Barbie: Dreamhouse Party

Today we are looking at Barbie: Dreamhouse Party. This is available for most systems, but it is the Nintendo 3DS one that we are looking at today. My wife is a Barbie collector so we do have quite a few Barbie games in the house and this 3DS version is one of the more ignored games in the Barbie collection. Speaking of the Barbie collection, it is actually pretty mind blowing just how many Barbie games there have been over the years.

Flipping The Switch

Like the majority of Barbie games that are made these days, Barbie: Dreamhouse Party has a tie into a specific kind of Barbie. This is based on a popular online series that kids seem to really like. It features Barbie and her best friends hanging out in the Dreamhouse. This is a pretty awesome house, but someone presses the wrong button, and the house changes so that all of the different areas are now home to these “games” the girls have to play and complete the games to put the house back to normal.

Ain't No Party Like A Dreamhouse Party!

The gameplay of Barbie: Dreamhouse Party is pretty shallow and clearly aimed at younger kids. You get to explore the Dreamhouse which I am sure will be very appealing for fans of Barbie. You can find all kinds of accessories which you can then put on the girls, I would imagine this is probably the most addictive aspect of the game for most kids. There are also some “fun” mini-games that you will have to do. These range from a dancing rhythm style game to a search and find mini-game. These mini-games function fine enough, but they are just not all that exciting. However, for a gamer that loves Barbie, I am sure they will get a lot more out of it.

DS or 3DS?

The presentation of Barbie: Dreamhouse Party is ok. We are looking at the Nintendo 3DS version of the game here and I have to be honest, I think there is not much improvement here over the Nintendo DS version of the game. It is neat being able to run around and explore the Dreamhouse in 3D and I am sure fans will get a kick out of that. However, it just has a very “budget” kind of look to it all. The music is what you would expect and there is a bit of voice acting here and there which is better quality than I thought it would be.

Pros:

• It is based on the popular web series
• It features Barbie and her friends
• The mini-games to be fair play decent enough
• I am sure Barbie fans will get a kick out of the way you can customize the girls

Cons:

• The game is not much improved over the standard DS version
• The whole game has a very budget title feel about it