Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
New looks get old fast; mixed message for tweens.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
With DIGI MAKEOVER from Radica, tween girls can digitally experiment with their own appearance and the appearance of six other models. Girls can try out different hairstyles, makeup, and accessories. The game works by plugging the Digi Makeover touchpad into a television using the audio/video input jacks. Girls make decisions by pushing buttons on the touchpad to select from possible options shown on the TV screen, and they use a stylus to apply makeup to a model's face.
Is It Any Good?
Girl testers said most of the hairstyles didn't look realistic. The makeup options also produced mixed results: While it was fun to change eye color, it was difficult to apply subtle eye makeup. And trying to undo previous actions often resulted in wiping clean all your previous work.
Parents will have to wrestle with whether Digi Makeover could lower their daughter's self-esteem by sending the message that girls aren't pretty without makeup. Or perhaps Digi Makeover might help teach that makeup can create fake beauty, so they should be skeptical of the glamour shown in magazines. Some parents, however, will probably consider Digi Makeover as simply another way for young girls to play dress-up. But Digi Makeover, while initially interesting, won't keep girls' attention for long given its clunky design.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about beauty. Does this software make you feel like you aren't beautiful without makeup? Or does it reveal that many of the representations of beauty within our culture are fake? And, just for fun, what does mom look like with green hair?
Game Details
- Platform : Plug-and-play TV games
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Radica
- Release date : November 17, 2006
- Genre : Girl
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : August 25, 2016
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