"At first I said 'Wow!', then soon after I said 'Meh.'"

This is my review on the Nintendo DS Game ‘Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends.' I did enjoy this game at first, but as I went on, it got very boring.

First of all, I would like to apologise to anyone reading this review that likes this game and / or finds my comments about it distasteful. I have my opinion and you have yours. Let's be mature about it and respect each others opinions. Thanks!

Now, without further ado, let's get on with the review…

Gameplay – 4/10

I remember getting this game for my birthday, and gleefully putting it into my DS, anticipating a really great game! I chose my dog and started to play the game. However, after a few days it gets amazingly repetitive and boring. You do the same things every day, feeding your dog, taking it for a walk and raising money with competitions to buy a differently styled room, or a new dog so you can do the exact things all over again! Oh, the sheer joy of it! Also, you take a lot of time at the beginning, teaching your dog its name and how to sit using the mic. I, for one, don't want to be spending a lot of time trying to teach my virtual-pet how to respond to its own name! You buy items for it from the shop, so you can groom it and gain trainer points. You can participate in three different competitions per day, where you get your dog to do tricks and jump through hoops to earn even more money to spend on your puppy! So yes, the repetition of this game utterly ruins the Gameplay. A good feature, however, is Bark Mode, where you can bring a dog to a park type area and play with someone else who owns the game through Wireless Connection.

Sound – 6/10

Who on Earth would want to listen to a bunch of puppies yapping and screaming? Like the game itself, the music gets incredibly repetitive and I preferred to play the game with the sound completely off. You can, however, buy or find records that play new music. I liked this feature, and that's what gave the sound higher then 5.

Graphics – 10/10

Okay, I'll admit it: the graphics in this game are completely fantastic; the puppies look cute and the colours are vibrant. The scenery looks really nice. Yes, the graphics in this game are very good, and fully deserve a 10.

Buy or Rent:

Meh. Rent it if you want. If it turns out that you like it then sure, go ahead and buy it. But I warn you, it'll probably get boring sooner or later. If you're like me, you'll probably let it gather dust on a shelf.

Overall – 4/10

I don't recommend this game. Like I said, it's exciting at first, but very boring after you play it for a bit. I don't like this game at all, and I find it sad that such great graphics were wasted on a game like this.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/07, Updated 11/05/07

Game Release: Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends (US, 10/16/06)