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Nintendogs is a virtual pet simulator where you can take care of and train a young puppy. It certainly shares similarities to the Tamagotchi key chain virtual pet games, but the interaction between you and your virtual dog is greatly increased by the touch screen and microphone capabilities of the Nintendo DS.
Use the stylus to pet your dog's back, head, and that special place just right under its chin. You also use the stylus and touch screen to give your dog a bath, brush its fur, throw flying discs and other doggie toys for your pooch to play with, and make selections on the menu screens. When it's time for walkies, draw a route around the neighborhood with the stylus pen and use it to also hold onto the dog's leash! Just don't forget to pooper scoop! You can also call your dog by name and teach it tricks using the Nintendo DS microphone! At the beginning of the game it'll ask you to give a name to your dog. Repeat the name you want to give your dog several times, and once it learns its name, it'll come when you call it! Well, most of the time, anyway. The voice recognition software in Nintendogs is impressive, but it's not perfect. You can also teach your dog tricks in the same fashion. Most tricks you teach your dog require simple voice commands and use of the stylus. For instance, the first trick you teach your dog is ﾑsit.' To do this, call your dog, pat it on the head with the stylus and then move the stylus in a downward direction. Your dog will sit and then the game will prompt you to record your voice. Say "sit" or whatever command you want into the microphone. Repeat this process a few times and soon your dog will sit on command! There are lots of other tricks you can teach your virtual pup, and the game has books that you can read to help you train your pal. You'll have to feed and water your dog often, which means going to the pet store to buy necessities. You can earn extra cash by selling things that your dog finds on walks, as well as earning cash prizes in competitions that you can enter. Go for the gold in flying disc tournaments, agility trials, and obedience contests. You'll want to practice with your dog before you enter these competitions. The more you work with your pup, the better it'll do. Use the cash you earn to buy toys, food, accessories, and eventually more dogs!  Nintendogs comes in three different versions. Each version has different starting dog breeds for you to buy. However, unlike Pokemon, you don't need all three versions to catch all the dog breeds. Eventually you can unlock all the breeds in each game. However, if you have a friend with a DS and a Nintendog of their own, you two can enter ﾑbark mode' and with the wireless capabilities of the DS, your dog and your friend dogs can play with each other and even carry a present for the other dog. Visit many dogs this way to unlock all the breeds faster. The 3-D background graphics in Nintendogs are simple, but the dogs themselves are incredibly lifelike and move and act almost like real puppies! There's not a whole lot of music, but once you have more than one dog and play with them for a while, you'll notice that each dog has his or her own distinct bark! Using the stylus is simple and intuitive, but the voice recognition isn't quite as responsive sometimes. You need to be in a quiet place and speak clearly with your dog if you want to teach it tricks. The gameplay is a little limited, meaning there's not a lot to do with your dog once you've done everything. However, I think Nintendogs is designed to be like Animal Crossing where it's best played just a small bit each day. Since there are so many different breeds and dog personalities in the game, every player's experience with Nintendogs will be a little different. So now I'll describe my personal play experience with Nintendogs, as well as the experiences of one of my little brother's dogs, plus the Nintendog my mom is trying to raise. Everybody's game experience will be different! So even though Nintendogs doesn't take best in show, it's still an endearing title that gamers owe themselves to give a try. 
The object of the game is nurturing a puppy, so there's absolutely no violence to be found. Reading skills are helpful to understand how to take care of your puppy and what your virtual pal needs. Patience is also key, as you must speak clearly and repeatedly into the microphone to get your dog to do anything. It may be difficult for child siblings to share one Nintendog game, as the puppies only recognize one player's voice.
Even though owning a real dog requires a LOT more responsibility (the game makes that clear, too), Nintendogs might be a good teaching tool for kids. If you're not sure if your child is ready to take care of a real pet, try out a Nintendog first. Or maybe your kids want a real dog, but the apartment or house you live in is too small to accommodate a new furry member of the family. Or maybe your child wants a dog, but they're allergic. Nintendogs might be a great game for that. Just don't forget to pay attention to your real pets! GamerDad's Note: I tested this game with my 5-year old daughter Maggie and found it very frustrating. A 5-year old has a hard time saying a name, like the dog's name, consistently every time. She LOVES the game, but like a real dog, this time daddy had to step in and do the training. She just wants to play with the doggie anyway! Bear that in mind if giving this game to younger kids. Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "Nintendogs" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Nintendogs |
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