Charm Girls Club (DS)
© 2009 Electronic Arts, Inc.
Well designed, but sure to raise the ire of adults who are bothered by gender stereotypes, Charm Girls Club My Perfect Prom is one of a series of three similarly designed Nintendo DS titles. The other two are titles are Charm Girls Club My Fashion Mall and Charm Girls Club My Fashion Show. You start be choosing one of two game save slots, and then design and name your own Charm Girl. There are a lot of fashion items and possible looks, making this an excellent part of the game. Next, it's onto the school, where you start collecting charms by racing (steering through traffic while collecting), washing (aiming a hose at a dirty car) and so on. There are a total of ten games, including some multiplayer options that use the Wireless DS Multi-Card Play, for 1-4 players. There's no shortage of reading, including OMG, BFF and so on; and there's plenty to do. Your progress is saved automatically. All in all, there's a lot of good design features in this game, and plenty to do. Once you've used up one adventure, EA hopes you'll buy a second or third $30 title to start on a new set of challenges with the same characters. Examples of stereotyping are very thick; more so than Barbie or Bratz. Your main goal is to impress boys, get more popular, and get the best boy to take you the prom. If you don't mind all the hair, fashion and shopping, this is a good title to buy or borrow.
$30, Nintendo DS
Teaches: logic, reading, spatial relations, timing, some creativity
CTR Rating: 86%