Nintendogs for the DS

Reviewed by Kit

I picked up this game expecting something simple, cute, and overall easy. The plot of Nintendogs is that you go to a kennel, buy yourself a puppy, and train this puppy to be all it can be so that you can buy a better apartment and more puppies. I knew prior to playing this game that Nintendogs makes great use of the DS touch screen, but I had no idea that I would actually make use of the DS microphone.
So that is where we begin, with my picking up a cute puppy and learning that he would actually have to respond to my voice. Let me tell you now…my puppy does not respond to my voice. I’m not sure if this is my own fault or some bad game design, but little Ein, as my puppy is named, learned to sit on command and immediately forgot it in five minutes. This caused me no end to my frustration. In fact, I reset my game data twice in hopes of finding a puppy with a more intelligent disposition. It never worked, but I’ve managed to work past this. I spent my time building up the affection between my puppy and me instead. I take him for walks often, and he has just recently won first place in the championship agility tournament. No mother could be prouder.
Despite my anxiety of teaching Ein tricks, I have found Nintendogs to be very enjoyable. I find myself keeping an eye on the clock to find out when I can next take my puppy on another walk (you can only walk him every thirty minutes). Watching Ein learn how to run the obstacles in the agility training (and you can most definitely watch your dog improve as you practice again and again) was extremely exciting.
So here’s my breakdown:
Graphics: OMG, the dogs look like dogs. They react to how you pet them. Roll Ein over and rub his belly, he wiggles in appreciating. You can distinctly tell what each breed is. It’s beautiful, and very much making use of the DS’s capabilities. 5/5
Sound: Sound isn’t so important in this game. At least not the listening part of it. There is background noise: cars driving by, birds chirping, Ein barking because he’s not getting enough attention. 3/5
Game play: The game play is fairly simple. It relies on the stylus heavily, and what isn’t based off the stylus is voice command. The amount of interaction with your puppy is amazing, and it’s fun to sit around and pet your puppy for long periods at a time (and do expect to do this). 4/5
Story: Ok, there is no story. You buy a puppy and pamper it. It’s fun, it’s cute, it has no plot. 1/5
Replay: Currently, I am still very much in thrall of Ein. Walking him, bathing him, watching him play with other puppies, and exploiting him to buy me a better house is wonderful. But I understand this will not last. Eventually I will tire of my little corgi and his antics. So I cannot be sure of replay value, but if I would probably pick it up again after some time. 3/5
Overall: Puppies, puppies, puppies! It’s a great game and very cute. Some annoyances in the voice command area, but that can be worked around (my idea, never worry about the obedience competitions). I would recommend it for people who can find 30 minutes to an hour a day to pet, walk, bathe, and pamper a digital puppy. 4/5