Playing House
Gary Eng Walk spends time on Wisteria Lane with the videogame adaptation of ''Desperate Housewives.''
Desperate Housewives: The Game
(Buena Vista Games; PC; Teen)
In this new, PC-only title, you play a new housewife on Wisteria Lane, and wouldn't you know it, you and your family soon find yourselves caught in the middle of some ongoing melodrama. Though it (desperately) borrows elements from The Sims - DH:TG employs very familiar cross-section dollhouse views and a point-and-click interface - it's at least a quality knockoff. There's also a very Sims-like way of customizing and naming your family (seeing that the only Asian character on the show is a lowly maid/surrogate mother, I decided to score one for neighborhood diversity and spawn a handsome Chinese family). I was also impressed at how seamlessly your family is woven into the storyline.
The plot, separated into a dozen bite-size chapters, is surprisingly engaging, thanks in no small part to it being scripted by a member of the show's writing team. Some polished voice work from Brenda Strong, the same actress who provides the series' disembodied narration, also adds a level of authenticity, and the game producers don't shy away from having you regularly interact with Gaby, Bree, Susan, Lynette, and Edie (voiced by stand-ins who do a bang-up job of sounding like Teri Hatcher et al).
Even the minigames aren't half-bad, although some feminists might have an issue with the suggestively distaff nature of the busywork: Most of the diversions involve cooking dinner for your husband or watering flowers. Nevertheless, it's still a guilty pleasure to whip up a batch of virtual meatloaf.
With heavy representation from four basic soap-opera food groups (murder, sex, jealousy, and amnesia), the game is a pleasant surprise for those of us who were expecting something more, well, Wisteria Lame. B
source
Desperate Housewives: The Game
(Buena Vista Games; PC; Teen)
In this new, PC-only title, you play a new housewife on Wisteria Lane, and wouldn't you know it, you and your family soon find yourselves caught in the middle of some ongoing melodrama. Though it (desperately) borrows elements from The Sims - DH:TG employs very familiar cross-section dollhouse views and a point-and-click interface - it's at least a quality knockoff. There's also a very Sims-like way of customizing and naming your family (seeing that the only Asian character on the show is a lowly maid/surrogate mother, I decided to score one for neighborhood diversity and spawn a handsome Chinese family). I was also impressed at how seamlessly your family is woven into the storyline.
The plot, separated into a dozen bite-size chapters, is surprisingly engaging, thanks in no small part to it being scripted by a member of the show's writing team. Some polished voice work from Brenda Strong, the same actress who provides the series' disembodied narration, also adds a level of authenticity, and the game producers don't shy away from having you regularly interact with Gaby, Bree, Susan, Lynette, and Edie (voiced by stand-ins who do a bang-up job of sounding like Teri Hatcher et al).
Even the minigames aren't half-bad, although some feminists might have an issue with the suggestively distaff nature of the busywork: Most of the diversions involve cooking dinner for your husband or watering flowers. Nevertheless, it's still a guilty pleasure to whip up a batch of virtual meatloaf.
With heavy representation from four basic soap-opera food groups (murder, sex, jealousy, and amnesia), the game is a pleasant surprise for those of us who were expecting something more, well, Wisteria Lame. B
source