Nintendogs: Labrador and Friends (Nintendo DS)

I have been looking forward to this product coming through so I can write a review on it. This is because, I think that lose of people on dooyoo would love this game, because it is cute, fun different. It is a virtual pet game where you can keep up to 6 dogs at the same time, but only three at your house. The other three stay in the Dog Hotel at no charge! There are three types of Nintendogs with their own 6 dogs. I am reviewing one of the popular ...
...version is called Nintendogs™ Lab & Friends. There are 5 other dogs on my type that I will tell you about later. This game is the best virtual pet you can get anywhere as you can speak to it, teach it tricks, call its' name, feed it, take it for walks, and more! I really loved this game at first, but I got really annoyed because I stopped playing it after a while and got bored of it. It is a great game, and you will find out the pros and cons of ... more

I have been looking forward to this product coming through so I can write a review on it. This is because, I think that lose of people on dooyoo would love this game, because it is cute, fun different. It is a virtual pet game where you can keep up to 6 dogs at the same time, but only three at your house. The other three stay in the Dog Hotel at no charge! There are three types of Nintendogs with their own 6 dogs. I am reviewing one of the popular ones that is the one with the Labrador retriever. This version is called Nintendogs™ Lab & Friends. There are 5 other dogs on my type that I will tell you about later. This game is the best virtual pet you can get anywhere as you can speak to it, teach it tricks, call its' name, feed it, take it for walks, and more! I really loved this game at first, but I got really annoyed because I stopped playing it after a while and got bored of it. It is a great game, and you will find out the pros and cons of this game in my review. I hope you enjoy reading!

Look
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This game looks and even feels good! The picture on the front of the box is just adorable, and with lose of real pictures of cute puppies in the instruction manual, you are just reminded of cute puppies!

On the front of the box is the Nintendogs logo and under that is the Lab & Friends logo. The main colour for this version is green. The box is green where on the other versions it would appear to be a different colour. One the front, it also says the following:

Includes:
Labrador Retriever
Miniature Schnauzer
Toy Poodle
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Miniature Pinscher
Shiba Inu

The above are the dogs featured in this version. In the other two versions, you will find my dog, the King Charles Cavalier, and you can find the Boxer in another version and many other dogs. There are 6 dogs in each version.

Some popular dogs you may like that are featured in the Nintendogs games are below:

Yorkshire Terrier
Chihuahua
Miniature Dachshund
German Shepherd

On the back of the box are some neat pictures showing you some of the Gameplay. There are little bits to explain what is being showed and what you can do. On the back is the blurb that is as follows:

Give a puppy a new home inside your Nintendo DS! Your favourite breed is waiting, so take one home with you then care for and train it using the Touch screen and Microphone.

On the back of the box as the top are some little pictures of the 6 dogs featured in this version. It also mentions that the other 2 versions are available. The box is very light coloured, calm and looks cool.

The actual game has superb graphics, and looks really cool. Your dog lives in your house, and when you get enough money, you can buy different room designs for your house. Then it will look different. There is always something to save up for until you buy the most expensive design!

The menus are very, very simple, and the game is aimed at most people. You must speak clearly and in the same tone when playing, or your dog may get confused! Ok, now lets move onto the Gameplay and more itself.

Starting The Game
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When you start the game, you begin in the kennels, where you get to choose which dog you want to buy. At first, there are 6 that are in the game, but after you connect wirelessly to another DS and play with their dog, that dog will be available to buy in your game. You can also unlock dogs like the poodle after getting a certain amount of trainer points by caring for your dog, and winning and teaching.

At the kennel, you can look at dogs and play with them. There will be three dogs that you can interactive with. They will be from your game. This may give you an idea of what you like the look of. Choose your dog, and be sure to look at their personalities because all of the dogs are different!

Choose your colour wisely and your dog, and then you can take it home! When you name it, speak clearly and say the same thing the same way every time, because this will be your dogs' name, and if your dog doesn't know it, then you won't be able to call him, and he/she won't react when you call his/her name.

From here, your life begins with your new dog, and you will have to feed it, look after it, keep it clean, take it for walks, and you can teach it a wide range of tricks so it can be entered into a range of competitions so you can earn money from winning.

Tricks
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It is easy to teach your dog a trick, but can be very hard if your dog doesn't want to right now, or if it gets confused. Once you have got your dog to do the trick by moving his body in certain ways and using the touch screen. A little light bulb will pop up in the corner telling you that this is a trick.

Click on this, and it will start recording and this is where you speak into the microphone and say the trick that you would like the dog to do it to. If it was sit, then clearly say sit into the microphone. You don't have to go too close because the microphone is quite sensitive.

After you have taught your dog the trick, it will react. If a light bulb appears above its' head then you can feed it to it as a treat! Weird… I wouldn't eat a light bulb. You can then name the trick, by writing in letters what the name of the trick is, and it will stay in the records so you can see what tricks your dogs knows.

Supplies
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These are the things that you rely on to take care of your dog and allow it to have fun. There are 7 sections in the supplies section. Below is the list and what can be put in them:

Sports: Things like the Frisbee will be kept in here, and balls and sport items

Toys: Toys such as soft things will be kept in here, and also things like the bubble blower where you blow into the microphone and bubbles blow out towards your pup! It is great seeing how they react!

Accessories: This is where everything from hats to collars is kept for your dog. There are lots of things that can be found for your dog on walks. You can also buy the original collars at the shops.

Care: This is where water, milk food of all kinds and more is kept for your dog. Shampoos and brushes are also kept here for your dog under the care section. You should pay a lot of attention to this section as it is very important to keep your dog in good condition or it may run away. Sometimes they come back with presents though!

