While the game might be fresh and innovative, more likely than not, you'll get bored of the game in due time.
Nintendogs puts you in the role of a person who is seeking a domestic pet, and thus goes off to the kennel! Depending on which of the three versions the person owns, they'll be able to select up to six different breeds of dogs initially. You'll feed your puppy, teach it tricks, enter it in contests, take it for walks, as well as other things as well.
Nintendogs relies entirely on the DS's touch screen and mic. With the touch screen, you'll be able to pet your puppy, grab it's tail or it's ear, use it to wipe a sponge to clean it, use it to navigate around the menus, and pretty much do everything else in the game. The DS’s mic uses the things you won’t use the touchscreen for. The mic will be used primarily for calling your dog, and saying the trick you wish it to learn. When your puppy does a trick, a small icon will appear on the top right of the touch screen, which you must touch. Then a mic bubble/gauge combination shall appear above your puppy's head, at which point you must say the name of what you would like to call the trick. This will require to be done several times before the dog "gets it" and can do the trick just by you saying the name of the trick. It can only hold a maximum of 14 tricks, so it'd be wise to teach him the basics, and teach him the far-advanced tricks. The game uses both of these DS features very well and intuitively.
The puppy models for the game look wonderful and act and move very life-like. Even the way they react with other puppies seems life-like. The puppies are the best looking things in the game. The other areas lack quite a bit. The toy models and such look pretty decent, but the backgrounds and insignificant parts of the scenery just look laughable. Since they are very minor, they do not take away from the what is clearly the graphical focus of the game, the puppies themselves, which look just look very well done.
The puppies' barks and such are as well done as the looks of the dogs themselves! Every breed has a different and unique vocal response to any event that happens. The sound of the different toys hitting the floor, or making noise in whatever way they can, are quite well done too. Once again, they're not as good as the puppies' sounds, but are still quite good. The music in the game is nice and therapeutic, but nothing really too memorable. No "hum-worthy" tunes here.
The replay value is where many complain the game lacks. I disagree, but I'll explain why later. There are a good number of things to do. There are contests you can enter your dog in, which are divided into three areas: frisbee, agility, and obedience. You can only do three contests a day, however, which is a bit limiting. You can take your dog for a walk, but once you do, you'll need to wait half an hour before venturing out again. You can take your dog to the park on walks, where you can practice with frisbees, or you can go the local gym, where you can raise your puppy's agility. To raise obedience, simply train him at home. It is during these walks where your puppy will run into other puppies and play or harm them. You can also find a great number of items during walks, some of which are very rare and comical.
I enjoy playing this game. The main attraction for me is the great number of unlockable items. It is mainly for this (and partially to get 1st place in the championship of each contest) that I continue to play the game. I take joy when I find a Mario cap to put on my dog to wear, or any other Nintendo-themed or non-Nintendo items. The game is also just relaxing at times, whether it be rubbing your puppy for an order well followed, or to just have fun tossing that old frisbee in the park. I don't imagine that there are too many people like this, hence the statement on the review deck. I'd have to recommend most people to pass this game up, unless they like the sim-genre. The Halo fans or Final Fantasy junkies might not be able to get too much into this. I can imagine that those that enjoyed Animal Crossing for the GC, or the Harvest Moon series, will be more likely to enjoy this game (though that's still going out on a limb) and continue playing it for a long period of time. So if you like those games, you might want to check out Nintendogs. Nintendogs is unique and innovative, and if you have the right taste, you'll find it to be an enjoyable experience.