easy
Concept 7
Multiplayer 7
Overall 7.5
USA Today writes: "Dora the Explorer, the mega-popular Nick Jr. cartoon character, makes her Nintendo Wii debut in Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess, a video game based on a TV movie and DVD of the same name. And what a debut it is.
2K Play carefully designed Dora Saves the Snow Princess to make it playable for its target audience of preschoolers. It takes the story of how the Snow Princess is trapped in a tower by an evil witch, and turns it into a captivating rescue-adventure video game played out over five locations or levels. Dora invites preschoolers to join her on this snowy adventure."
