Diss and Make Up: The Clique
Ages: Everyone 10+

The title sounds like everything you don't want your daughter to get involved with - gossip, clothing, social climbing. Inspired by Lisi Harrison's popular teen age book, The Clique has spun off eleven novels, DVD movies and a whole new series Meet the Alphas, a prequel to The Clique.

The story must have hit the sweet spot for teen age girls going through 6-8 grades. The plot is similar to every book, movie, and game that I've reviewed this year about teenagers. The main character enters a new school, and as the outsider and tries to get accepted by a clique - in this case, it's the Pretty Committee. The girls in the game are the same as in the novel; Massie, Dylan, Kristen, Alicia and Claire and the player is the new girl in town.

The game has six different cliques and your goal is to get into all of them and get invited to all the parties, which finishes a chapter. Day starts a home and getting dressed for school. All six cliques are shown on screen and your selection of clothes will fill up the approval meter of one of the cliques. You can only engage with girls of that clique and they will ask you to do tasks/errands for them. Gossip is the most valuable currency and you pick it up from one girl and pass it onto another (I am not making this up).

You can choose your subjects for school - two each day from geometry, art, home economics, chemistry, and gym. Each class you go to is a mini-game and you are graded. You can retake them to get a better mark, because the cliques also approve of good grades. Interaction between the girls occur between classes and at lunch.

After school - the choices are home, mall for shopping or working and party. Work is how you earn the money to buy the clothes to impress the clique. You have a choice of four jobs, three involve food and the other is working at the clothing shop. Each are timed mini-games. There are two boys to the six girls - I think that's a set-up for disaster at parties.

In spite of the values touted in this game - the game is well put together. The mini games are nicely integrated into the story; the activities are varied; the characters have different personalities and the music is good - even the lyrics, "finally found my people" fit into the plot.

Perhaps the game and books are responding to the difficulty of navigating the social interactions at school. Does everybody feel like an outsider?

Fun Factor: If you liked the book - you'll be delighted to play the game
Female Factor: Not great

Reviewed by: Editor - 08/09