Brooktown High: Senior Year should definitely get some attention when it’s released for the PSP in a few months. Developed by Backbone and published by Konami, Brooktown High will attempt to duplicate the success of dating games in Japan here in the western market. You start the game by creating your character, personalizing everything from your appearance, personality, and even your bedroom. Gameplay revolves around raising your reputation with different characters in the game that fall in to typical high school stereotypes, with your final objective being to secure a date for your senior prom. There are jocks, nerds, rebels, and preps all wandering around the school for you to get missions from. As you complete missions, your reputation will improve based on your character’s stats. The better your character is, the more likely other characters will talk to you. In order to improve your character’s attributes, you’ll want to ensure you make it to class and study a few evenings a week. Other beneficial activities include joining clubs, getting a job, and buying new clothes and hairstyles for your character.

Dating is based around minigames, including strip blackjack, a DDR-type rhythm game, and another called “Tongue Twister.” Your success in the minigames will determine the outcome of the date, so you’ll want to make sure you spend time practicing them ahead of time. Unfortunately there is no multiplayer support for these minigames, so even if you have real life friends, this game will force you to play by yourself. In addition to dating and completing missions, you’ll spend a lot of time exploring the game’s branching dialogue paths. Many of the responses are cleverly written, and you’ll likely find yourself laughing out loud at some of the exchanges. We expect to learn more about Brooktown High: Senior Year as we get closer to its release date in early summer 2007.