| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: A Dog's Life
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
You are Jake, a normal, farmyard dog. The object of your affection, Daisy, has gotten captured along with some other dogs, and it's up to Jake to literally sniff out the culprits and free all the canines. Now, having a dog in a video game may not seem too unusual, but you can't turn into a rocket powered jet or fly with your big ears. You're just a normal, everyday dog and you can only do normal dog things. Knock over trash cans, dig holes, mark your territory (more on that later), and use your amazing canine sense of smell to track down clues that will lead to the villains and your girl Daisy. The rest of the story plays out like a kiddy talking/thinking animal movie like Homeward Bound or Benji. Even the villains look like they come straight out of 101 Dalmatians.
You'll explore areas where you might find dogs, such as a sheep ranch, ski resort, or a city park. In each area is another dog and a bunch of smells. Press a button to send Jake into a first person view "Smellovision" and you can see smells! They appear as different colored puffs of smoke. Track down enough ﾑcolored' smells and you can earn a bone or play a mini-game with another dog. Sometimes you'll also find footprints in "Smellovision" that may lead you somewhere important.  The main goal is to find as many bones as you can in each area. In Smellovision, you can tell where bones are by an orange cloud and a ray of light will shine high above the scent so you can see where to go. Some bones are buried and you have to dig them up, others are hidden in trash cans for you to knock over, while other bones can only be earned by doing a task for a human or competing in a mini-game with another dog. Your bones are kind of like experience points. If you have more bones than a dog in a certain area, you'll have an easier time beating them in a mini-game. You activate a mini-game by gathering enough of a colored smell, then you and that area's dog face off. You'll compete in chases, races, and simple button mashing exercises of tug-o-war or digging contests. One of the more, ahem, unique games is a contest of which dog can mark the most territory. Yes, you can pee on command in this game, and in this particular mini-game which is like a combination of Qix and Dots, you must pee on targets to cover a larger area than the other dog's in a given time frame. If you beat a mini-game, you can control that other dog for a while. Each dog has a unique skill. The sheep dog can herd sheep into a corral (and earn you a bone), a Chihuahua can fit into small places, and a Siberian Husky can stand on ice without slipping.  Other times you can earn a bone by helping out a human. This usually means tracking down lost items or other acts like chasing away foxes from a chicken coop. Just watch out for the dog catcher! No dogs, other animals, or humans (besides the villain) get hurt or die in this game. If you walk out into the road, courteous drivers slow down and stop way before hitting Jake. Jake can run low on energy, but he won't ever ﾑdie.' Unless it's really hard to, I never could. But Jake on low fuel does walk slower. Simply knock over a trash can to find food or beg for treats from a human. One of the dog mini-games is like Simon Says. Perform the button command correctly and that dog will teach you a new trick. Do better tricks for humans and earn better treats. You can sit, lie down, shake, bark, and other things with certain button combinations on the D-pad. One nice little detail is that Jake can get dirty if he digs around for too much. If he's dirty, the humans won't want him around and they won't give him treats. So you'll have to guide Jake to the local automated dog groomers in certain areas and get him all nice and clean again. Sometimes after doing a task for a human, they may give you a clue as to where to go next, though most of the time you'll be exploring every nook and cranny for more smells and bones. Graphics can sometimes dip down into PSOne territory, but all the dogs look and animated like real dogs. Music is either techno for the mini-games or calm country tunes while you explore. Jake can't talk, but he can ﾑthink' to the player, and he and other humans often say funny things. Play control and camera angles can be problematic, but since you're never required to do precise jumping, the poor control isn't really much of a problem. An onscreen display shows you what buttons do what. A Dog's Life is a short and easy game, but kids and dog lovers everywhere will get a kick out of it, and at such a low retail price (20 bucks), it's worth it. 
Even though this game DID get a Teen rating, it's really a kid's game at heart. Expert gamers can beat it in a weekend, but the light challenge is perfect for children. The main reason why this game got a T rating was the fact that you can poop and pee on command, and you can see the action and the result on screen. But it really isn't that shocking to anyone who already has a pet. Of course, after these acts Jake will usually spout some sort of immature comment like, "Whew! Yesterday's sweet corn!" after taking a dump, so some parents may have a problem with that. Even so, all kids laugh at poop jokesﾗdon't try to deny it. Some kids may get a little disturbed at the end by the villain, but if they can handle Cruella De Vil in the live action 101 Dalmatians movies, they'll be OK. There's also one small swear word near the end. Since Jake can't talk and gather clues from humans that way, some kids may get frustrated by not knowing where to go next sometimes. Because of all this, I'd only recommend this game to more mature kids 9 and up. A Dog's Life is still a very cute and original game, and even though it enters into PG territory at times, it's still a nifty dog romp that may even teach and give insight to any child who wants to have a dog of their own.
Kid Factor by Cary Woodham
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: A Dog's Life |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
