The Electric Company Math Fun

Video games have been known to have many things in them, such as paddles, pits, and plumbers. Some games have been known to have more violent things, such as knives, kombat, and even killing. But one lesser thing video games have been known for is math. There are a good amount of them in the "learning" area of video gaming, but put those through a strainer and you're only left with about two that I consider playable exceptions. Electric Company Math Fun is certainly one of those exceptions. (The original Math Blaster being the other, for those nerds who are curious)

How was I to know when I received my first Intellivision with a bundle of games that Math Fun would actually be any fun by just looking at the funny cover? I know I shouldn't base anything off a cheesy cover, unless I am looking for a good cheesy movie, but lets take a moment to observe the Math Fun cover.

First off, the frickin cover says MATH FUN. But the real fun is looking below the title and observing all the colorful animals displayed. We have a very happy, blue gorilla eating a banana, a rather pesky ostrich standing on top of a hippo with a retarded face, a pink elephant, and a big old alligator on the bottom sticking his tail through the number six. Also on the cover are pretty numbers and symbols scattered across the animals for them to play with.

So after looking at the cover, is this game really worth it? You bet'cha num pads it is!

The game starts off with the game asking each player how many questions they would like to have and at what level. The most questions you can have is 99 and I think the highest level is 4, though I am not sure of that because it might depend on how many questions you have selected along with your opponent's. I should point out that this is a two player ONLY game, which is something that doesn't seem to be common.

Anywho, after selections are made, the players (displayed as monkeys or apes of some kind) are sent into the wild and ready to face any bears, ostriches, or kangaroos in their way. Each player will approach a wild animal and each time they do a math problem appears, leading me to believe that the wild animal is asking the problem. The player is required to enter the answer on their Intellivision keypad and the numbers are entered from right to left, which can get confusing when it comes to multi-digit subtractions. If the answer is correct, the player will move along and encounter the next animal on the field. If incorrect, the ape will jump into the river and will have to answers questions from the lake animals and will go back on land if the player answers correctly. The number of questions answered correctly and the time it took to play is displayed for both players once the game is over.

It sounds simple enough, but it's definitely a challenge. You'll need to have your mental math abilities in top shape and will need quick reflexes with that number pad. It's this reason why this game is so fun. You could always do this kind of stuff with paper, pencil and a timer, but having interacting wild animals in video form while using a keypad is so much more fun. I always find it to be a great rush when playing this game with a friend and only having a few more questions left until the finish! Or a even more heart thumping situation is when you are catching up to your buddy and your chimp jumps into the river - OH NO! Math Fun has more exhilarating two player action than any math game to date.

While the graphics don't have very much detail, the animal sprites are shaped fairly well and each animal has their own vibrant color, giving the game a nice, bright look. What really makes up for lack of detail is the fluid animation for the players and river. The monkeys walk in a smooth, rhythmical fashion loaded with frames of animation and even do a funny victory dance once they reach the end! I should also mention there is yet another animation stance for when the monkeys jump into the river! The river in the center of the screen has a fast, wavy motion to it, giving it the appearance of a real rapid river stream! Unfortunately, the wild animals throughout the game just sit still and contain no animation.

Math Fun contains three small songs, each fitting the scene magnificently. As soon as the game is booted, there is a nice jingle that plays with a reminiscent trumpet sound to it, sounding sort of like an Olympic Event. The next song is darker and heavier and plays whenever a player answers correctly. The song is composed with a strong, congo-like sound and it really gets me pumped for the next question! And lastly is the song of game completion. It is composed with what sounds like kindergarten bells and sounds a lot like something you would hear in the early years of school, but fits the scenery perfectly and leaves the player with a happy feeling. I think the game designers purposely designed this song so that the players would feel good and wouldn't fight each other even if the other player scored more problems right.

Equally as stunning as the music is the sound effects! Throughout the entire game, random jungle animal sounds are made! Although there only seem to be a lion and a tropical bird making the sounds, they have decent quality to them and sound great nonetheless! And they aren't just limited to one type of sound for each of them, but what I seem to count as two sounds each! There is one normal lion roar and then another longer, deeper lion roooaaarrr, and same thing for the bird, except not a roar but a tweet/squeak/whistle kind of sound. The jungle sounds just really liven the game up!

Math Fun should be considered a piece of learning game history because it's actually entertaining and doesn't suck. It seems to me that most game designers that design a learning game do care about the learning part, but seem to not focus on a fun way to keep the kid entertained. And that's another thing, it seems that Math Fun wasn't only designed for kids as it was also designed for older people looking to have a fun time or else I wouldn't be playing this game! The Electric Company deserves a pat on the back for this one.

-Keranu, Monday, August 28th, 2006 12:17am USA Central Time