The Idolm@ster

For a videogame, the iDOM@STER is legendary. Not so much because it tackles a subject matter unheard of in this medium - a producer tasked with transforming 10 girls into national idols. Or, that it has spawned CD singles, radio dramas and various cute merchandise since its late 2005 debut in Japanese arcades. But because it left my younger brother impressed: \"How come the grpahics so real?\" The cartoon dollies\' uncannily natural animation had clearly resonated with him. Mind you, this was the same young person who walked in on me during a Gears of War multiplayer match only to stand dispassionately as I tore two humans apart with a shotgun. before silently retreating to his preferred creature comfort, Maple Story. Now that I had his attention, I might as well conduct an operation hook, line and sinker. Off to a gruelling six-player audition we go!

Passing the audition - an exercise infusing, rhythm-based action with the realtime resource rationing of Football Manager - led to a stunning song and dance, which my brother watched with a pleasant glint in his eye. Careful not to startle my prey, I gently motioned for him to give it a try. \"No thanks; I don\'t know Japanese,\" he amicably replied before turning away. What audacity! At least let me explain how entirely possible it was to enjoy the game without knowing a word of Japanese.

After all, the language of achieving a dream (in this case holding a concert at Tokyo Dome) through good time management, proper emotion control, and resetting the Xbox 360 when you mess up, is universal. Do not be intimidated by its bucketload of foreign text; just refer to an online guide (such as one from GameFAQs.com).