Strawberry Shortcake is all about helping her friends, so when they come to her and explain that they can’t dream, what’s a little girl with sweet dessert name to do but go to the Land of Dreams to build new ones for her friends.

That’s the essence of Strawberry Shortcake: The Land of Dreams, a PlayStation 2 release from Game Factory, in association with DIC. A platformer that has a three-dimensional feel to it, the game allows players to interact with Strawberry and her friends, while visiting four environments – Strawberryland, the Dreamboat, the Land of Dreams and the Dream Factory. There are five levels of difficulty, so the game should provide a bit of a challenge for fans up to age 12 or so.

Emma, age 10, played the game through to the end and had these comments:

“In the game, Ginger Snap – one of the characters – can’t dream anymore so the whole idea is to go through Strawberryland to the Dreamboat and go to the Land of Dreams and to the Dream Factory. Then you have to find your way around the Dream Factory to find some gears to get the Dream Machine to start working again.

“When you get the gears, you have to go through some obstacles and get to a car – because it is time for bed in Strawberryland – to drive out and go through all sorts of obstacles. But the car can’t go any further after you finish the first round of obstacles. So you have to go by foot to the Dreamboat. Then you have to fly back to Strawberryland, go through all sorts of obstacles there and get back to Strawberry Shortcake’s house.

“You get to play as Ginger Snap, Lemon Meringue, Strawberry Shortcake, Raspberry Torte, Angel Cake and Orange Blossom.

“It’s very easy to control. During the game you are trying to collect as many seeds as you can – that’s how you unlock new players. Because you go to Fantasy Garden and buy new people to play with for 300 seeds. You can also buy songs, recipes and a video.

“The look of the game is really good. It’s very colorful. The sound you can hear very good; you can read when they tell you how you are doing and what you are doing.

“I think the best part of the game is when you get to the Dream Factory and you get to do all the obstacles there. Along the way, when you are playing the game, you get new powers – like the first power you will get is growing a plant; the second one is using a wand.”

From a parental perspective, the game does have a lot of repetition, but the control scheme was simple enough to allow the game to be picked up and played without consulting the manual. There is not much new here, or innovative, as far as a platformer is concerned, but the graphical elements are lush and bright and the game seemed to draw in the younger gamers – so from that perspective, it was a success. Also, there were minor puzzles that needed to be worked out and there seemed to be a great deal of satisfaction when the tasks were accomplished.

While not deep and with suspect replay value, this is a game that may appeal to the younger set.

Gameplay: 6.0
Very linear, which will reduce replay value. The control scheme is easy, and the game has a problem with not having enough save points for younger children.

Graphics: 6.8
Colorful and bright, the graphics give a three-dimensional look though – for the most part – the game is a two-dimensional platformer. It is not until you get into certain areas that you are able to move back into a scene/environment.

Sound: 6.0
One of those repetitious theme songs that plays over and over and over, ad nauseum. Children may like it; adults may scramble for the mute button. The in-game sounds are also repetitious, full of giggles and silly grunts.

Difficulty: Medium
Five difficulty settings should provide a challenge for most youngsters. 

Concept: 6.0
A simple concept without a lot of innovation. This is a game geared for younger children, so high concepts were not needed.

Overall: 6.8
The game may appeal to younger players; the game is very repetitious. Colorful and bright but not exactly innovative, it may be a nice little stocking stuffer, but parents should prepare for sounds that can get borderline annoying after 5 minutes.