Imagine: Rock Star (Nintendo DS)

Ubisoft's Imagine series is a collection of Nintendo DS games geared towards young girls and tweens that lets them explore professions like teacher, fashion designer, and animal doctor. In IMAGINE: ROCK STAR, players join an up-and-coming all-girl band that has its heart set on musical stardom.

Imagine: Rock Star is a rhythm action game where the goal is to play along with the song by tapping the screen in the correct rhythm as the corresponding symbols scroll by. The game mechanic changes slightly based on which instrument is chosen, whether it's tapping color-coordinated drums, bass strings, or keyboard keys, or strumming a guitar by dragging the stylus upward. In between playing songs, you can travel to the mall to buy new clothes and instruments, or go home to switch your wardrobe, put on different make-up, and look at the photos you've snapped of your character performing.

The concept of trying to make video games more inclusive to girls is admirable, but when stacked up against other music games –- most notably Guitar Hero: On Tour - Imagine: Rock Star just doesn't cut it. Even on the hardest of three difficulty levels, the game doesn't offer much challenge. The music is a selection of generic, poorly-mixed pop songs (at the beginning you choose to be in a Pop, Rock, or Funk band, but it doesn't seem to affect song choice), graphics are sub-par, and the worst part is that you're stuck playing the same small group of songs over and over again until your popularity meter fills up enough for you to unlock the next set. On the positive side, the game's subject matter is innocent and squeaky clean – just not particularly enjoyable.

Available on: Nintendo DS
Not available online
Genre: Music
Developer: UbiSoft
Released on: June 17, 2008
Price: 29.99
ESRB Rating: E for (No Descriptors)