Little
Disney Princess fans have the chance to dress up their own
Princess Model in this free-play creativity software. First
up, kids select a Disney Princess to be their guide--they have 3
princesses to choose from: Little Mermaid's Ariel, Beauty and the
Beast's Belle, and Aladdin's Jasmine. Although the game plays the
same way no matter which princess is chosen, the themes are
different depending on the princess.
Before playing the activities,
kids customize a Princess Model, presumably to look similar to
themselves. They select from different body types (thin, medium,
and slightly chunkier), skin colors, hairdos, hair colors, and
facial features. There is an option to import a child's photo (her
face), which then appears on the Princess Model's body. This
Princess Model appears throughout the program and is the model
that kids "dress up" in the Secret Tower.
Children choose between a handful
of activities. Traveling to the Secret Tower gives them the
opportunity to play with different costumes, patterns,
accessories, hair styles, and so forth. At the beginning, there
are a limited number
of accessories and patterns for clothing to choose from. Kids can
go to a special place (for example, the Enchanted Undersea
Hideaway if Ariel is their guide, or the Enchanted Cave of Wonders
if Jasmine is hosting the game, pictured at left) in order to
search for more accessories. The Disney Princess gives clues as to
where to find some of the hidden surprises, and these take the
form of riddles. Surprises include such things as a chiffon dress,
a new hairstyle with a crown, etc. These accessories are moved
into a pouch and they are "magically" transferred to the
wardrobe in the Secret Tower.
The Star of the Story activity
allows children to create picture stories by selecting
backgrounds, stickers, and characters. If they have saved a
princess model, they can even insert her into the story. Stickers
can be resized and flipped so that they fit nicely onto the page.
Children can also add color to the backgrounds.
When we installed the game, it
appeared with the title "Disney Princess Fashion Boutique
2", and this makes sense because there are some big
similarities to the Disney Princess Fashion Boutique title.
The icons used for navigation,
though creative, are not entirely intuitive. This is likely to
confuse younger players at first, so parents will need to be on
hand to explain the program to them before they can play
independently. An example occurs when children view the contents
of their pouch--in order to close the pouch again, they need to
click on a portion of the rope tie.
All in all, this program is
presented nicely and will please some kids. Some families,
however, will feel that there could have been more to the
program.
See more screenshots and comments in our screenshot
gallery of the game.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy the CD-ROM:
Disney's Princess Magical Dress-Up]
UPDATE 2004: This program is now available in
an economical bundle, along with 2 other CD-ROMs: Princess Collection 2004
Pros:
- Charming free-play
program.
- Children dress up
princess models and take part in pressure-free
activities.
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Cons:
- Younger players will
need some help understanding what the program offers and
how to navigate.
- Some children will want
more activities than are offered.
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For Win/Mac |
By: Disney Interactive |
Ages 4-7 |
Published: 2002 |
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