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Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus
An entry in FamilyFun.com's 2005 Video Game of the Year program
OVERALL SCORE:
88.41
Fun Score:
91.3
Usage Score:
85.45
Graphics Score:
89.02
Parent Score:
86.46
Age Group:
6-9
Category:
Adventure

Tested Platform:
GameBoy Advance
Other Available Platforms:
PC
Suggested Retail Price:
$29.99
Publisher:
Vivendi Universal Games
www.vugames.com 		Some Barbie games play like the developer was just coasting on the brand name. Magic of Pegasus shows more effort. In the story, Barbie (as Princess Annika) is about to have a birthday party when the evil wizard Wenlock turns everyone in the kingdom into stone (except for Annika's sister, Brietta, who he turns into Pegasus). To fix things, Annika can either marry Wenlock or use her magic wand and newly winged sister to turn everyone back by herself (the marriage is, of course, not an option). The controls are simple -- mostly just jumping and wanding -- and the game's easy setting makes it impossible to die, making this a great game for younger girls especially.

Testers' overall impressions:
A few parents were happy to find a game especially for their daughters. "It is really hard to find a quality girl game," said one. "Most are marketed for the boys or are gender neutral -- this one is clearly for the girls. Barbie is a big draw no matter what." Another said, "The skill level seemed appropriate for [my daughter's] age level. So often games seem to be too hard and frustrate her."

What our testers liked best:
Predictably, it was the girlish kinds of things that kids really liked. "I liked how her pony tail flew up in the air when she jumped down," said one tester. "It was just like real life." Another tester said, "She was able to go bonus stages to get costumes."

What our testers liked least:
A couple of kids found some of the levels confusing, and the password system that is used in lieu of a save file wasn't a big hit.

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