JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade

Infobox VG
title= JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade


caption = The 2007 cover of JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade
developer = Knowledge Adventure
publisher = Knowledge Adventure
series= "JumpStart"
released = 2002
designer =
engine =
genre = Educational
modes = Single player
ratings = ESRB: Everyone (E)
platforms = PC (Windows, Macintosh)
media = CD-ROM
requirements =
input = Mouse, keyboard

"JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade" is a personal computer game created by Knowledge Adventure. It replaced the previous "JumpStart 2nd Grade" released in 1996. As its name suggests, it was made to teach second grade students. As of 2007, it is distributed as the "Fundamentals" disc in a 4-disc package of the same name.

Like the original version, this game prominently features the frog C.J. and his sidekick Edison the Firefly, but also includes characters from other JumpStart games, such as the rabbit Mr. Hopsalot (referred to as Hopsalot or Hops in this game), who originally appeared in "JumpStart Kindergarten", as well as Frankie the dog who first appeared in "JumpStart 1st Grade".

Additionally, the plot is more complex than the original and involves an anthropomorphic snail called Dr. O doing evil deeds, such as vandalizing "Mount Jumpmore" by painting moustaches on all the faces. The JumpStart characters (in the form of the "JumpStart Intelligence Agency", or J.I.A.) must fix up the damage Dr. O causes. Hopsalot makes plans for a machine he calls the "Soapy Shooter" which will clean up the graffiti. However, he lacks the parts he requires to build it. Thus, C.J., Edison, and the player of the game travel to different continents, playing games to earn "gadget pieces". After the player plays another game in order to make the machine work, Dr. O causes another problem, requiring the user to go on another quest for gadget pieces to make Hopsalot's machines work; there are six different missions total.

Character details

Note: All of the characters below are anthropomorphic animals.

Frankie: As stated above, Frankie is a dog who first appeared in "JumpStart 1st Grade". In this product, he is the head of the JumpStart Intelligence Agency and is prominent on the box art, but despite these points, he does not play as big a part as other characters, such as C.J. Frog, and seems to be more of a mascot than a main character. In this game, he is a semi-light brown in color and wears a white suit.

Hopsalot: Referred to as "Mr. Hopsalot" in some other products and nicknamed "Hops", Hopsalot is a rabbit who first appeared in "JumpStart Kindergarten". In this game, as in other games in the JumpStart Advanced series, he is good at inventing machines. In this product, he is light brown and wears goggles and a white suit.

C.J.: A frog and one of the main characters, C.J. first appeared in the original "JumpStart 2nd Grade" game. As in his original appearance, he is adventurous. His looks are different from his original looks, though; he is more humanoid in shape, is bright green and wears sunglasses and a light coat, though he still has a hat. He is occasionally referred to as "Pond", a possible James Bond reference.

Edison: C.J.'s firefly sidekick who also debuts in the original "2nd Grade". In this game, he seems to dislike adventuring, expressing that he wishes the gadget pieces were hidden in "quiet places" like golf courses and petting zoos. His looks are much different then they were originally; he is blue-green in color with a different hat and outfit.

Lucy: A female frog resembling C.J. in some ways, but with a darker color and red lipstick. She appears in the different continents that C.J. and Edison visits as an "agent in the field", though she always says her name is some sort of variant of Lucy; for example, she calls herself "Dr. Lucicle" in Antarctica and "Lucianova" in Russia (Europe). She wears sunglasses like C.J. and her eyes are never seen (C.J.'s eyes are, however, shown in the beginning cutscene).

Dr. O: A snail and the game's main villain, Dr. O is a snail with a spectacle. He does various evil-doings which must be fixed using machines Hopsalot creates.

Gameplay

The main menu of the game is the J.I.A. headquarters. A small world map is displayed and there are several red dots on the map to click on. Once a dot is clicked, C.J. and Edison will drive to the location it represents. Once they are at the location, Lucy will introduce herself (with a different name each time). The player can then click on different clickable things to hear facts about them. In order to earn the gadget piece, though, an educational game must be played by clicking a particular thing. Usually, the games are doing some sort of favor for Lucy. Once a game is completed, Lucy will give the user a gadget piece, and it will be added to the inventory. Once a minimum of 4 gadget pieces are obtained, the user must head back to H.Q. to play another game in Hopsalot's laboratory in order to activate Hopsalot's machine. After this, the user clicks around at certain areas to complete some sort of task. Afterwards, news will be reported that Dr. O has done another crime, Hopsalot will explain his invention that will fix it, and the process repeats. Once all the missions are done, the game essentially starts over from the beginning and the missions are re-done in order.

Games

The games are referred to by the place they are played in. Also note that many games must be played a certain number of rounds in order to be fully completed and for the player to receive a gadget piece.

