Presidents vs. Aliens
Presidents vs. Aliens is the new app from Dan Russell Pinson. He’s the brains behind one of our favorite apps, Stack the States. As I’m typing this review my six year old is sitting next to me on the couch, playing P vs. A on our iPad. I’m chuckling to myself listening to him shouting out “Franklin Delano Roosevelt! No! Millard Fillmore! Oh, Thomas Jefferson!” He is completely engaged and as I’m glancing over he’s actually starting to remember the presidents by their pictures. An educational app at it’s best!
Presidents vs. Aliens allows for five player profiles and one guest. Players can choose their own avatar from portraits of the presidents. There’s also a boy and girl alien that they can choose. You have the ability to change the type of questions that are asked and this will adjust the difficulty level. Right now my son is only asking questions about the president’s names. My older girls can answer questions about historical events, nicknames, quotes and facts. My son is shown four portraits and asked to match one of them with the name of a specific president. If he answers incorrectly he’s shown the correct answer before being given the next question. If he answers correctly then he has a chance to shoot a tiny avatar of that president at a group of aliens that will have formed on the screen. In the background will be a picture of a national landmark so it appears like the aliens are attacking the landmark. If a player answers three questions correctly in a row they earn power ups called “Executive Powers”. These are things like a like “triple president” where you can shoot three presidents in a row at the aliens. After players have cleared all of the aliens they unlock a president for their collection. Collecting a certain number will unlock bonus games.
For those of us (me, me, me!) who need to brush up on our history Dan has included a flashcard for each president. Each one includes information about their political party, nickname, vice president, quotes, important events and facts. I asked my oldest daughter what she liked and didn’t like about Presidents vs. Aliens. She liked that it helps you learn and that it’s fun. She liked the challenge of the game. She didn’t like not being able to save up the presidents you earn after answering correct questions. She wanted to create a stockpile and then shoot them at the aliens all at once. A full blown attack. My six year old was just fine shooting them one at a time after each question. Gives you a little insight into their personalities.
There’s nothing that I didn’t like about this app. I’m loving the fact that my son is still sitting here and showing no signs of boredom. He’s as interested in finding these presidents as he was in his Lego Star Wars game earlier. In fact he just correctly identified pictures of Zachary Taylor and William McKinley. I can’t even do that. What a terrific app!
Presidents vs. Aliens is an universal app and a steal at $.99.
Price when Reviewed: $.99
Seller: Dan Russell-Pinson
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.
