Game Details

ESRB Rating: 

E (Everyone)

Number of Players: 

1

Many little girls dream of taking care of a real baby, so along comes a portable game that offers the next best (and safer) alternative: My Baby First Steps.

Begin the game by choosing a baby. Prospective mommies can either choose a custom baby to look just like Mommy or allow the game to choose a baby's features, beginning with ethnic skin options, followed by appropriate eye and hair colors.

As you cuddle and encourage your baby, you teach all kinds of skills, working from walking with help to running and climbing stairs.

Along the way, you add additional tasks, like feeding, changing diapers (yes, babies are faintly anatomically correct), and reading them to sleep. Each task has its own challenges, like blowing into the DS's mic to cool hot food and checking for diaper rash and applying ointment as needed, rubbing it on with the stylus after lifting the feet up. Use the mic to teach baby to talk, shake a bunny to encourage baby to climb stairs, and hold baby's hand during those first steps. Your baby's doctor will not only track development and height, but give new activities (new minigames, really) to encourage more development. Meanwhile, baby will let you know when tired, hungry, or in need of a diaper change by whining and gesturing.

We noticed some minor quirks in the game, like some grammatical errors and occasionally unresponsive controls (I kept dropping the spoon, even though I wasn't moving the stylus), and some activities (like teaching baby to run) were difficult even for me, much less my daughter, which led to frustration. Baby also has a large pillow in the crib, even though experts discourage using pillows for toddlers under 2 years.

You'll need to change baby's clothes, so you'll need money to buy all those cute outfits (My 8-year-old's favorite activity in the game is shopping), toys, and room décor. Make money by taking photos of baby and sending them to the store. Depending on the quality of the photo, you'll make more or less money. You can also send photos to Grandma, for which she sends gifts. If you don't like those gifts, you can sell them to the store and buy something else—Grandma won't mind.

Throughout the game, parents also show affection to their babies by tickling and caressing baby with the stylus, which is used to control most of the game.

Is this game worth picking up? The few days my 8-year-old daughter was playing it, all she could talk about was how cute her baby was. When I erased her save file to try it out myself (only one per cartridge), she almost cried. Since this was a prerelease loaner, she has already added it to her Christmas list--she wants it back. A few minor flaws aside, this is a great game for little mommies.