Some games that release are targeted for a
younger demographic and while it seems fine to try to tap the inner child, it is
sometimes better to let younger gamers do the work and the review. Such is the
case with the release of My Boyfriend on the PC. It seemed silly to try to play
and review the game objectively since age and gender separates me from the
target audience. Fortunately, though, I have a 13-year-old daughter, Emma, who
not only likes to play games but is a good writer. So she played the game and
did the review. What follows is her review of the game:
…
The new Viva Media game, My Boyfriend, is all
about getting this guy to like you. When you and your best friend go on a
vacation to a resort island, you meet a guy who starts to like you. So you go on
all these dates with him to see if he is your true love. But just when things
are going well weird things start to happen; will they break you apart or make
your love stronger? You decide. Don’t worry though, in the game you can do other
things like walk and play with dogs, get ice cream, go shopping, and all sorts
of other fun stuff!
This game is reasonably easy to control and
handle, but at first you don’t really get what to do. For instance, when I
started I was extremely annoyed with how slow the characters walked and I could
not figure out how to get them to run until by total accident I hit the shift
button and I started to run! But the instructions didn’t tell me that.
Interactions in the game happen often; you talk with your friend, all the
workers, and other guests that are on the island. Days will pass after a
certain amount of time and you will get the choice to stay up a little longer or
go straight to the next day. You will stay in the one environment throughout the
game, which is the resort island. This is a single-player game. There really
isn’t a level of difficulty in the game, but this is most likely for children 10
and up.
Graphics in this game are well done; they could
always be made better, though. Especially on the game intro where it says the
name and what the game is about – the title was My Boyfriend 2 when the box and
everything says just My Boyfriend! They definitely have a great 3D effect in
this game. The ocean looks nice and was created well. You can see under the
water and above it, which makes the ocean look relatively real. Besides the
environmental graphics, the characters all look sort of the same. There isn’t
really a great deal of choice with what you can use to make your character look
different from all the other people.
The game did not have great variety of background
music, so it did get annoying after a while. Even though they did have some
different background noises during the game like seagulls crying, the ocean and
the waves, wind blowing, and dogs barking. Even with all the differing noises
from the background the music just got on my nerves! The sound effects in the
game were all right.
Difficulty in this game is at a minimum with a
few exceptions. Walking around in the game, as long as you understand what you
are doing, is as easy as pie. Understanding what to do in the game might be a
tad bit more difficult at first, because it does not really give instructions
very well. In the game there are jobs and mini-games you can do to earn money.
There is a job of delivering letters in a set amount of time that you have to
run to get to each bungalow. Also you can participate in a talent show, but you
have to learn how to dance and do step aerobics, which is actually pretty hard.
As explained previously the concept in this game
is pretty much trying to win the heart of this guy. But sometime during the game
there is going to be a mystery on the island that maybe you can solve. In this
single-player game you will decide what to do.
Overall this game is definitely for ages 10 and
up. It has some flaws, but the game can be interesting. As long as you
understand what to do and are good at mysteries you will probably enjoy this
game!
Gameplay: 5.6
Easy
to control, but a bit confusing at first though; there is a problem with a
shortage of instructions.
Graphics: 6.0
The graphics were Ok, but could have
been better.
Sound: 5.2
Songs in the game got repetitive and
slightly annoying, but the background sound effects had a variety.
Difficulty:
Medium
The game can be challenging in some
activities, but in others it is reasonably easy.
Concept: 6.8
In the game everything follows the
overall concept of the game, of winning this guy’s heart.
Overall: 6.4
The game has flaws, but still can be
fun in areas. It is colorful, follows its concept, and has well-done graphics,
though the sound effects are not great. This game is for younger gamers.
