Monsters University Storybook Deluxe

I received a download code to review this app

Everyone in the family is so excited to see Monster's University!  Finding out how Mike and Sully learned to become monster scarers (and friends) at college is going to be so much fun.  To add to the excitement, Disney Publishing has just released a brand new app:  Monsters University Storybook Deluxe! It's available for $6.99 in the iTunes App Store for the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Mini.

Just like the other Disney Storybook Deluxe apps I've reviewed, Monsters University features interactive storybook art, voices from the film, Read-On-Your-Own or Listen-On-Your-Own reading options -- at least I think they do.  You see, I haven't tried the storybook feature of this app yet because I don't want any plot spoilers!  I want to watch the movie first, then go back and read the story.

Even though I'm not going anywhere near the storybook mode just yet, I'm having so much fun with this app -- probably more than most of the Disney Storybook Deluxe apps.  Monsters University doesn't have coloring pages or puzzles like most of the others -- but what it does have is the coolest Monster ID maker ever.  You can take your photo or choose from a photo in your library, then Monsterify (or should I say "MonsTerrify") it with monster features.  I love that you can resize, rotate and discard any of the monster features to get exactly the look you want!

You can type in your name, draw your signature, choose your major (Scaring, Philosophy and Science are among the options) and choose your monster fraternity affiliation.  As you can see, I had WAAAAY too much fun with this.

The app also has a fun game you can play to collect monster cards.  Technically there are 5 games, but they're pretty much the same game:  you have to navigate through a room filled with obstacles (just the room and the obstacles vary) by tilting the iPad or iPhone to avoid the obstacles.

If you hit a total of 3 obstacles, the game ends.

If you make it to the other end of the room without hitting any obstacles, you get to climb onto a simulator child's bed and scare him by roaring -- yes, you literally have to roar (or make a loud sound) to fill up the scare can.

There's an easy level and a hard level.  If you complete a hard level, you get a virtual scare card!

You can choose to play the game from the point of view (POV) of a variety of players.  At first you'll only be able to play as Mike Wazowski, but you can collect other player cards by finding and tapping hidden "scream cans" throughout the story (I haven't read the story yet, which explains why I haven't unlocked any of the other player cards).

You can earn more scare cards by playing the game as a different player and completing a hard-level game.

You can unlock even more scare cards if you own the Monsters Inc. Deluxe Storybook app!

The game is more fun and challenging than it originally seems.  It took me at least a dozen tries before I could make it to the end of the room!  First-person POV games make me really dizzy but I was determined to get to that darn simulator kid and scare him :)

I haven't even gotten to the storybook part of Monsters University Storybook Deluxe, and I'm already enjoying it.  All the features in the Disney Publishing Storybook Deluxe apps were getting predictable, so it's so great to have such a unique and refreshing one that really makes it feel like it's a "Deluxe" app -- in other words, worth the money!


Disclosure: I received a sample code for download.. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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