Genesis ~ Barbie Review

Overview

Everybody knows Barbie right? A little girls doll that has sparked controversy over the years to do with its sex image, especially the level of cleavage. All around the world, little girlies and even queer, gay little boys are tugging away at their mummy's handbags whining "Mummy, I want this Barbie", "I want the pretty ballerina Barbie", "I want adventure camper Ken for my Barbie to interact with", "I want the Barbie hot tub so Ken and Barbie can play with each other". But it just about crosses the line when they go "Mummy, gimme the Barbie game!" So poor child spoiling Mummy has to fork a wad of cash to satisfy her little girl/boy with this new Barbie game, without realising they would have benefited alot more with some cheap Lego.

Gameplay

Simple as for serious gamers. A dream come true wonderland for the little girl. You take on the role of Super Model Barbie, where you get to endure 4 fashion shows, while trying to stay alive as well to make the cut. The 4 levels are a drive through town, skate through beach, walk through ski resort and cycle through park.

Basically through each of the levels, you make your way to the end going left to right, while trying to avoid things in your way, like hunky boys, frisbies and snowballs; all of which can kill you in one hit to lose a "chance", which is a life. There are many items on the road that you can pick up. Going into a makeup bag will take you to the dressing room, where you have to memorise Barbie's outfit on the magazine cover, then do your best to match it up. Likewise with the camera, you try to match up Barbie's face on the magazine cover. There are also stars to pick up for meaningless points or hearts for extra chances. After making it to the end, you get to practice your fashion show routine that is nothing more than a 4-button combination. Memorised it? Then make your way to the fashion show by going right to left through the level again. In the fashion show, just go through that easy 4-button combination to entertain that stupid audience. Mess up the fashion show? No worries, you'll still move onto the next level!

That's all there is to it. Dress Barbie up, put make-up on her face, perform 4 little fashion moves and make sure she doesn't get killed.

4 out of 10

Graphics

Barbie herself looks ugly as usual, as do all the other boys around her. A little girl would be amazed at the colourful and pretty graphics.

3 out of 5

Sound and Music

Little girls music, but not at it's best. The sound effects are nothing more than bleeps and dlonks.

2 out of 5

Controls, Difficulty, Versatility

Scrolling through Barbie's dress and make-up is a pain in the butt.

The game is far too easy to beat even on Super Model mode. After completing the forth fashion show, nothing happens except for a picture of Barbie sitting on her couch saying "Try Again".

2 out of 5

Replayability and Longevity

It'll take about 10mins to make it to the end of Barbie's fascinating modelling career. Even for a little girl, it won't last anymore than a few hours.

1 out of 5

For: great for little girls, colourful graphics, easy.

Against: only takes a few mins to complete, crappy sound effects, too easy.

A little girl at such a young age needs educational titles like Barney's Hide and Seek, not this uninspiring outlook into the world of girlish modeling. If you're the average gamer, have a little play around with this game for a giggle. Ken is nowhere to be seen in the game, so you're better off just playing with Barbie and Ken dolls.