| Introduction
After reviewing countless games, I'm almost sure
that this is the first title I've ever played that's
aimed specifically at girls. Not being an expert on
this type of thing, I've enlisted the help of my six-year-old
niece, who just so happens to be a Barbie fan, which
is good since the finer details of this title could
be lost to me. The game is, of course, yet another dreaded
license, which in the worst-case scenario is nothing
more than a well-known product thrown into an existing
mediocre game shell. Is this the case then with Barbie Groovy Games?
Let's see...
GamePlay
Your first task is to choose the one or two player
option and then assign a character to the players. It's
then straight to the game via a menu-driven interface;
stop on one, press the 'A' button, and away you go.
There are nine games in all, which are all fairly
basic though reasonably enjoyable. Things start off
with 'DJ Booth' (basically 'Pairs' to everyone else),
then 'Four Scoops' (or 'Connect 4' with an ice-cream
theme). 'Bust-a-Move' is replicated in the 'Bubble Machine'
and 'Conga Line' is a Barbie version of the classic
'Snake' theme. There's also a game called 'Gems and
Jewels' which is remarkably similar to Four Scoops,
only it's a little more puzzle-oriented.
The classics are also present, so you'll also be
treated to GBA versions of 'Tic-Tac-Toe' and 'Draughts'
although you really should play with a friend, as the computer
on the hard setting will nearly always beat you. 'Groove
and Move' challenges you to follow Barbie's dance moves
at the disco, and finally there's 'Daisy Derby', which
is really 'Hangman' played out as a horse race, but
takes on quite an unusual turn as a two-player game,
in which one player chooses a word and the other tries
to guess it. The problem here is that Barbie Groovy
Games doesn't contain a dictionary, so you can really
put in any word (or collection of letters) you like.
It's not very fair, and it will most likely drive the
other player up the wall.
Controls
Most of the controls revolve around using the D-Pad
as a mouse cursor and button A to select. It's made
even simpler because every game has a help section that
you can choose to open before you start to play. It's
all very intuitive, and the developers have obviously
spent a great deal of time testing this product with
its intended demographic. As a result, the player can
get into the gaming almost instantly without frustration.
Graphics
The visuals throughout are bright and colorful. There's
very little in the way of an intro or front end, and
it seems that almost as soon as you've switched on your
GBA you can be playing one of the games. There's no
real animation to speak of either, because almost everything's
board game-based; it's simply a case of moving objects
around to various locations. Outside of that, there's
not a great deal to say but my niece did approve, so
I suppose that in that respect alone, it's obviously
a hit.
Sound & Music
Audio has never been the most important aspect of
a board game, and most players regard it as a distraction
rather than an asset. Barbie Groovy Games is no exception,
and though each of the nine games features its own separate
soundtrack, it's all very much background, unless the
game specifically requires music such as the 'Conga
Line' or 'Move and Groove'. The sound effects are also
restricted to the odd beep or applause but it's enough
to indicate something's happening onscreen.
Final Comments
There was a little battle at the end of this review,
where I insisted it was only a rank of 3, but my niece
assured me that is was much better than that. Obviously
I won in the end (I'm bigger…), though we managed to
agree on what we liked and what was missing. Barbie
fans and young girls will no doubt enjoy Barbie Groovy
Games. Though it's all incredibly simple, this actually
gives the whole product a kind of warm familiarity,
especially for younger gamers. The two player option
also works very well on the majority of games, but some
type of high score chart would have been nice and would
really aid longevity. A good, solid product for its
intended demographic, but by no means an entertaining
romp for all you GBA fans out there.
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