CINDERELLA'S DOLLHOUSE LG

Disney's Cinderella Dollhouse is really a basic paint program posing as a watered-down version of The Sims. Players decorate Cinderella's kitchen, bedroom, and ballroom, but instead of adorning each empty space with flat images, girls choose from a gallery of interactive objects. What does this mean? Put a flute in Cinderella's hand and she will actually play it; give her a tray of cupcakes and she will offer them to everyone in the room. Adding different characters to the mix will change what they do and say. Girls can thus create scenes where the wicked stepsisters argue, or--by swapping the cast around--they can induce the Prince to make a declaration of love to Cinderella. The number of possible combinations is respectably large, and Disney provides a monthly download of additional objects to keep gameplay from getting stale.

Unfortunately, this game is something of a one-trick pony. Unlike an adult-oriented simulator, the characters' prerecorded responses to game objects are controlled by very simple rules. There are no deviations from the basic Cinderella script, girls cannot create their own characters, and ultimately, the animations don't disguise the fact that this is just another clip art gallery with new bells and whistles. Even with the game updates, older girls will outgrow the dollhouse swiftly. What's more, occasional sound glitches and a long introduction sequence--which can't be skipped--make the process of getting started tedious.

That said, the game does have appealing graphics and expands nicely on the concept of an electronic sticker book--an activity that is usually tossed into other games as a poorly executed afterthought. For younger girls who are fond of this particular fairy tale, or who have already shown that they enjoy decoration-themed programs, Disney's Cinderella Dollhouse makes a good selection. --Alyx Dellamonica

Amazon.com Product Description
Disney's Cinderella's Dollhouse is a magical place where kids canplay and decorate the dollhouse of their dreams with Cinderella and all herfriends. Kids can decorate six different rooms, from the chateau Cinderella shares with her stepmother and stepsisters to the lavish palace where she meets her handsome prince. There are hundreds of accessories and millions of possible combinations, as well as numerous animated surprises. And once thefinal touch is in place, kids can wave a magic wand to bring the charactersto life, causing Cinderella and the other characters to play in the completeddollhouse.

However, she has spent countless hours with this program, and overall enjoys it quite a bit.


One of the Best Kids Games We Own!   November 27, 2002
Heather Harpel (Kellogg, ID)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

We bought this game two months ago, along with two other kids games, and this one is by far our favorite kids game! When I say we, I mean my 7 year old who bought it with birthday money, her two sisters who are old enough to play computer games, me, my friend who lives with us (age 21), even my husband has sat down and messed around with it. It is just addictive, and fun.

Not only do you get to decorate 6 rooms (Step-mother's parlor and kitchen, the mice room, and the bedroom, ballroom, and garden in the castle) then you can place people in the room and they will talk to each other. You can place items in their hands (such as flowers, food, a brush, a flute, much more) and hear them talk about what they are holding. Talk, and sometimes more! I love to have the flute out and people sitting at the piano in the step-mothers parlor. Hand something to Anastasia, and she'll say something (or sometimes say and do something), sometimes Cinderella will answer her, sometimes it will be Drizzella, the step-mother, or the Prince. It is totally fun and sometimes very funny to hear what they say to each other and see what they do with the items you give them. The game is also very easy to play and navigate, my five year old has no trouble playing all by herself.

I do have three complaints against the game, one that was resolved by another persons review (thanks!). First off, we have been frustrated by the Fairy Godmothers long introduction to the game, which we did not know we could skip by hitting the space bar. They never told us that, we would sit through the whole long poem, which isn't bad, but if you have heard it 20 times already you would rather just get to the game. Problem solved now, though. The next thing that frustrates us is that occasionally one of the characters decides to look around (they don't say anything, they just look around) and you can't do anything while they look. It is a minor annoyance, just as you go to place an item into the scene, the Prince just has to look around a couple times, and you have to wait about 30 seconds or so until he is done. The third thing that frustrates us is that we are supposed to be able to download new decorative items from online, but we try and try and can not make it work. Even with these annoyances, it is still a great game that we love and play a lot.