Ping Pals First Look

THQ and Way Forward have unveiled Ping Pals, their launch title for the Nintendo DS. With a title like Ping Pals, you might expect something like a ping pong game. However, Ping Pals instead is a character collecting game that appears to veer toward Pokemon and Tamagotchi territory.

In Ping Pals, you'll create a Ping Pal, or virtual character, with whom you can chat by using a little keyboard that will be displayed on the lower interactive screen of the Nintendo DS. You'll be able to interact with up to 15 other Ping Pals at a time (via the DS' built-in wi-fi), and you can customize your own character by choosing amongst thousands of different items in the game. There are also minigames that you can play with your Ping Pals, which can help to uncover secret code words to unlock new items, or purchase new items at an items shop. The game will make use of the system clock, so certain, rare items may only be available at specific times during the day or certain days of the week.

Once you're finished playing with your Ping Pals, you can collect and trade items with your friends. That can also help you to earn more points in the goal to create the ultimate Ping Pal. What's an ultimate Ping Pal look like? We'll find out when Ping Pals launches alongside the Nintendo DS. We'll have more on this game soon.