My Pet Shop Hands-On

There is a relatively high percentage of pet owners in the United States, but those who live in homes where animals have been banned for whatever reason can look to My Pet Shop, in which you can find animals in the wild and take them home with you. Animal lovers of all ages can tend to a variety of friendly and adorable creatures, ranging from dogs and cats to penguins and pandas. That's right; you can have your very own pet panda. As you tend to your fuzzy companions through easy-to-learn minigames, My Pet Shop will keep you occupied whenever you feel like you need a dose of cuteness to brighten up your day.

In My Pet Shop, your mom has decided to leave behind the bustling city life in Gold City and move you to the quiet and family-friendly suburbs. Green Town is where you unpack and get settled in, but your mom notices that no one in the area owns a pet. Without further ado, your mom decides to open a pet shop, and it's your job to go out into the great outdoors and catch your own pets. This is definitely not recommended in real life, but in the safe neighborhood of Green Town, you'll use treats and careful planning to befriend different breeds of domesticated critters. After we were able to secure our own pet, a cuddly shiba inu, everyone in town began to stop by with pet requests.

Each day you're given a certain amount of actions before your mom makes you go to bed. You can help people by walking, brushing, and shampooing their pet, or you can use this time to go out and catch as many animals as you can. New areas with new species of cuddliness to procure will open up to you as you progress. After entering an area with a potential catch, you slide the stylus around the screen to try to find hidden items or animals. Once in a while you'll stumble across a beehive, a snake, or even a bomb, but by using the stylus you can pick up the coins that you drop after being startled by the bees, tap on the snake to scare it away, and even snuff out the fuse on the bomb to reveal a treat.

Catching an animal requires patience, and to make life easier, you can buy treats at the local store. The way it works is that once you've scared an animal out of hiding, it stands several paces away from you and you need to decide whether you want to approach, stay where you are, step back, or offer a treat. Approaching too quickly will cause the animal to run away, but if you do a careful balance between standing still and stepping backward, eventually you'll be nose to nose with it and be able to pick it up and take it back to the shop with you. Once you give it a name, it'll stay in your shop until you decide to give it to someone who wants a particular pet, or you can trade with real-life friends over a wireless connection.

There's plenty to do when running a pet shop, but you should also spend time playing and teaching your own pet new tricks. Whether you're training, brushing, or shampooing, short interactive minigames accompany each of these activities to keep you engaged. For example, brushing involves a minigame in which you just need to follow the direction of the arrows. To shampoo your pet, all you need to do is scrub within the red circle that appears and then use the showerhead to rinse it off. It's very easy and quick, even though it can become repetitive if all you decide to do is give baths all day. The nice part is that you don't have to; you can always pass over tasks that you don't feel like taking on, and play as you please until the sun goes down. As each day goes by, your mom will give you a modest allowance, with bonus cash if you helped a lot of customers that day. Using this hard-earned cash, you can buy treats and accessories for your beloved feline or canine.

Later in the game you'll be able to enter your pet in contests, during which you can see how your pet ranks in terms of strength, stamina, and overall cuteness. You'll make your poor pet race, carry weights, and even dress up in front of the camera. The game is set up for you to play at your leisure, so you can go at your own pace and focus on the things that you like doing.

My Pet Shop is a delightful game for younger players who are fond of animals and enjoy a simple, colorful environment that exudes plenty of charm. There's a lot to keep you occupied, and the layout and interface are very straightforward and easy to get the hang of. Your mom is always encouraging and positive, looking very much like Mama in the Cooking Mama series, which isn't a surprise, considering that this game is developed by Taito. You can care for your own little bunny or kitty when My Pet Shop is released on March 10.