LEGO Friends (Nintendo DS)

$30, Nintendo 3DS

Teaches: creativity, caring for animals

CTR Review

Based on the LEGO friends collection of building sets for girls, the game lets girls express their individuality and personality as they explore the city. You can shop for the latest outfits and accessories, select the perfect hairstyle, decorate your bedroom and pick out a pet. You can also choose how to spend your summer vacation, whether it's attending horse riding camp, playing soccer, or caring for an animal at the rescue center. You will meet new LEGO friends and join them on adventures, for example, you can help Andrea decide what to sing at her concert, or take photos for Emma's newspaper article. As you help friends on special adventures, your friendship levels with the girls will grow closer to "True Friend" status. On some adventures you can unlock in-game money that you can use for shopping. Other activities let you train your pet to do tricks, groom them, feed them treats, and enter them in a pet show. Each pet has a special skill that they can use to help you on your adventures. You can even trade places with your pet so you can play the game from her perspective. You can also scrapbook your adventures using your in-game camera for photo-ops.