Music: Here is your stash of music. You can find records on walks, and they are put here. When you get the keyboard, this is put in here and you can play it and your dog will sing along! If you play twinkle little star, it will sing it, then you can teach it as a trick and it will sing it alone! It is so cool!

Clock: This is where the clock is stored. I don't think there is much else to this room.

Etc: This is where random stuff is stored like sticks and juice bottles and dog photos. Just a few of the things I have got in here.

Playing
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You can play with your dog and toys, and you use the touch screen and stick for all of this. Use the stick to swing the Frisbee and throw out toys to your puppy!

When you tap on the screen or call your dogs name, it will run back with the toy, and then you should pat its head, and it will get better at things such as catching the Frisbee and giving it back to you straight away.

When you get more trainer points, you will unlock things and you will be a better trainer. The trainer points are how you are ranked in this game.

Shopping
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When you go into the shopping section, there are five sections here that you can enter:

Pet Supply: You can purchase all the supplies you need at the Pet Supply store.

Interior Decorator: Select a new décor for your home here.

Kennel: Go here to buy more puppies when you have the money.

Second-hand Shop: Go here to sell supplies you no longer need.

Dog Hotel: You can keep up to five dogs here, and you can only have three at your house. If you wish to have more than three dogs, you will have to keep the others here. Also, if you just want one dog at home, then put the rest at the hotel to be looked after for free. If they are at your house, they are in your hands.

Walks
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You can take your dogs for walks every 30 minutes real time. They need a rest, so you can't be taking them all the time. You can find things on your walks by walking through the ? boxes on the map. You plan your route before you go, so you can decide where you want to go. You can also pop into places on your walk:

ª Park
ª Discount shop
ª Gymnasium

You can play at the park, and throw the Frisbee ad practice, and you can buy second hand cheap goods at the discount shop. You can go to the gymnasium and practice here for competitions where your dog has to run around the course jumping, going through tunnels, and going over sea-saws.

When your dog goes on more and more walks, your dog will be able to go further, but at first your dog can only go a certain distance. The stamina bar will go down as you plan your route, so you can't go on forever. This stamina bar will get bigger as your dog goes on more walks so in the end your dog will be able to walk anywhere!

Competitions
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This is where you can win money by entering your dog in one of the three competitions. One dog can only do three competitions a day. There are three competitions:

Disc Competition: This is a competition to see how many points your dog can get by catching a Frisbee. The further away you throw it, the more points it is worth if your dog makes the catch. If your dog jumps to catch it in mid-air, then you also get more points. The dogs entering will get certain scores, and then you will be the last contender to try and beat their scores to get the most points you can to win a trophy and get money according to whether you come in 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

Agility Trial: Here is where your dogs practice at the gymnasium comes into practice. Your dog will have to make its way round the course doing as good as it can, and you guide it along with your touch screen. Practice makes perfect, so practice a lot for this one, because it can be quite hard!

Obedience Trial: This is where your dog is entered into a competition to show off its' tricks. At the end, the judges will give scores, and the highest total wins the competition! You will have to perform skills, and tricks, and then maintain them for certain times, and you will have free time sometimes to perform whatever you want to show off how clever your dog is!

All the above competitions are great. There are certain stages in them. You start at the open competition, and move up to the next stages until you get to the tournament stage where the dogs are at their best in the chosen competition. There are prizes for dogs that come 1st, 2nd and 3rd. You also receive trophies.

Dogs
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There are 6 dogs in this version. They can come in different colours, and they all have different personalities, and you can find males and females. Pick your dog carefully! Below, is a list of the types of dog that you will find in this version.

Labrador Retriever
Miniature Schnauzer
Toy Poodle
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Miniature Pinscher
Shiba Inu

Wireless
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You can go wireless and search for other dogs You must be within 30 feet of another DS searching, as online wi-fi for the DS hasn't yet been introduced, but will be within the next month in the first game that I am getting with online built in.

You can choose whether you want to bring the dog you are meeting a present to help them out, and when you meet up, you can be with your dog or your friends and play with them. Their state will not be changed if your friend feeds your dog.

Graphics
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The graphics are great! The movements are very realistic, and the dogs act in ways that they would in real life. The game is really realistic, but can be quite repetitive in the way that the dogs move.

The graphics are very good. You can see every little detail of the dogs, and the colours are great. The graphics are very clear and sharp as all games on the Nintendo DS.

Replay ability
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This is poor, and this lets down the game. As I mentioned before, the game does get a bit boring after a while, but I know many people off message boards and other places who are still playing the game, and have many dogs now. It is a great game and ca get quite hectic, and is the ultimate virtual pet.

It depends on what kind of person you are. Some people who really love the game will stay glued to it, and will continue to play it, but some people will go off it soon. Unfortunately, this was the case for me, and I was very annoyed by this, because it is a great game, and very different!

Website
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Nintendogs has an official website meaning that this website is made by them, and has everything on it about the game. It has video diaries that you can watch for three different people, and has lose of other things to explore around the site. The site is below. Just enter it into your address bar:

www.nintendogs.com

Price
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You can get this game for £24.99 on amazon.co.uk

You can find this game a lot cheaper at 22nd hand shops around town, and you can find it on the Internet second hand at cheaper prices. It is very good for the game, but you should be interested and read a lot about it before buying.

Conclusion
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Nintendogs is very different, and this is the best console to hold the game on, as it has its' touch screen that is used a lot in this game. You can take care of 6 dogs, and have three in your house at one time. Feed your dog, take care of it, and take it for walks and play with your dog. When you have trained it, you can get money from winning competitions, and you can buy new dogs, supplies, and decors for your home!

Thanks for reading
Leave comments if you wish!

Dan ;•)

On Dooyoo too © 

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