Africa: C.J. and Edison must "uncover the secret of the cave drawings" via the user playing a game that teaches reading comprehension. The user must read a short story. Some pictures must be placed on a background to explain what the story says. For example, if the story says that a bird is in a tree, the user must place a picture of a bird onto the tree in the background. Sometimes, players may have to place blocks of text onto a blank background rather than images on illustrated backgrounds.

Antarctica: "Dr. Lucicle" (Lucy) must cure sick penguins. However, they are on the other side of a body of water. In order to make a bridge for the penguins to cross, the player must put ice flows with pictures or text on them in a particular order. For example, you sometimes put words in alphabetical order, roman numerals in counting order, or pictures of an animal or plant's life cycle in the order they happen.

Australia: In order to obtain some mail for Lucy (as a mail carrier) to deliver, C.J. must drive a car to the mail bag, collecting gas cans to make sure the car does not run out of fuel. The arrow keys are used to maneuver the car and the spacebar is used to shoot a type of laser that can be used to destroy obstacles. The gas cans will have text next to them. C.J. will say what kind of text must be next to the gas can in order for the gas to be beneficial for the fuel tank. For example, C.J. will sometimes ask that gas with odd numbers be collected or gas with even numbers be collected, meaning that this game sometimes teaches mathematics. He will sometimes also ask things related to language arts/reading, such as asking the player to collect gas with words that have a blend in them or words with a digraph in them. If a fuel can is shot, C.J. will read the text near it out loud.

France, Europe: This country actually has 2 games. One is a painting game that gives you no gadget piece upon completion. The other game features an art gallery that is missing some artwork. In each round, there is a room with 3 pieces of artwork in it and an empty frame. C.J. will explain that the room has a certain type of artwork in it. (For example, artwork with a monochromatic, polychromatic, or black-and-white color scheme, portraits, landscapes, etc.) The task is to find a picture of the same type in the basement of the museum (which must be accessed by clicking an arrow). In the basement, C.J. will hold a broom and must be guided around using the arrow keys. The whole basement is dirty, but whenever C.J. moves around, the space he is on is cleaned off. The spacebar is used to look at the picture inside a crate. If the crate has the right type of art inside, C.J. must push it out through the door. There must be a clean, dirtless path to the door, however. Additionally, C.J. has three brooms (lives) to begin with. If C.J. touches an enemy dust devil, he will loose a broom and go back to his starting position. Also, if a dust devil touches a space C.J. has cleaned off, it will become dirty again. The process repeats until the final round in which the player goes to the painting game to fill in the final space.

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, North America: In this game (which teaches music), there is a missing section in a piece of music. You must choose the correct note(s) to put into the missing space. There is an additional mode in which you can create your own music.

Russia, Europe: (Note: This game does not mention how Russia is also partially in Asia, so it's presumable that you are visiting the European side of Russia while playing this game.) This game resembles some form of board game featuring red and black checkers-styled spaces and snowman game pieces. The game pieces hold signs of different colors, each with a word on it. The goal is to get one of your (C.J.'s) pieces to the other side of the board before Lucianova (Lucy/the computer) gets hers to the other side of the board. You can block Lucy's pieces if they are holding the same color sign as the piece you are blocking with. There's also a plank at the bottom of the screen stating an additional way to block your opponent's pieces, i.e. block your opponents pieces with antonyms (referring to the word on the sign).

South America: Using the arrow keys, the player makes C.J. walk and hop on logs, turtles, and alligators. A question will be displayed at the bottom of the screen which Edison will read out loud. C.J. must reach the island containing the correct answer to the question. This game can teach a variety of subjects, including coins of the United States, mathematics, and language arts.

Hopsalot's Labaratory: This game does not earn the user gadget pieces; instead, it is something that must be accomplished after at least 4 gadget pieces are obtained. This game can be accessed two ways. One is to click the star above the world map at the headquarters which will only appear if the user has at least 4 gadget pieces. The other way is by clicking on a bookshelf (also at the headquarters). If you choose the star, you will use the gadget pieces you have earned from the games and the invention featured will be the one that Hopsalot is using to fix Dr. O's misdoings. Once Hopsalot's Labaratory is completed when accessed by the star, progress will be made in the game. However, if the bookshelf is clicked, gadget pieces will not be the ones the user has obtained, progress will not be made in the game, and the invention featured will not be one that is used to fix Dr. O's wrongs. Usually in the game, there will be a ball at one side of the screen and Hopsalot's invention on the other. The player must arrange different gadget pieces in different places to get the ball to touch the invention. The ball will bounce off some gadget pieces, will be propelled by some gadget pieces, and will have other reactions from other pieces. Sometimes, things are a bit different (i.e. sometimes a block is involved). This game is supposed to teach logic.

External links

* [http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/multisub/2ndgrade/1/js2adv/merge.shtml Superkids review]
* [http://www.rmlearning.com/28434.htm Rocky Mountain Learning System - Information]
* [http://shop.knowledgeadventure.com/Products/JumpStart-Advanced-2nd-Grade__20519.aspx Official JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade page]