Introducing Imagine Babies
Platform: Nintendo DS
Publisher: UbiSoft
Release Date: 2nd November 2007
Ages: 6 to 14 years
Best Online Price: £17.99
Why children like to play with babies
It's understandable for children to love babies, often before they are even out of nappies themselves. Most baby dolls have very appealing human faces and it's only natural that children will respond to a cute toy that looks like a baby.
When children play with baby dolls, they are simply playing out their own lives with something that represents a smaller, dependent version of themselves. They are copying the things that they experience in their everyday world. Their first role model is their own mother, and their first opportunity at role-playing is with their baby dolls.
During play, children learn social skills and how to care for others who need them. It is helping them to build a foundation for positive, inter-personal relationships and to grasp concepts of healthy family dynamics.
Children grow up all too quickly and before you know it, little Jessica will be holding her own real-life baby in her arms. If she's had plenty of practice at motherhood when she was little, hopefully she will make a jolly good mother and you'll be just about bursting with pride.
Imagine Babies - The modern baby doll!
Introducing Imagine Babies for the Nintendo DS, a game designed for 6 to 14 year old girls which lets children experience the joy of looking after their very own group of babies. Some of the main features of Imagine Babies are listed below:
Embody a young babysitter and take on your neighbour's babies all with their own personalities!
Take care of 6 babies (one after the other), each with a distinctive character.
Prepare their bottle and baby food in the kitchen, check on the amount of food in stock and buy the right food according to their needs.
Rock the babies in a cradle, put on the soothing radio or move the mobile to help them sleep or to calm them down.
Change their nappies to keep them clean, keep an eye on their health and dress them up with different clothes.
Entertain the babies by playing with them and their toys, play music to make them dance.
Take them into the garden to play on swings and other garden toys.
Exchange photos and clothing with other players through Wi-Fi.
Use fun mini-games to create a welcoming home for the babies. wash up, clean and vacuum and paint the walls.
Mow the grass, trim hedges and drive away spiders!
Make the house to your own taste, use the money you earn and the vouchers you receive to buy items at the shops to decorate the house.
Imagine Babies Overview
In Imagine Babies you play the part of a young student who visits her grandmother's house for the summer. Your grandmother swans off on holiday (probably somewhere hot to catch some rays) and leaves you in charge of her house.
During her absence you will have to maintain the house and even decorate it to your taste. In order to do this you will need to earn money by taking care of all your neighbour's babies.
When you first load up Imagine Babies, it isn't long before you get your first baby to take care of. You can play with your baby straight away by visiting the playroom. Choose between rattles, spinning tops, and animal shakers, all of which the babies love.
Each toy in Imagine Babies involves playing a mini game. You have to shake the rattle within a moving oval in the time allotted, or tap the number of maracas shown on either side of the screen before highlighted side switches over.
With all the excitement, your baby has probably worked up an appetite. Feeding them is another mini-game. You have to scoop up some hot, steaming baby food, blow it to cool it down, and then bring it over to their mouths. Should they get impatient, you'll have to trace a maze-like path by following the spoon icon as it races its way across to the mouth.
After lunch, you may want to give the baby a thorough clean in the bathroom. Here you will need to scrub them down on all sides and should you irritate them in the eyes by accident, a squeaky rubber ducky is on hand.
Sometimes you'll just want to put the babies to sleep. You do this by rocking them to and fro. When you've got nothing else to do, there's always the issue of household maintenance. With grandmother away, the dishes wont clean themselves!
Dressing up your babies in a variety of costumes is very amusing. Cowboy baby flicks his fingers as if he's cocking some handguns and bunny baby hops about like the bounding critter. Watch them dance as you play the piano.
These babies know how to have fun and so long as they aren't hungry or you don't force them to play with a toy they don't like, they'll entertain you to no end.
More Imagine Babies screen shots
Click for a larger image (opens new window)
Where can I buy Imagine Babies?
Imagine Babies is available in both high street stores and online. Prices are generally cheaper online, and often include free delivery. The following table gives the total price (*including VAT + delivery) and stock levels of all the major online retailers selling Imagine Babies.
Shop |
Total Price* |
Stock Levels
|
Purchase |
 |
£17.99 |
 |
 |
 |
£19.99 |
|
|
 |
£24.73 |
|
|
 |
£24.93 |
|
|
 |
£27.99 |
|
|
 |
£25.94 |
|
|
 |
£26.96 |
|
|
 |
£26.99 |
 |
|
 |
£29.99 |
|
|
 |
£27.00 |
|
|
 |
£29.99 |
|
|
