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A dream for some, a nightmare for others."

There are two types of people in the world. Those are happen to be female and under 12, and everybody else. Care to take a guess at what group of people this is aimed at? Yes, you guessed it. If you're not part of the lucky group, this is not for you.

The game isn't all pink and frilly smiles with our blonde lead posing on horse-back. Oh no. As a serious disaster happens and all of Barbie's beloved pony friends are scattered and lost throughout the area (Oh noes, I hear you cry), and it's up to you to saddle up, track them down and rescue them. Sounds simple? Well...it is. There is no gimmicks here, it's just a simple straight forward rescue-mission. Granted, some of these stallions are trapped and to save them, Barbie must use her brain power (I've already used a sarcastic comment...drat) to solve these all too simple puzzles. Then again, what would one expect for such a game?

This game is set on both horseback and on foot, but it's far too painful to be off the horse due to the snail's pace of Barbie's walk and awkward movements. The game is about riding, so that's where the main effort went into. A whole bunch of horses can be rescued, and once they are, they belong to Barbie and can be ridden at any time. Thankfully, the developers decided to make the gamers work hard for these prizes, as these animals must be looked after properly otherwise they won't be friends with Barbie anymore (It's hard not to be sarcastic, you know...). So you must not neglect your duties of washing, cleaning, feeding and playing with your animal, now will you?

The game is not just comprised of endless hunts for your lost friends, but there are a handful of mini-games for players to have a go with. They may be basic, but they are some what refreshing, so I can't say anything bad about it here. And surprisingly, the mini-games are made better thanks to the ability to play with a friend, which is some what rare in a game now-a-days. Double win, there.

On the whole, Barbie Horse Adventures tried to introduce a whole new generation to the XBox machine, but I don't think they exactly paved the way. It tried to compete against the "Boy" games (i.e. Every XBox game), but this was left on the shelf or thrown in bargain bins across the globe. There was more to the game then meets the eye, as I soon discovered there was enough material to write a review for. Simple things such as coin-hunting allowed for players to buy new outfits and clothing for the hero. I first thought it was sad to get excited about new pink tops and trousers, but then I looked at Tony Hawk's Create-A-Skater mode and Fable's clothing...

...Fair game, really.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/05