Publisher: Oxygen Interactive
Developer: Oxygen Studios
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now

Folks, I know Chicago is a harsh and unforgiving place in the winter. I know not all kids have room to run around in their parents’ houses. I know that parents don’t want their kids playing violent games with “mature” themes. But for the love of God, are we so lazy we can’t even get off our butts to play a real game of tag? O-Games seems to think so.

My Friends is, quite literally, a virtual playground. You can create your own character, as well as other friends to play with, or play with others online. While your customization options are fairly limited at the outset, you can get new looks from happy friends. You begin on a playground, where you interact with your friends by giving them gifts or playing mini-games.

Mini-games include tag, treasure hunt, ball rush, and other recess activities. “Mini-games,” however, may be a misnomer, as they’re actually the only game-like part of My Friends. The rest of the game is pretty much just trying to make your friends happy so they’ll give you new swag like locations, games, or outfits.

The look of the game is dismal at best. The characters are pixilated, the environments are boring, and the menus are poorly designed. Not surprisingly, the music is annoying and adds nothing to the experience. The menu interface is poorly designed as well, as the arrows and colors often don’t do what you’d expect.

As it turns out, playing games that are almost entirely physical isn’t all that fun when you remove the need to actually move around. My Friends feels like all the extra features of a normal game without the game itself. Sure, I’ve played games in which the character creator was the best part, but those were bad games with much better character creators than My Friends.

If you’re looking for a way to keep your 7-year-old from running around on the train or bus, this game might be worth a look. Still, I think playground games are best left to the playground, and even young children will appreciate something with a little more imagination than My Friends. As for the online interactions: it’s little better than a smartphone.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation: