What’s cute, small and loved by nearly everyone even though they poop their pants? Hopefully you said “babies” otherwise, what were you thinking about? Now as adorable and lovable as babies are, maybe you would rather not deal with the dirty diapers and the other wonderfully messy responsibilities of babysitting a real baby. Well Ubisoft can help you there and has released Imagine Babyz for the Nintendo 3DS. Digital babysitting in 3D? Sounds like a good time to me.
In Imagine Babyz you are hired as a new nanny by an agency. Your boss, Miss Wilhelmina, welcomes you and tells you that you will be sent all over the world to take care of different babies. You’re introduced to your two coworkers: Lisa, who is thrilled to meet you and very helpful and Rachelle, who is less than thrilled to have any more “help” in their agency and seems very competitive. Throughout all of your firsts when playing, Lisa will pop up and give you advice and tips to keep those babies happy. The happier those babies are, the happier their parents are and the higher your reputation will become. After a while, your reputation will get so high that you will be able to open your very own babysitting business. Your reputation is built by how many objectives you complete with each baby, so be sure to complete as many as possible.
Each time a family needs you, there will be a list of things you will need to do with each baby. Sometimes it is as simple as changing a diaper or giving baby a bath, other times it could be teaching baby how to crawl, walk, or talk. Before traveling to take care of a baby there will be a box that tells you if you have enough reputation to start, and gives information on what types of services or objectives are needed, using words like: Care, Education, Varied, or a few others. Care is more like diaper changes, baths, or feeding. Education is teaching baby anything from colors to walking. Varied is, well, a variety of the needs. The objectives change and become slightly more difficult as you progress through the chapters and watch your babies grow. As they grow, their needs and the way they do things will change. For instance, once baby can walk, you can then take baby to the park to meet other babies. Don’t forget to dress baby for the trip to the park. You can buy clothes, shoes and hats for all the babies to wear. New clothes always make a baby happy.
You can also get clothes from Rachelle. Yes, the same Rachelle that didn’t seem too keen on having you join the nanny agency in the first place. This is her competitive side. She wants you to prove yourself to be a good nanny. She will give you clues and you will have to take a picture that includes those clues. As a reward she will give you clothes for the babies. If you turn your SpotPass on, she will give you a new challenge every week. It’s fun to try and figure out what she wants and take the correct picture.
Imagine Babyz even takes advantage of the features of the 3DS and uses the microphone and front facing camera to help you feel closer to baby. Using both the mic and camera you can play peek a boo with the babies and after a while they will be able to recognize not only your voice, but your face as well. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But that, added to the fact that you can turn on the 3D feature, makes it feel even more realistic. Want it to feel even more real? Splatter some food on your shirt, of course!
While some of the tasks can get repetitive, when you hear the coos and giggles of these digital babies, you can’t help but want to play with them and love them as much as you can. Buying them clothes and decorating nurseries is like a little girl’s dream. If you have a young child who is obsessed with taking care of babies, then this is definitely a game worth looking into. Or, if you are a grown adult and are having some baby fever, go ahead and give it a play. It’s the closest thing you’ll find to taking care of a baby, without actually taking care of a baby.
A copy of Imagine Babyz was received by The Married Gamers for review.
