The game opens up with a sequence of questions that the player must answer in order to define the traits of the main character. It works much like one of those internet "personality tests" that people put on MySpace, except the results manifest via the character's in-game attributes. The four types of personalities in high school are apparently rebel, jock, nerd, and prep, which correspond to character traits of originality, athletics, smarts, and charm, respectively. Percentages are assigned to these four facets of one's character, giving the basic base stats to build off of throughout the game. Obviously, the goal is to be well-rounded and increase ALL of those stats, because they help with everything from grades to jobs to relationships. After a brief character creation using a handful of different faces, hairstyles, and postures, it's off to school.
The earlier MySpace reference is appropriate, because the game mechanics play out in much the same way as communication on the social networking site. At the outset of the school week, players have just a few minutes to converse with classmates, trying to talk to as many as possible before everyone's gotta run. It is sometimes frustrating, because with the finicky targeting, it is easy to talk to the wrong person and waste precious time. The pace is indeed fast, but it manages to find a balance between all the elements of the game. Once a class is selected, the entire week whizzes by, with a brief clip of the player's Friday afternoon activity -- be it work or a club. Classes, clubs and jobs all affect one's attributes, and serve as vehicles for character growth and for fitting into cliques. The game doesn't necessarily encourage this segregation, however; the groups merely serve to represent the nature of traditional high school archetypes. Actually, it is far more rewarding to interact with all members of the school, as greater exposure around campus and doing favors for others increases one's popularity.
Conversations are a big part of Brooktown High. They build the relationships that the main character is so eagerly pursuing throughout the game. Unfortunately, success or failure in these conversations does not come as a result of the player's knowledge of the other party, nor from their skill in deciphering the mystery of the opposite sex. Most of the conversations are obvious and predictable, with universally positive and negative choices. There is very little to consider when choosing words -- except when the selections are so vague that it is difficult to even figure out what exactly they are meant to convey. This is because rather than displaying the available responses in their entirety, the game offers only a few words to give the player a general idea of where things are going. It's a good idea, and makes the conversational flow more realistic, but the choices are simply too ambiguous and leave the player guessing too often. Expanding upon the everyday conversations of Brooktown, players find themselves charming the other students into flirtatious phone calls and weekend dates. This is where the most progress can be made in relationships, as these rendezvous' at the beach, mall, park, etc. can bring the player and his/her dreamgirl/guy closer, with plenty of mushy dialog and lovey smooching.
Between the routine activities of a stressful adolescent life, Brooktown High offers a number of mini-games to engage in, each of which has some sort of benefit or stat boost attached to it. These mini-games range from the DDR-inspired BoogieTron 5000 boombox to...strip blackjack? Some are mildly entertaining, but not for long. That's an overarching theme in Brooktown High -- bite sized entertainment. The game is actually fairly addicting, at first, with that "one-more-round" sort of absorption found in many games. Unfortunately, what it offers in initial captivation, it lacks in staying power. After week upon week of "wake up, use computer, go to school, talk to students, go to class, play mini-game, call girl, study, go on date," gamers will feel like they are just going through the motions.
Graphics in Brooktown High are pretty standard fare. The models are a bit cartoonish, and move in much the same way. Textures are lightly detailed and environments are few, as well as unimpressive. There are no glaring issues that make one's eyes sore, but there isn't much to applaud, either. On the plus side, the frame rate is always pretty smooth. As for the audio, it features a mix tape -worth of licensed indie/rock music, capturing that familiar old high school feel quite nicely. The game even features the Breakfast Club signature, "Don't You (Forget About Me)." The only problem is that mix tapes never had many tracks, and neither does Brooktown. You'll find yourself listening to the same tunes over and over, so unless you're a huge fan of these songs, they will eventually get old. The game includes a bit of voice acting, as well, and like the soundtrack, the dialog is limited. Characters may say just the first line of an exchange, or they may say nothing at all. The voices portray the stereotypical characters well, though, and I even let out a chuckle at one point.
Brooktown High manages to capture the essence of its subject matter very well. It doesn't cheapen the experience with overly theatrical or exaggerated content, but does present a fair amount of stereotyping. Mixed in are more complex personalities and more valuable ideals to try to hold on to the definition of a simulation. The game may not win any awards for graphics, sound, gameplay, or storytelling, but it doesn't utterly collapse in those areas, either, and is enough to keep a player entertained during the type of play sessions the PSP is intended for.
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