Barbie Generation Girl Gotta Groove

copyright KBkids.com

If the girl you are purchasing for loves to dance, she will enjoy this new CD from Mattel. All Barbie fans will not be thrilled with the idea behind Gotta Groove, but those who enjoy Barbie AND dancing, or those who just like dancing, will be pleased.

Barbie and her Generation Girl friends at International High School love to perform. They each have a special talent, and together create great dance shows. You are invited to help them put together dance routines.

There are four aspects to designing a dance routine for Barbie:

In the dance studio you can decide what dance moves will be performed. The girls practice their moves, and even teach each other new dance combinations. By moving dance step cards around the screen, you create new combinations. As the girls practice, their repertoire of dance moves grows. You will start with only a few dance moves, but as they practice, more will appear for you to choose from. The girls repeat one step until you click the mouse, moving them to the next step in the sequence. There are only about six musical selections, but they are varied in style

Once you have a dance routine that you like, it is time for costumes. There are six different costumes, and several fabric designs that can be used. Lighting and stage design consists of choosing a backdrop, special effects (bubbles etc.) and setting the mood for your big performance.

Once all of these decisions have been made, your can perform on stage. You are given limited control over lighting, special effects and camera angles. Even with a clumsy dance routine the show looks pretty good.

Testers liked this program, but wished for a bit more variety. More costumes, more music, and more control on stage would have been nice. Testers also found themselves having to guess at how to use features from time to time. The limited features do make this program accessible to younger children, however.

Bottom Line: Good choice for Barbie fans who enjoy dancing. A bit limited, but good for younger kids.

Rating (based on KBkids.com 4 star rating system)

Overall: 2 1/2

BrainGain: 2

FunFactor: 3

EasePlease: 2 1/2

 

Buy Barbie Gotta Groove (Generation Girl) from Amazon

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