For nearly four decades, girls have played out their dreams through Barbie, a doll with impossible proportions, a wardrobe to die for and nary a bad hair day. Recently, Mattel Inc. (Barbie’s manufacturer) announced that Barbie’s body is being resculpted to make her look more like today’s woman–Barbie’s bust will shrink and her waist will thicken a bit.
Indications are that Barbie is undergoing an attitude adjustment too. Several new CD-ROMs from Mattel Media featuring Barbie engaging in a variety of activities have been developed for computer play. While a few of these revolve around traditional Barbie interests such as hair design, clothes and parties, others are beginning to show signs that Barbie is moving toward emancipation.
The boldest of these is “Talk With Me Barbie” (Win 95/3.1, $89.95, ages 5 and up), a CD-ROM that works in tandem with a battery-powered Barbie who sits at a toy computer terminal to receive information from an infrared beam that hits a tiny receiver in her necklace. Her terminal is connected to a PC that runs the CD-ROM, which provides her “conversation.” Kids choose her lines from the computer screen. Barbie must sit at the computer to “learn” her script, but once her script is downloaded, she can become a talking doll away from the setup.
Sound simple? Playing with “Talk With Me Barbie” is, but setting up the toy terminal and doll is another story. Barbie must be loaded with six batteries (provided) and her computer station must be connected to a 9-pin serial port at the back of your PC. A word of caution: To avoid disappointment, read “Talk With Me’s” instructions and check your terminal ports before Christmas. You need an open port and, in many cases, you will need a DB25 adapter to connect Barbie’s terminal. You also need a working knowledge of your computer’s port setup. Without those, the program won’t work. Rating: (star) (star) (star)
Another program that gives Barbie more to do than brush her hair is “Ocean Discovery” (Win 95/3.1, $34.95, ages 5 and up), an underwater treasure hunt that combines ecological messages, problem-solving games and the best animation–including 3-D graphics–of all the Barbie programs. Through activities such as repairing a damaged coral reef, untangling a net cast by the evil Capt. Barnacle and a match game with various fish hidden behind shells, Barbie (a marine biologist here) finds pieces of the treasure map and ultimately the treasure while she corrects the damage done by Barnacle’s mischief. She is helped by Sandy the Dolphin and Ken, who remains shipside (doesn’t this girl have any female friends?), to solve the undersea mystery. Each version of Barbie’s adventure can be printed out after the treasure has been found. Rating: (star) (star) (star) (star)
A more traditional Barbie is the star of “Party Print ‘n’ Play” (Win 95, 3.1, $19.95, ages 5 and up), a program that lets girls plan party details such as themes, invitations, goody bags and decorations. The party goods can be created in Barbie size for doll parties or in human size for a real party. Themes include tea, slumber, birthday, holiday and fun in the sun parties. Besides the celebratory stuff, “Party” introduces kids to etiquette (guest lists, address book, thank yous). Girls also learn how to use various type styles, draw via the Art Studio and design party games. Included with “Party” are some Avery Kids Stickers, which can be affixed to namecards, etc., or kids can design and print their own plain on paper. Rating: (star) (star)
Vintage Barbie resurfaces in “Magic Hair Styler” (Win 95/3.1, $34.95, ages 4 and up), a virtual dressup program. Players choose one of four girls (including Barbie) to make over with hair styling and coloring, makeup and accessory choices. The idea is to get Barbie ready for a costume party, a dream date, a wedding or a career. The first three situations are Barbie staples, but the career scenario is so ill-conceived as to be laughable. Barbie’s “career” choice is designated by one of four hats–a hard hat, a firefighter’s helmet, a baseball cap and a nurse’s cap. If the game designers were determined to show that Barbie could excel in traditional men’s jobs, perhaps they should have made the fourth hat a surgeon’s cap. But the title of this program is “Magic Hair Styler,” and as such the program gives girls the opportunity to cut and curl hair, use lipstick and eyeshadow and try out different looks. Rating: (star)
