"You're in fur a great time!"

Nintendo recently released a puppy simulator, known as Nintendogs. Since it was announced, it had gained more and more hype. Just a few days before it came out, people were ecstatic and very anxious for its release. And they should be. Nintendogs is a game where you pretty much just choose a dog, enter it into contests, and make money for er... more dogs.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10

Nintendo did a very good job making this game innovative and so different from other games out there. Almost all of the control is done with the touch screen. Petting your dog, holding its leash, and giving it a bath are just a few of the things that are done using the stylus. And with the bubble blower toy, you must blow into the DS microphone to blow bubbles. The reality aspect of the game is great. If you adopt a dachshund, it is very obedient most of the time, but since it has short legs it can't run as fast to fetch like a Golden Retriever can. Depending on which dog you have, there is ups and downs.

You can't just ignore your puppy for weeks at a time and play it rarely. They get dirty, hungry, and thirsty. They also get stressed if they are ignored for too long, and might temporarily run away. That will teach you a lesson. If you don't work on your puppy's tricks you taught him, or never call his name, it will forget the commands and be very stubborn. The only reason i gave the gameplay category and 8 is because of the voice recognition. While it is a brilliant idea, it can get very, very frustrating. If you are in an obedience trial, and you can't seem to pronounce your trick correctly, your puppy just sits there and stares, and you end up with a low score. Luckily, to call your puppy over, you can just double-tap him with the stylus

CONTROL: 9/10

As I noted earlier, most of the work is done with the stylus. The only time i recall using the buttons is to fly the RC Helicopter or drive the Mario Kart toy. Control with the stylus goes more smoothly than you'd expect. The ability to interact with your dog by petting him on the touch screen adds some enjoyment to the whole care aspect. Really not much more to say here.

SOUND: 10/10

I thought the sound was absolutely wonderful, considering the size and quality of the DS speakers. Puppy sounds and music are crystal clear, adding great enjoyment to the overall package. One neat thing about the sound is the ability to pop in different records while your just hanging out with your pup. The records range from classic music to Old School Mario music. The game also features a white record, which allows you to speak into the microphone and play it back to hear yourself talk. You can spend a load of time on just that alone. You can also hear how your puppy feels by the sounds it makes.

INTERACTION: 9/10

When you're on a walk with your dog, more times than not, you'll run into another pup out there. If you have a small dog, it will feel intimidated when it meets a Husky or German Shepherd. The more you meet a dog, the more it'll warm up to your pup, and whenever your dog meets that dog, the better it will feel after its walks.

Bark mode also adds innovation and interaction to the game. You can either put your DS into hibernate, and it will bark when you are in wireless range of another trainer, or you can keep the wireless picto-chat search on while you play. When you meet another trainer, you can have your puppy take a gift, and chat while your dogs get to know each other.

REPLAY VALUE: 7/10

Keep in mind a game like this is enjoyable, but repetitive, as you do the same thing over and over again. Its a great game to begin with though, so thats not too much of a problem.

OVERALL: 9/10

Let's put it this way; If you have a DS, Nintendogs is for you. Even if your not much of a dog fan, you just can't resist this game. If you are concerned about your popularity, then beat it. If you just walk around playing this game, people won't look at you as doing any more than playing your DS. There's no need to be embarrassed when you play this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/05