The Barbie Diaries: High School Mystery (GBA) - E
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this Barbie game is easy and short. The only negative content is the decision by the high school staff to "not involve the authorities" in the investigation of a theft of items from a school. Another thing for parents to consider is the age-compression issue. Wouldn't it make more sense if this game for tweens was set in a middle school instead of a high school?
Families can talk about the importance of honesty and responsibility when laws are broken, and the appropriate methods of dealing with these situations. Since the thief claims to have "hidden" the items that he or she took instead of "stealing" them, families can talk about whether this situation is stealing. Families can also talk about consulting with people in authority -- what is their role and when should they be consulted?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Anise Hollingshead
THE BARBIE DIARIES: HIGH SCHOOL MYSTERY GBA is based on The Barbie Diaries movie, which stars Barbie as a high schooler contending with the typical high school crowds you'd expect: the jocks, queen bees, and social outcasts. In the movie, Barbie plays guitar and sings in a girl rock-'n'-roll band.
In The Barbie Diaries: High School Mystery GBA, Barbie and her high school buddies are embroiled in a mystery: items slated for a charity auction have disappeared. They're actually stolen, but for some reason the thief has placed them all around the school as a sort of prank. Lucky for Barbie, a mysterious person starts leaving clues to the items' whereabouts on Barbie's BDA, or "Barbie Diary Assistant."
After the initial story lead-in, players begin as Barbie in this adventure-style game. Barbie explores the high school, picks up clues, and plays several mini-games along the way. Once she's found all the auction items, it's time for the denouement!
At first glance, this appears to be a promising game for young girls, as it stars the popular Barbie in a high school setting, complete with a mystery to solve and mini-games to break up the adventure along the way. However, the initial promise never quite delivers and the entire game never rises above the ordinary.
For instance, the game is basically an adventure, but Barbie does very little sleuthing. There are lots of characters standing around, but there is no meaningful interaction, as the characters are just there to offer side comments that have no bearing on the mystery. Barbie collects clues, but she doesn't do much with them. While there are several interactive mini-games included in the adventure, for some reason most are not available in the mini-game mode for separate play later.
These mini-games range from simple arcade types to critical thinking games, but most of them aren't very fun. The exception is Word Finder and Picture Descrambler, two games that are also featured in the mini-game mode. Word Finder is a variation of hangman and Picture Descrambler is a sliding puzzle. While these two games are actually well-designed and fun to play, they aren't enough to keep kids busy for very long. And, the game is very short and can be completed in one sitting of a few hours.
The story itself is pretty unimaginative, and there's a sense of "so what?" to it all. The stolen property plot is a little disturbing, too, because a teacher comments that "we think it's best not to get the authorities involved." And a note from the thief reveals that instead of "stealing" the items, he or she "hid" them around the school.
One good feature of the game is the "BDA," the Barbie Diary Assistant (gotta love the name!). This tool has great potential, but players will only use it for the map and task list options. What a waste. A real diary, some sort of design option, or a music player would have been appreciated.
The bottom line is that this game just isn't very good and suffers from a lack of variety. There should have been more activities included, such as some type of design/art activity, and more stand-alone mini-games. The inclusion of the BDA was a great idea, but it isn't utilized to its full potential.
The PC version of this game, The Barbie Diaries: High School Mystery PC is a better game. Those who have a DS might want to check out the recent release of That's So Raven: Psychic on the Scene for a similar adventure theme with lots more replayable mini-games and design options.
Reviewed: 01/17/2007
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
 |
||
Violence |
|
|
||
Language |
|
|
||
Message |
|
|
||
Social BehaviorBarbie takes the lead on solving a mystery. Her friends are culturally diverse. |
 |
|
||
CommercialismThis game is based on The Barbie Diaries movie and on the Barbie doll franchise. |
 |
|
||
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
||
Educational ValueSome critical thinking in mini-games. |
 |
|
||
