Nintendogs!

You've undoubtedly seen the adverts on TV, and probably seen the huge amount of promotion this game has received, mainly down to it's success overseas, but if you're reading this, you MUST be interested in knowing more!

I have broken this review up into segments for ease of reading, if you have any problems or suggestions let me know and I will edit the review to make it more pleasing to read.

Packaging/Artwork:

There are 3 versions of Nintendogs to choose from, each showing an image of one of the 6 features breeds available in each. The familar spine design stating that this is indeed an official Nintendo DS game remains, framing a very cute photograph of an all too cute puppy, the title 'Nintendogs' is overlayed along with the icon stating that the title is suitable for the ages of 3+ and also a box containing the information on the breed pack chosen. The 3 available versions of this game are:
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Nintendogs™ Dachshund & Friends
Nintendogs™ Labrador & Friends
Nintendogs™ Chihuahua & Friends.

Inside the box you are greeted with:

An instruction booklet (146 Pages, in 4 languages)
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A promo booklet showing a few upcoming releases
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A promo Leaflet for dog food..!?
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Health and safety guide
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Plus a Nintendo VIP 24:7 leaflet with a code to register on Nintendo's website to earn points to be used for wallpapers etc.

The reverse of the case contains all the expected information such as the breeds included, barcode etc. Nothing really of any use other than finding out more information on the game while you're in store.
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First Impressions:

On startup, you are greeted with a copyright display message on the bottom screen, Nintendo logo on the top screen. this then continues on to the game title screen, which on first start-up carries on to prompt you to buy your first puppy. Whe you have chosen from the 6 breeds that will be available in your version (ALL the breeds are unlockable eventually, no matter what version you choose, but i'll go into more detail on this later)

This is where the game starts to come into its own and express its originality...

You will have no name your puppy, now whereas in a NORMAL game, this would be done by simply typing in the name chosen for your puppy, you name the puppy by speaking its name into the microphone attached to your Nintendo DS!
This takes a few attempts as the software needs time to get used to your voice, but eventually after around 3-5 times saying your puppy's name, the game will acknowledge that your puppy's name is chosen and give you some time to practice shouting it's name as it learns to respond to it. You say the name of the puppy and it comes running! I have to say I was very impressed with this feature but somewhat dubious. In most voice recognition game the microphone will simply hear ANY sound being inputted and that will be the command, however in Nintendogs you train your puppy to do various tricks using a variety of voice commands and the game SOMEHOW knows which word you are saying and the puppy performs the command you have taught it. VERY smart...
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The various in-game sections:

The top screen in the game is mainly used to display your 'interior' this being, the room in which your puppy/puppies live (You can have up to 3 at a time)

When you call your puppy the interior display switches to the bottom screen allowing you to interact with it utilising the touch screen technology.

The top left corner of the screen has 3 icons, firstly 'HOME' which whe pressed returns the dogs to the top screen where they entertain themselves.

Second is the 'SUPPLIES' icon, which when pressed brings you to the Supply menu.

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The supplies menu:

7 seperate sections which house icons for the following items:
SPORTS
TOYS
ACCESSORIES
CARE
MUSIC
CLOCK
ETC.

Each of these being very sparse at first however as you play the game you are able to build up on items, and very soon they will be teeming with avariety of items to entertain your pups!
A few of the available items are:

Tennis ball
Football
Rubber Bone
RC Helicopter (which you can actually fly round the room)
Gold Bar
Ribbons
A Mario/Luigi Hat
Flowers
Various records which can be played to your puppies envoking a variety of reactions.

and also the care items which consist of shampoo, food, drinks, etc. The necessities.

Now you may by now be feeling very confused by the amount of information here, but the game really is THAT huge, the possibilities go on forever, and there are over a hundred items to be unlocked as you play.

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When the top left button marked 'Home' is pressed, the puppies return to the top screen and the bottom screen then displays the 'Home' menu.

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The Home menu:

Top left - Save button (usethis to save your game
Middle - a circular button which when pressed whistles your pet to get their attention.
and the 3 puppy icons which are empty to start but each of the 3 is replaced with an icon of your puppy when as you buy them, so click here to display information on a specific puppy.

This is all very easy to navigate and all very self explanitary once you get used to all the menu screen.

Also there is a clock on display throughout the game so yur puppies (and you) know what time it is, with the light in the game changing according to the time.

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To care for your puppy and earn trainer points you need to teach your puppy tricks and play with it via a few methods, while they are in the house you can use the flying disks and tennis balls etc, to increase agility and teach them how to catch the frisbee. But yu can also do this by going for a walk, thats right, you ca take your puppy for a walk!

This is one of the best AND worst features in the game as it allows you to visit the park, training centre and the discount store to buy supplies, along with walking through the blue '?' icons which when passed will either allow you to meet and interact with a neighborhood puppy, or your puppy will walk off screen and return with

a gift which can then be added to your supplies! (This is one of the most addictive qualities of the game as you just want to go for endless walks to find more new items!) The bad thing about these walks, other than them being limited to one every 30 minutes, is that it can be quite tedious as your puppy wanders around, stopping to scratch and lying down for no particular reason (and it's cruel to tug hard on the lead isn't it?? especially when they're so cute!)

Another great feature of the game is bark mode, in which you turn on the wireless feature of your DS and it will alert yu when your connection comes into contact with someone else running Bark mode, allowing you to trade items, and also this feature unlocks new breeds!

Trainer points are like the games scoring system, these increase as you play, also unlocking new breeds of dog and interiors for your house!!

Contests are the final feature of the game, giving you the choice of 3:

Disc competition, agility trial, and obediance trial, all pretty self explanitary really. These are a great way of earning money to buy new items and increasing your trainer points (and love for your puppy of course!) There is so much more in this game that is just impossible to explain without being totally confusing.

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Overal Opinion:

The graphics were the first thing to impress me, the dogs move in a way you can only stare in awe at, they even impressed my dad who has absolutely no interest in gaming, though the graphical power of the DS isn't as high as that of the PSP, it made me realise why I chose the DS. They are Very realistic, not s much graphically but as far as movement and personality goes they are almost real!
There have been times in the week that i've had this game where I've been in stitches at some of the things these dogs do, and I can honestly say I've never found a game as entertaining as this. Who needs films and TV..or day I say it..REAL PETS!?
The whole method of navigation is fun and non fussy, making it easy to get to the info you want to display.

There are just a few things I have picked up on which bug me slightly..................

The first few days of playing this game I had no problems AT ALL. However I decided to go ahead and buy another puppy, BIG mistake, at times it is so frustrating trying to single out a chosen puppy without the other one getting in the way, ruining tricks and just being a pain, though this is probably the way it would be with real puppies, at the end of the day, they're not real puppies and I dont think this was done intentionally by the developer to annoy the player.

also with the game making such heavy use of the microphone, it is very difficult to play the game with music on or in a noisy environment, though the game has an option to change the mic sensitivity it doesnt really remedy the problem, and your puppies will come running at the slightest background noise (not to mention the game being SO embarassing to play in a public place)

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Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable simulation, one that can be enjoyed by adults as well as children, I myself am 23 and have been hooked to the thing since I bought it! (and i'm fairly sure if I was t leave it alone with my mum she'd have a sneaky play on it too!! (though probably not admit to it!) If you have a child who has been asking for this..get it for them, give them a few early nights, maybe confiscate their DS and have yourself a brilliant gaming experience.

A refreshing change!