Nosy Crow has been on quite a roll with its apps as of late. It started with its excellent take on The Three Little Pigs via digital storybook form. Nosy Crow then upped its game with the even more polished Cinderella, which introduced even more interactivity while retaining the charm of Nosy Crow’s initial fairy tale effort.
Now we look at a Nosy Crow app that eschews the classic fairy tale and goes for a more workman-like approach. That would be Bizzy Bear on the Farm, which obviously features a, um, bear working on a, um, farm. Naturally, he’s also, um, gonna be busy. But enough about stating the obvious, let’s get on to the the real meat of this story, eh? Read on for my full review of Nosy Crow’s Bizzy Bear on the Farm app for iPad, iPhone and iPod. (This review was done with the app on an Apple iPad, by the way.)
PROS
Retains Nosy Crow-style presentation If you’re a fan of Nosy Crow’s look from its other apps, then you’re going to like the art style of Bizzy Bear. You basically get that classic storybook look that evokes children’s art from way back when, which is quite refreshing in this day and age. Narration and voice acting is handled yet again by the same voice actor, mimicking what many a parent does every night when they read books to their kids.
Plenty of interactivity: Like the Cinderella app, Bizzy Bear on the Farm takes the interactive elements from The Three Little Pigs and kicks it up another notch. Like the characters from other Nosy Crow apps, you can tap on or swipe Bizzy Bear to make him talk or move. You can interact with certain objects from each page, whether it be eggs that need to be put in a container or apples that you can feed pigs with. You also can control the speed of Bizzy Bear’s horse in one sequence. The extra level of interactivity makes this app more interesting since kids can amuse themselves with all sorts of stuff on the digital pages.
Comic touches: Nosy Crow is great at placing funny touches in its apps and Bizzy Bear has its share of cute moments. The harmonizing ducks brought a smile to my face and should be quite amusing for kids. The use of the Old MacDonald theme song also is a nice touch.
CONS
Tap delay: Occasionally, interactive elements won’t load as quickly and I find myself tapping stuff and not getting a reaction. It isn’t a big problem but it does affect the immersion when it happens.
Story feels lacking: The biggest issue with Bizzy Bear on the Farm is the fact that the story itself isn’t exactly memorable. This is an issue made even more glaring by the excellent storytelling seen in other Nosy Crow apps such as The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella. In Bizzy Bear, the story just seems flat and too workmanlike. For example, you don’t get the same rich dialogue or personality quirks you do from the supporting characters in The Three Little Pigs (i.e. the pigs and the wolf) or Cinderella (i.e. the evil stepsisters and the king) apps. As such, Bizzy Bear on the Farm doesn’t feel quite as memorable since you just basically end up doing tasks without the framework of a neat tale. It feels more like an activity book than a storybook, though to be fair, the Bizzy Bear app is cheaper than those two other apps.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Given Nosy Crow’s stellar effort with Three Little Pigs and Cinderella, the Bizzy Bear on the Farm app falls a bit short when measured next to its app cousins. While younger kids will enjoy the interaction, the lack of a good story makes this app not quite as enjoyable as those other Nosy Crow apps. It’s still a good app for little ones. But older kids might prefer something a bit more meaty, like Disney’s Beauty and the Beast or Toy Story app, for example. Ultimately, though, Bizzy Bear’s greatest competition would be the aforementioned Nosy Crow apps (i.e. The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella), which I honestly think are two of the best storybooks out there. I’d recommend trying those first and then getting Bizzy Bear on the Farm after that.
DETAILS
- Cost: $3.99
- Compatible with: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
