Barbie Gift Collection: 3 Ultimate Sports CD-ROMs (Team Gymnastics, Gotta Groove, Super Sports)

Play begins in the lounge, where Barbie and her team-mates, Christie and Teresa, await practice orders. Players must guide the girls through practice routines on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. Moves are executed by hitting the arrow keys and space bar in a sequence that suddenly appears on the left side of the screen. If a player hits the wrong keys, or doesn't hit the right keys soon enough, their gymnast will bobble or (gasp!) fall off their apparatus, and the coach, Kira, will chirp "Don't give up!" as the program churns relentlessly onward. Maintaining composure after knocking Barbie off the beam is difficult, but just like an actual competition, the good players shake it off and keep going.

Young gymnasts will probably enjoy sweating out their mistakes, the realism of the sounds (that hollow thud as hands and feet contact the balance beam) and the 3-D images of gymnasts performing their moves as the "camera" swoops in for different angles. Another nice touch is a replay component that allows players to watch their routines once completed. It's hard to watch the routine as it's being executed, because you must instead keep your eyes on the "Power Bar" that orders the keystrokes for each move.--Anne Erickson, Amazon.com

Manufacturer's Description
Go For The Gold & Create 3D Gymnastic Routines For Barbie & Her Friends! Join Barbie and her friends at the gym to practice and complete gymnastic routines on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercises. You can create your own routine for each piece of apparatus by choosing various gymnastics moves. Once you successfully complete the routine, you can compete in the Local, Sectional, Regional and National levels to win the Gold Medal!

Amazon.co.uk Review
Not too many software packages will have you jumping and spinning, but that's what Barbie Gotta Groove is all about. Work with Barbie and her gal-pals Tori, Nichelle, Ana and Chelsie (plus set designer Lara) to make cool clothes, rockin' stages and swinging dance routines, then put them all together for the big show. Get creative on the dance floor with hip-hop, salsa and other styles--once you've got the virtual girls going, you can try the moves out yourself.

The interface is supereasy--for the most part, pointing and clicking is all that you need to do. The CD works in stereos, too, so even if you're not around a computer you can practice your jams. Use the Barbie Digital Camera (not included) to put yourself in the action--make CD covers or your own personality page! You can save your favourite outfits and dance pieces and watch them again and again, plus you can challenge yourself by watching a dance and then playing back the moves in just the right order. If you want, you can even compete with your friends to see who's got the right moves.

Just imagine--all the lights, colours and glamour of show business without the stress and heartbreak. Barbie and all her Generation Girl friends need a little direction--slide into your choreographer's chair and get busy. --Rob Lightner

Manufacturer's Description
Dance and perform the coolest moves with Barbie and her generation girlfriends! Start movin' and groovin' with the Generation Girl Gotta Groove CD-ROM, where girls can create the coolest dance routines in amazing 3-D, right on their computers! From hip-hop to techno-pop, salsa to swing, get down to designing their outfits! Plus, girls can print their own dance cards to learn the routines themselves.

Manufacturer's Description
It's extreme racing and sports action with Barbie! Show off your sporting skills as you snowboard and in-line skate with Barbie and friends. Shred through outrageous obstacle courses and blade down radical racetracks. Each extreme sport features five different levels of cool competition, spectacular stunts, special tricks, and even secret areas. Earn points in each level while playing against the clock, the computer, or even your friend. Then cash in your points for new equipment so you can do even cooler tricks and stunts. Or, pick up some new clothes in the sport shop. Ready, set, go for the most incredible sport thrills and spills ever!

Featuring both snowboarding and inline skating, Barbie Super Sports is two games in one. Board with Barbie through outrageous obstacle courses and blade through radical racetracks. There are eight different levels in all, each offering spectacular stunt competitions and secret areas to discover.