Bastion
LQ: 9.15
Recommended Age: 10+
Skills Used: Planning, Working Memory, Mathematics, Reading
In Giant Boulder of Death, the player’s “character” is a giant boulder rolling down a mountain. The player tilts their device back and forth to “steer” the boulder. The goal is to run over people, animals, and things like fences, but avoid walls made of spikes. As the player hits things, they get points and also charge up an “invinciboulder” that can run over everything.
There are goals, such as hit five houses or 50 pieces of cheese. These goals earn the player coins which can be used to buy power-ups for their boulder. The game also keeps track of the variety of things in the world that the boulder has run over. There are leader boards for the week and for all time, too.
The game has ads and in-game purchases available. The ESRB rated Giant Boulder of Death E10+ due to infrequent or mild cartoon or fantasy violence, as well as infrequent or mild fear or horror themes. LW4K stands by this rating.
Giant Boulder of Death helps kids practice and improve the following skills:
Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks.
This game requires focus because the boulder moves at a relatively fast pace and there are lots of obstacles to avoid--and lots that the player wants to hit. This means that if they aren't staying attentive, and instead letting internal or external distractions interrupt their focus, they will easily miss obstacles that could earn them points. Or, they could just as easily run into a spike barricade that could destroy their boulder. Either way, this means a slower progress on challenges, coins, and boulder upgrades.
Understanding our own actions, thoughts and feelings.
Because this is such a fast-paced game, Giant Boulders of Death lends itself to making players impulsive or angry and frustrated, or both. That means that to stay optimally successful at this game, the player is going to need to practice their self-control skills. If they don't keep a handle on their impulses, the player will find themselves over-correcting the tilt of their device. This will keep them from hitting the good items or avoiding the bad items. If the player gets angry or frustrated by a lack of progress, the same thing can happen: overly big adjustments to the tilt leading to a crash. Either way, this means fewer coins and points and challenges.
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