"Baby, baby, baby when you touch me like this . . ."

Babysitting is a wonderful part-time fling. Not only do you get to earn a few extra bucks, but you also get to spend some quality one-on-one time with some cute, little munchkins. That's the idea with Imagine Babies, the latest addition to Ubisoft's line of kiddie simulations. However, unlike the majority of the Imagine games, Babies isn't just a lazy attempt geared towards ignorant kids or their parents. It is a well-developed babysitting simulation that offers both some fun mini-games and worthwhile customisable elements that's sure to be appreciated by those who are into this kind of thing.

It isn't long before you get your first baby to take care of. There are a variety of things you can do inside the house and if you ever feel lost, there's a stork hanging around outside to provide you with some useful hints. No doubt that you will want to play with your baby straight away since they are usually handed over to you bursting full of energy. There are a couple of toys in the playroom including rattles, spinning tops, and animal shakers that give off some lame "moo" and "baa" sounds when you play with them, but the babies love them.

Each toy is a mini-game of sorts, but they are on the short side and very simplistic at that. You have to shake the rattle within a moving oval in the time allotted, or tap the number of maracas shown on either side of the screen before highlighted side switches over. They aren't all that interesting and there a very few unique items available (received from grateful parents or bought online via desktop PC), but this is only one aspect of babysitting.

Babies need to eat too. And just like in real life, they won't open wide unless they are entertained. Hence, feeding them is another mini-game. You have to scoop up some hot, steaming baby food, blow it (literally) to cool it down, and then bring it over their mouths. Should they get impatient, you'll have to play a mini-game (within this mini-game) where you have to trace a maze-like path by following the spoon icon as it races its way across to the mouth, not unlike how we pretend that the spoon is a flying vessel that swoops into a real baby's mouth.

After lunch, you may want to give the baby a thorough clean; time to head to the bathroom then. Here you will need to scrub them down on all sides and should you irritate them in the eyes by accident, a squeaky rubber ducky is on hand. This is much like the cleaning aspect in Nintendogs, but simpler with the mini-game lasting for less than a minute and with a rather basic interface.

The whole game is rather basic actually. While it sure is novel to play, eat and clean with your babies, it gets repetitive soon enough due to the lack of mini-games and their scarce longevity. Sometimes you'll just want to put the babies to sleep. And you can, by rocking them to and fro in yet another mini-game. When you've got nothing else to do, there's always the issue of household maintenance; someone need to clean the dishes and vacuum the floor (again, more simplistic mini-games). There's also the online store where you can purchase new toys, various household furniture and wallpapers. Nothing of the scope offered in Sims games, though.

Dressing up your toddlers (because they are babies who can walk after all) in a variety of costumes is a laugh. Cowboy baby flicks his fingers as if he's cocking some handguns and bunny baby hops about like the bounding critter. Watch them dance as you play the piano in yet another simple rhythm mini-game and you'll be rolling all over the floor. These babies know how to have fun and so long as they aren't hungry or you don't force them to play with a toy they don't like (you can check a handy list of their likes and dislikes on your PC), they'll entertain you to no end.

Their inherent personalities are sure to make you go "aww shucks!" too; their giggles and laughs are very convincing as are their cries which are annoying as ever. They are also rendered as fairly neat polygonal models which always look adorable (apart from the one introducing the title screen which is ghastly). Navigating the single-screened house is simple enough, too, with the area presented as a flat 2D graphic which makes the management side of things very easy.

It's a shame that the rest of the Imagine games have tarnished the line-up so; apart from Master Chef/Happy Cooking, they are all very poor simulator games. Babies isn't going to bowl you over with Sims-like complexity or additive Wario Ware-esque mini-games, but if you're interested an easy-going, nicely presented babysitting experience on the go, Imagine Babies has got you covered.

VERDICT - 6.0/10 It really isn't half bad. Take note mums and dads: your young girls are sure to love it!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/06/07

Game Release: Imagine Babies (EU, 11/02/07)