I shuddered when this appeared under the tree!

That was my knee jerk reaction. I wondered "What kind of 'education' will my daughter get from the Bratz?"

Of course, it was the first game requested. Slowly, I started to change my mind (to a point). First of all, it's a very easy game for a child to maneuver. We've had problems with some other games because my daughter gets nervous when her character appears to be in danger. There's no danger in Lil' Bratz.

The first game was a pet store game. The character matches pet items with the pet. There are voice prompts and onscreen hints to help. For me, it appeared tedious. For a 5 year old, she was thrilled that she could do it herself. She also had fun helping the animals.

The next one was a shopping game. It took a few tries to figure out how to move the Bratz character but once we did, it was a breeze.

The next one we reached was a pattern matching game where Bratz are shopping for furniture.

Overall, it's a nice time waster for a younger child. It helps them get used to following simple directions and teaches them to use the joystick without the fear of "killing" your VSmile character.

However, we only made it to 3 games. I was bored midway through the first. The 5 year old was bored by the third. It's also not a game she reaches for first. She played it Christmas day and it was considered once yesterday (but lost out to the more "action packed" Winnie the Pooh game.

If this is a gift, or you find it in the bargain bin go for it. But don't waste your money on full price!