by Mindscape
Platform:
Windows 98 / 2000 / Me / 95
(60)Buy new:
15 used & new from $5.99
(Visit the Best Sellers in Virtual Pets list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)
Our testers still go back to those excellent simulations, Dogz and Catz. Fans of these programs will be happy to know that now there's Babyz, which Mindscape is calling the "next generation" of a virtual life form. Yes, this enjoyable program lets you take care of your very own virtual baby!
After you choose a baby from the adoption center, you can talk to it through your computer's microphone- the babies respond to sounds, although they can't discriminate words. Note that this program uses IBM's ViaVoice technology, which must be installed and then "trained" on your computer in order to work. This also requires the use of a headset, which plugs into your computer's microphone jack. Some testers had trouble with this process and had to play without the microphone. Others had no set-up difficulties and everything worked fine.
Your babies can be rocked, tickled, fed, bathed and loaded down with toys, and they don't respond well to neglect. As you play, your baby grows and eventually can talk and then toddle. Babyz can be downloaded from an on online adoption center and left at Grandma's house when you don't have time to watch them.
Our testers were quickly hooked by all the features and power of this program.
Teaches: caring for others, interpersonal development
Age Range: 5-up Copyright © 2000 Children's Software Revue
Make way for Babyz! Adopt an adorable virtual kid in this amazing, playful simulation of child rearing from the company that brought you Catz and Dogz. Each Babyz (that's singular, too) is darling and unique--choose one of fifteen to adopt or, if none of them is just right, check out their Web site with plenty more to pick from, changing every day.
You can have up to three in one house, and then the fun begins. Name your Babyz, clothe them, give them toys, feed them, watch them play in the backyard, or just give them a tickle when they look bored. The software runs both like a normally selected program and as a screensaver--if you're not careful, the Babyz will take over your screen when you're not looking!
The graphics are playful and imaginative, the costumes are cute, and the house itself is full of stuff for the Babyz to explore. The package comes with a headset microphone and voice-recognition software so you can even talk to your Babyz--or teach them to speak. Short, simple words will start yammering back at you before long, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without a babbling Babyz in your computer. --Rob Lightner