Secret Agent Splat’s Mission Review

Secret Agent Splat’s Mission is a fun game app based on the best selling children’s book, Secret Agent Splat, part of a larger series of Splat the Cat books.

It is worth noting upfront that this app is not a thorough re-telling of the original book, yet this app is a very appealing companion piece to the children’s story which includes three fun action-packed games (a fourth to be included in a future update).

It may be helpful to tell readers that the tale of Secret Agent Splat is about Splat the Cat who is on the case when the toy ducks his dad makes have been stolen, then to be brought back with missing beaks. Fun spy gadgets are used to track down who Splat thinks is taking the ducks. It is here that the tone of this book changes as the real culprit is discovered who meant no harm, this story ending with a warm and happy ending.

A brief retelling of the beginning of this story is offered as a set-up for the included games - a slight disappointment as I think this story as a whole would make a wonderful storybook app in its own right. This, combined with the included narration being excellent, bringing a lot of suspense for this mystery of sorts, and including the wonderful illustration from the book all which add up to create the promise of a great children's application. This is not a flaw of the app itself, really, as it is the reader who may have different expectations from what this app has to offer.

I do think this application will be a huge hit with families familiar with this series of Splat the Cat books, now allowing children to help Splat get his ducks back as well as ducks for their own personal collection every time they succeed at a mission.

Seymour’s Impossible Mission stars Seymour, Splat's mouse friend, as he is lowered into a shaft of some sort looking for the ducks to be found at the bottom. Tilt the iPad to avoid obstacles on the way down.

B-B-B-Boing is an arcade-style game - a variation of Wack-a-Mole where one uses Splat’s secret gizmo, introduced in the book to tap the ducks that pop up from holes in a grass-covered hill. Do avoid hitting Seymour as he pops up from these holes as well. My son laughed out loud when he was the secret gizmo included from the book - a nice touch kids will get a kick out of.

Ducks in the Dark is a variation on a classic memory game where one must use his flashlight to turn over cards in order to make pairs.

Children will enjoy collecting these colorful, whimsical ducks stored together in a personal duck collection, complete with empty spaces and name tags waiting for these ducks to be found, each with a human name associated with these empty spaces - a detail that I think it very cute.

Each of these games includes ten levels of increasing difficulty, and solving each of these levels allows one to achieve a higher rank from “Spy in Training” to “Master Spy,” ultimately becoming a “Super Secret Agent.”

The number of levels included within these three games is impressive, and the look of this app is great with bright colors and many whimsical ducks to enjoy collecting. This is a great app for children who are looking for games for the iPad that parents will appreciate for having a tie-in with a great series of books, possibly encouraging them to read these books as well as to play arcade games.