Dora is a very colourful girl. A colourful girl with an adventure on her hands, apparently. An adventure, a lovely pegasus called Boots and a wonderful gaming experience, for many of a younger persuasion to enjoy.

And that is where the real enjoyment is. This game is for three year olds and upwards and its vibrant colours really are inviting to the very young gamer. Fair play to Take 2 Interactive, which has taken a Nickelodeon stalwart and turned it into a game that the young ones can enjoy with their parents, without shamelessly cashing in with a lacklustre game.

For parts of the game children can get on themselves and figure out things in a tactile manner, really feeling their way through the puzzles on offer.

Richmond and Twickenham Times: Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom - Wii

When it all becomes a little tough, mum or dad can pick up the second Wii-mote and help them through it. It's a nice idea and pretty well executed too.

I had the chance to try this one out with my goddaughter, who this game suits beautifully.

She was well aware of the characters, and seemed to know what to expect when the game started. The smile from the opening scene was enough to convince that this was a good game for her.

Richmond and Twickenham Times: Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom - Nintendo Wii

This game is immediately arresting when the game starts, and for anyone with children it was a familiar grabbing of attention that allows you to rest assured that only one eye needs to be kept on the child. The other is on Boots, as you try to negotiate puzzles and action levels to save the Crystal Kingdom.

The premise is a simple one, seen in a variety of games over the years. Dora is charged with bringing colour back to the Crystal Kingdom and three other lands.

How you do this is nicely varied, through mini-game challenges, backpack games, map games and flying games.

Dora and Boots traverse the Crystal Kingdom, Dragon Land, Butterfly Cave and Magical Castle, all of which contain enough Dora magic to keep young gamers wide-eyed and rapt. The baddy is the Greedy King, and collecting Storybook and Flight Coins will help Dora get through levels and fill up her sticker book.

Dora also needs to find various items to advance through the game. These can be simple to find through progression through the game, or may be hidden in bushes, under mushrooms or in other objects. It is fairly simple to spot the objects that need to be searched, as they glow.

Richmond and Twickenham Times: Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom - Nintendo Wii

Other objects are the opposite. They are stuck as a shade of grey and need Dora's help to regain their colour. Players can use colour crystals collected to colour in the objects and return them to their former glory.

There are animals aplenty throughout the game too, and as Dora saves them and they return home the animal meter will fill up. You don't need to free all the animals to complete the game, but more determined explorers may well want to fill the meter to the top.

The mini-games encountered are quite charming and require numerous approaches to complete. Most are motion-led, so the young gamer must watch the action in front of them and perform the movements, such as lassoing something which stands in the way. Others require a bit of lateral thinking, and ask Dora to pick the correct object to overcome the challenge in front of them.

Richmond and Twickenham Times: Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom - Nintendo Wii

There is also lots of flying fun to be had in the game, with Dora donning butterfly wings, getting on a dragon or mounting her good friend Boots to navigate seemingly impassable levels. Dora needs simply to dodge danger and collect coins and objects to get through.

Then there are backpack games, map games and crystal courses to add a surprising depth to game play. Again, it is credit to Activision that it has taken what could be a cynical tie in to a cash cow and made it entertaining, varied and a suitably magical entry into gaming for young girls in particular.

SCORE: Seven waves of a magical wand out of ten

Good points:
- Colourful
- magical
- nicely varied
- a children's favourite without cashing in too unashamedly
- parents can join in

Bad points
- Nothing for older fans really
- slightly lacking in challenge