"It's Impossible to give cute puppies a bad score (even if they do get boring)."

If you are looking for a new and original game, this is it! Dog lover or not chances are, you are bound to love this game, and I know I did. You start from selecting one of 6 different breeds of dogs (don't worry, you can unlock more). Once you've chosen the dog of your choice (breed and personality), you take it home with you and play with it, name it, then do whatever you want.

Gameplay: 8

Nintendogs has great gameplay, and is very easy to just pick up and play, there is no denying that. You can do virtually anything with your dog, except feel how soft he/she is. You have to feed and water your dogs, take them for walks, enter them into three different types of competitions (Disc, Agility, and Obedience), give them baths, train them, or just play with them.

Controls: 9

There really isn't anything bad about the controls. You use the stylus for everything, except driving toys like the RC Helicopter or Mario Kart in which you use the d-pad and buttons. You also use the microphone, a lot. I guess that can be counted as controls since you have to use it for naming your dog, and teaching it tricks.

Graphics: 10

The graphics are just superb. They really show off the DS's abilities. The dogs do everything real dogs do, poke them in the nose and they sneeze. And they will run around and pounce on other dogs. They run like real dogs too. When you play this game, you will think you are actually playing with a real dog, that's how good the graphics and gameplay are.

Sound: 8

Nintendogs also has really good sound. The dogs do bark, a lot too. When you go on walks there is this really cheerful music, especially when your dog finds a present or another dog. The music for competitions, especially championships, is just amazing.

Replayability: 5

This is where Nintendogs fails. It is a great game, but for short bursts, definitely not a game you will be able to play and play. You can only enter in three competitions a day (per dog), you can only go for walks every half an hour (per dog), and your dogs can only learn three to four tricks per day (fifteen total).

Rent or Buy:

I say rent for a week first, and then if it hasn't gotten old yet go ahead and buy it if you like that much. Also, Keep in mind that many people believe this is the Nintendo DS's Killer app.

Overall: 7 out of 10
Like I said before, it's impossible to give cute little puppies a bad score. So go ahead and try it out.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/05