Bratz is a range of fashion dolls created by MGA Entertainment. The range has garnered some controversy, not least for the sexualising of young girls. From the original line of dolls the franchise has spread into any media that it can and so it will come as no surprise that we eventually would have a Bratz computer game.

Bratz: Girlz Really Rock, based on the film of the same name, is out now for the Wii. Aimed at the same age group of nine to fourteen, the game has the original characters of Cole, Sasha, Yasmin and Jade - four young ladies of an in determinate age and oddly massive heads. Given their propensity for annoying and repetitive language during the game I presume that they are supposed to be about fifteen or sixteen.

The basic premise of the game is that the girls are off to summer camp and have to practice their various skills in order to compete in the end of camp competition, the winner of which will get a Hollywood contract.

What you actually get is a very thinly disguised set of mini games, okay in themselves, but there is little here of any substance. Graphics are the same blocky, but bright, type that we have come to expect from Wii games but way below par when you consider games like Sonic. You can complete the games alone or with a friend.

There is the inevitable makeup section where you can engage in mini activities to open more options for clothing and makeup - on top of which you have the main mini games. The dance game contains many of the same problems as the music game. You are presented with a bar at the top of the screen and as the A’s and B’s move across you have to hit the appropriate button, the main problem here is that if the bar were at the bottom of the screen you would also be able to see what your character was doing, with it on the top you get to see almost nothing, reducing it to just a game of button pushing - not very interesting.

The skydiving is better, as you float down having to move you character by tilting the controller to either engage in formation diving or flying through white rings for extra points. The last main game is the mini golf; the controls are so bad that this portion of the game is almost unplayable.

I’ll be honest, the game was never meant to be played by a male my age, even so the lack of depth and the control problems makes this a games only worth while if your daughter is already obsessed by the Bratz.

5

Charles Packer