"The Hamster Experiment Experience"

Out of all the games in the new Petz selection of titles, Hamsterz has got to be the most original, and while I'm at it, the most enjoyable experience of them all. Forget your typical domesticated canine, feline or what have you, I know you've always wanted to have a furry little hamster for a pet. These critters are pretty smart too - you can even teach them a whole bunch of actions and responses, and while they may not be very realistic, they hit the humour button just right.

Visuals - 7
Sound & Music - 6
Gameplay - 6
Controls - B
Longevity - N/A
Replayability - B
Difficulty - Easy

Adorability - 7
MY VERDICT - 5.5

As you start up your new virtual pet, the anime art-style suggests that everything herein should be taken lightly. Hamsterz doesn't strive to be a realistic portrayal of the actual animal - that would be boring. Instead we get to have fun with hamsters that like to play games, talk a lot, and ride roller-coasters all day long. Yeah you read that last bit right!

The anime presentation is exclusive to all the menus that you will have to navigate through, which is just as easy as that other pet game that everyone and their ‘dog' has played. As for the hamsters, their cage and everything contained within, a rough, textured 3D approach was taken for more believability. It's not quite photo-realistic, but looks nearly there if you squint a bit. But then the speech bubble pops up when your hamster complains of a rumbling tummy – seriously, don't take this game seriously!

You will have to feed you new pet well if you want it to grow up all big and strong into an adult. You will also have to teach it some of your English skills and play a couple of mini-games with it if you hope to get the most out of your time together. There are a variety of toys you can play with such as a ball you can throw around and play fetch with. If you leave the furry one alone it will get up to all sorts of tricks, from running through the classic exercise wheel, to climbing atop its nest-house and taking an unplanned nap on the roof as exhaustion sets in.

Sometimes it will ask you a question like, “What should I say when I laugh?” You are then given 3 responses to choose from. Say the words aloud and eventually the hamster will be able to respond as you see fit. It will tell you when it is hungry or thirsty, and it will greet you accordingly depending on the time of day you decide to interact with it. Of course you can mess around a bit and say make it so that whenever your hamster is hungry it will laugh! It's your choice, and you can own a handful of hamsters at a time so no limitations there. Unfortunately you can only have 1 hamster active in a cage at any one time.

There are a couple of mini-games that exist in here too. These include memory games, sliding puzzles, those grab-a-toy crane machines, and catching some jumping fish. You get to earn some of the better items through these so it's worth playing for high scores here. The problem here is that you don't have a say as to when you can play through them; when your hamster feels like playing, it will tell you. When will it want to? There's the random catch.

Hamsters don't quite look like the next-top-model for pet-care simulation, but it does grow on you with time and dedication. It's not overly realistic, nor is it plain silly. It reaches a happy medium between the two, but perhaps more on the latter's side just for the sake of good fun. You won't complain when you've got your little rodent pimping it out in a two-storey custom-built cage featuring a complete playground, including a huge slide and a whirling roller-coaster. Whee!

Pros:
- Hamsters are cute, adorable and they talk!?
- Lots of items to unlock, including a bakery and a roller-coaster!
Cons:
- Can't play mini-games whenever you want to
- Can only have 1 hamster active at a time

5.5/10 - This is a promotional review.

My Score System – a score of 7 from me denotes a good, solid game. Excellence earns a higher grade, whilst 4-6 reflects a below average product; glitchy, unplayable games deserve less.

17/04/07 - Adapted from my original work featured in NZ GameConsole magazine May '07

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/27/07