I was skeptical - but this is definitely the best pet type game out there yet. A must for dog lovers too! I am not the type of guy who really enjoyed the Tomagotchi-type games at all. I had a few growing up and for the most part they didn't come close to delivering the kind of game experience that I would - overall - make me want to pick up something over and over and take care of it. I mean, honestly..... when you have real life responsibilities and jobs, who wants to be taking care of an inanimate object? Well, no one until Nintendogs - at least i think. Even from the very first time you boot up the game and see the puppies running around you have this overall sensation that you are in for a treat! (No pun intended). The way the dogs are animated and interact with you and your other puppies is simply amazing. The dogs themselves are just so darn cute that it's hard to choose which type of dog to even start with! At first - the game feels very gimmicky. You and pet your pet and give it a few commands and after the initial few things you do you wonder "What can I do now?" It takes a bit getting used to because this is a pet simulator. It's not meant to be "beaten" overnight. You have to train your pet to learn a whole multitude of different commands and get it to grow stronger while keeping it happy. It takes a lot of work and depending on how you raise your pet - you will find it gains a certain kind of personality - which you will either love or grow irritated by. This alone gives a sense of depth to the game, however, as you delve into the game and realize there is a lot to unlock! You can unlock other animals, accessories, items for your apartment - you think of something "dog" related and Nintendogs probably has it. Yet even as a start this is just the first layer to everything. There are competitions that you have to train your dog to get good at to earn money to help purchase items to raise your dog. One of the cutest moments I experienced was with my first puppy - as I over-zealously tried to enter it into a Frisbee competition when it was only 10 minutes old. I would throw the Frisbee and the dog would go run and get it. Only to just sit there and lick the thing while a timer counts down - and you start to realize that the dog doesn't know anything. So I of course panicked and called it's name over and over until it realized I was beckoning him and of course the silly thing leaves the frisbie behind not knowing I wanted him to bring it back to me. Needless to say I scored very bad and my poor puppy placed last in it's first competition. It was ok though because I made sure to tell her it was ok (I named my first puppy Mandy) and gave her some dog food and pet her over and over till she fell over. It is at moments like this that you begin to realize you really have a pet you have to invest in and the game becomes very involving and adorable in small spurts. Then there is connectivity - as dogs love to play with one another - which adds a whole new layer to the onion. I personally hope this game does really well and sets a standard to gaming because there is a mode where you leave your DS slightly on so it can recieve signals from other DS's who have Nintendogs. I almost wish this could be installed IN the DS so I don't have to have the cartridge actually in the system to play - and could play with my dog inbetween Meteos and Advance Wars. Oh well, maybe next time nintendo! My only major minor gripe with this game - is that from what I read - the dogs do not actually grow up. The fact that they stay puppies is sort of a downer for me, because I am not sure if I will stick with my older puppies if I can never actually witness them grow. Then again - with all the competions to unlock and Trainer points to master.... I am sure I'll have a hell of a time with my current puppies! *********************** Special Note to the Guys ******************************* Oh yeah - for you guys out there - this is definitly a game that will get a girl's attention. I work at a video game store and you would not believe the amount of females that stop and laugh and point at this game! ~ Wakasm ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all my other reviews - Check my Profile or mirrored to gamespot at http://www.wakasm.com/videogamereviews.html
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