Colorelli review

As Colorelli is bundled with an entry-level Wacom graphics tablet, the urge to scribble absolute filth all over its rainbow-coloured world of Euro-accented animals never fades. Which is doubly warped of us because it’s actually quite a good kids’ game, where you ping-pong from Eurobeast to Eurobeast, performing a handful of variations on a scribbling or colouring theme.

It does seem to desperately want to be on Nintendo DS, however. Alongside such tasks as colouring in pictures of starry-eyed ponies are stylus-controlled minigames. The driving mode works particularly well, though grown-ups will quickly tire of the meagre geography and restrictive streets.

There’s a basic but friendly paint package built in, so that perhaps a cynical parent won’t see the worth of Colorelli over sitting their kid in front of MS Paint and shouting encouraging words. They would, however, be underestimating the importance of motivation. That child is drawing a forest not because they like trees, but because doing so helps defeat the evil Doctor Gray, a monochrome chameleon wreaking havoc upon Colorelli’s atrociously accented community. In terms of balancing traditional game goals with an educational pay-off, it works rather well.

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So, a fairly inventive and surprisingly diverse kids’ game. Don’t even consider Colorelli for your own edification, however. Ironic chuckles at the Italian octopus whose voice actor apparently confused Sicily with Delhi are soon replaced by irritation at all the back-and-forth repetition. You can dual-purpose the graphics tablet for simple Photoshop faffery, but it’s not a patch on a pricier, separate tablet.

Apr 16, 2008