SURVIVING HIGH SCHOOL PC GAME SERIES
The most successful games in this genre, in Japan, have offered a much greater variety of dating possibilities - heck, even Natsume's Harvest Moon series of farming sims always offers a least a half-dozen different single ladies.
There are only two possible girls to date - Beth, the cheerleader, or Raven, the goth chick. Will you pursue popularity, trying to become the Homecoming King? Will you hit the gym every day, seeking to buff up and become a football star? Or will you focus on your studies, aligning yourself with Centerscore's nerd corps? Dating becomes a focus no matter which path you choose, as all games in this genre do - unfortunately, this is where Surviving High School also reveals its lack of depth. You choose your name and appearance, then step into a sequence of text-based interactions with different students and teachers at the school - your dialogue choices in these interactions then direct which of several possible paths your character will take through life. Surviving High School places you in the role of a new student at Centerscore High. And while it might be a fair first step into the dialogue-heavy, gameplay-lite genre for DSi owners, its subject matter leaves a little something to be desired - because, well, most all of us have had enough high school drama in our real lives to need a second dose of it virtually. Electronic Arts has checked in a contender in the uncontested space this week, called Surviving High School.
Though pretty popular over in Japan, text adventures and dating sims are still a rarity here in the States - but DSiWare seems like the appropriate place for them to appear, if they're going to make a move on this market.