America’s Next Top Model (Nintendo DS)

review by: James Whittington

It’s a well-known fact that electronic games and gaming consoles are no longer just the playthings of the male gender. Girls too are getting in on the act and software houses are beginning to hone their titles on this fact. America’s Next Top Model is based on the hugely popular US series that’s shown here on Living TV but designed to be used by players aged 3+. The game follows the show’s format as the player takes control of one of 10 aspiring models and competes in a variety of different categories including: Make-Up, Fashion, Catwalk and Photo Shoot. At the end of each “show” one of the ten competing models is dismissed. You have to make sure it’s not you!

OK, being 38 years of age doesn’t exactly make me the ideal candidate to review this title but my two young daughters volunteered and soon got caught up in this fantasy world. In the model loft you make your plans for model domination but you need to interact with your competitors who all seem happy to help. Here you’ll learn about other models inadequacies as well as subtle hints that will help you prepare for your big catwalk moment. It takes some time getting used to the scheduling for your player, for example you have to train every day to stay in shape so don’t forget about the gym! Parents who worry that this may not be for their little darlings as fashion models aren’t exactly known for their healthy lifestyle needn’t worry as this game sends out all the right signals, e.g. it tells you that you should eat a healthy diet etc.

Graphically its solid with some fine detail on show especially when you have to apply make-up, but the jazz infused score will have many turning the sound to zero. It’s an interesting idea for a TV-tie in, which doesn’t rely on its connection to sell itself; instead it is actually very entertaining for the young market its aimed at and having a lot of different scenarios to explore, it’ll last quite some time which again should make parents happy!