As many Bratz games as have come out, it seems like there is always a new one available. Bratz Ponyz 2 is the latest one for the DS, at least until the next one comes out next month.

The color pink is definitely the theme for this game. Almost all of the backgrounds, places, and ponyz are done in pink and blue and green pastels. It's really not as annoying as it sounds though, and it is perfect for younger girls. When you start the game, you can choose between a yellow, pink, blue, or green pony for your main character. Once in the game, you can do all sorts of customizations like makeup, stickers, and clothing, to make your pony look however you want it to look. You can also switch to the other ponyz from your house so you can play as any color at any time.

The background music in Bratz Ponyz 2 is a very soothing, almost classical-sounding piece. The background music in your house is slightly different. Each of the shops actually has its own music, so you can tell you're in a different place. You also get cute little sounds like the ponyz giggling when you choose to switch between them, the sound of doors opening and closing, and a boat horn.

The gameplay in Bratz Ponyz 2 gets slightly repetitive very quickly. You start out on a single island with a number of shops on it. There are four main shops: the Beauty Workshop, Arts & Crafts Workshop, Precious Stones Workshop, and the Music and Dance Workshop. There's also a Photo Lab where you can take pictures of your Ponyz to hang on the walls of your house and a Play Hall where you can choose from different games.

You need to visit each of the four workshops and perform whatever task they want you to do. If you forget which ones you've been too, you can just tap the agenda book in the bottom right corner and it will have a check mark next to each of the ones that you have completed. After you've done each of those tasks, you'll see an exclamation mark appear somewhere on the island. Go talk to the pony at that exclamation mark and they'll tell you where to go to get your reward. Then you'll start over again at each station. After you complete the agenda twice, you'll get a boat to the next island. You'll have to go there to find the diamond needed to complete the precious stones from the next agenda. From here on out, you'll find yourself wandering to other islands to get the items you need, sometimes by boat, sometimes by air balloon. You can see how this gets old quickly.

For each craft that you complete at a workshop, you can earn up to 5 hearts. If you want to redo a craft to get more hearts than you did the first time, you had better do so before you complete the agenda. After you've finished all 4 shops and then talked to the pony it sends you too, you'll get a new agenda so you can't go back and redo any of the crafts on the previous one.

If you do get bored with single player, you can find a friend with the game and play multiplayer. It does require 1 cartridge for each player. In the multiplayer mode, you can choose to have a drawing contest, race your ponyz, or exchange photos. Multiplayer games can have up to 4 people in each game.

Overall, Bratz Ponyz 2 is a pretty easy game to play. It is geared towards younger kids, after all. The various tasks in Bratz Ponyz 2 can be more difficult than you would think, at least to get 5 stars on them. It just depends on what you're good at. Personally, I found the stickers to be the most difficult. It is not as easy as it sounds to trace the lines with the stylus and get them perfect. The most I could ever get was 4 hearts on the stickers. The gems were easy to shape for me, though. So basically the ease of the game just depends on your different talents.

I am glad they made finding the various items you needed to open the workshop easy. Otherwise with as slow as the ponyz walk, I would have gone insane quickly trying to find everything each round. When you get to the point that you have to have an item to open a workshop, simply follow the colored arrows on the screen. They will point you right to the items. When you do find an item, you'll have to perform an action to pick it up. The top screen will show you exactly what you need to do. Some items you tap continually to open, some you tap and drag, some you drag the stylus back and forth. Just follow what the top screen shows you and you'll be fine.

Bratz Ponyz 2 is played entirely with the stylus. Personally I really wish they had made it so that you could move your ponyz with the D-pad, but oh well. That is probably my biggest complaint with the game. As it is, to make your pony move, touch the screen in the direction you want it to move to, exactly like in Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise. You don't have to tap on your pony first. Since she's the only thing you control, it will automatically move her. To talk to the other ponyz, just tap on them. To enter a building, just walk up to it and tap the check mark when it asks if you want to enter. As I said before, the top screen will show you what moves you need to make in any other situation.

Honestly, I think Bratz Ponyz 2 would be a fun game for any girl to play. I quite enjoyed coloring the stickers (even though I wasn't very good at it) and crafting the gems that I was good at. Even though it gets repetitive, I don't think kids would mind, and it's much cheaper than buying them a real live pony!