"Too much trouble and responsibility for a video game."

Introduction

Prior to the release of Nintendogs, I had been looking at previews for it and thought it was a really cute and exciting game. I pre-ordered it and picked it up, and played it. It turned out to be very fun at first. But later I realized "What the hell am I doing taking care of a virtual pet and feeling emotions toward it?" It went downhill from there; explained further.

Graphics 9/10
Honestly not much of a problem here. Everything is smooth, the dogs look realistic, and there is nothing that is scratchy or ugly graphic-wise. It would have been nice if there had been furniture in the single room in your house. It is easy to recognize markers on the map for walking your dog, and makes things simple in the contests where you can instantly know what kind of obstacle something is, without having to squint or think about it.

Controls 10/10
The controls put the stylus to use for what it was made for. You can scratch the head on your dog, wash it, command it, and train it all with the stylus. The game also utilizes the built in microphone in the DS. With it you can call your dogs name, tell it to do tricks, or simply woo it. The buttons are used very simply, because all you really do with them is select things like toys from the menu to bring out. This is the kind of game the DS was made for, in the category of controls at least.

Gameplay 5/10
It begins to go downhill here. When you first pick up this game, it will only be fun for a week or two. Then it becomes a chore more than a game. If you don't play for just ONE day, your dog becomes famished, parched, dirty, and will like you a bit less. Your dogs will even run away if you put off playing this game for a couple weeks. If you want to have a "good game", you have to feed it and take care of it every day. It should be considered a chore more than a game. On the other side, the dogs would make anyone woo like a baby. They are cute and playful, and that is the only part to this gameplay that is really fun, besides to contests. The contests require you to guide your dog over obstacles, command it to do tricks, or throw Frisbees to it. They earn you money which you can buy more dogs or food, as well as toys. You have to train your dog before you can become good at the contests. For example, if you don't have a good relationship with your dog yet, he will not run towards where you show him, or fall off the obstacles. The gameplay is not very good overall.

Sound 7/10
The sound in Nintendogs consists of music, barking, and squealing. Music plays for different areas such as the shop, streets, or contests. You can also get records that have music on them. The music is not very good, as it is repetitive, and boring. Your dogs bark when they see another dog or you, or simply to show emotion, which you can recognize. Each dog has it's own bark, adding a bit of realism. Your dogs also growl when they are angry, or squeal when you spoil them. The sound gets VERY annoying after a while, and will make you just want to smack your dogs.

Re-playability 4/10
Yeugh. There IS no re-playability really, just having to get on every day to take care of your dogs. You are forced to get on every day to feed and take care of them, and gets exceptionally boring. As said above, this game is a chore.

Overall 6/10
The only reason a person should want this game is if they wanted to learn how to take care of a dog. Otherwise, it's not a very good experience. The good side to this game is the graphics and the use of the DS's capabilities, but otherwise is a piece of junk on your game shelf.

Buy or Rent?
Neither. Leave it at the store. Stick to real dogs please.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/06