In Japan, Nintendogs proved to be a huge success. From the mind of Shigeru Miyamoto, it was released to huge anticipation due to its backing by only the 5th perfect score in Famitsu history, the biggest gaming magazine in Japan. The title proved to be a huge hit and multiplied DS sales by many folds with its release. No doubt Nintendo has high hopes that they can replicate that success here.
Nintendogs does many things well. For one, it makes full and perfect use of all of the DS's unique features. The touch screen acts as your 'hands'… a way to interact with your virtual dog. You use it for a range of things from petting your dog, to throwing balls, to navigating menus. The mic picks up your voice when you call your dog or say a trick for it to perform. Voice recognition works well if you are in a fairly silent area (normal background noises have no effect). As for the dual screens, one screen usually keeps an eye on your dog(s) while the other one shows some type of information or menu options.
Gameplay wise, Nintendogs delivers a very realistic experience of owning a virtual pet. The dogs act fairly realistically but not to the point that the player fails to understand how the dog feels (as in real life). Each dog has a personality of its own and will react accordingly. You will understand your dogs reactions whether it feels happy, sad, tired, or even confused. You can have up to three dogs and they will interact with each other in accordance to their personality. All of the functions of the game work relatively well, though the voice recognition could use a few tweaks.
Nintendogs is like one complex virtual pet simulation minus the complex part. The game is very simple to play and you can do a lot of things with your dogs. But the limitations hinder the game. Dogs become tired too easily and will refuse to continue without rest. The game prevents you from taking your dog out too frequently or entering into too many contests in a single day. While training can take a bit of time train your dog and there are plenty of items to buy, you can accomplish most of the game within a week. Of course, the game technically never ends as you can still play with other dogs but chances are you will lose interest after your first dog.
Graphically, the dogs look fantastic. Most of the technically prowess of the DS hardware goes to rendering the dogs but that leaves everything else looking very bland. Each dog looks very much like its real life version though not as detailed due to hardware limitations. Some of the areas look nice but the attention to detail appears minimal when compared to the dogs themselves. The audio sounds fine but the music seems somewhat lacking.
Nintendogs is a game anyone can enjoy. It's easy to play, offers a very new type of virtual pet gameplay, and can appeal to many people. The technology behind the game shows some of the most advanced features of the DS hardware. Sadly, the game governs the player too much even though the player should have full control over their dog (though nothing cruel!) and train it as hard as possible. Still, Nintendogs does a wonderful job of giving experienced players something new to play and gives newer players something to entice them into gaming.
Final words: An enjoyable game only held back by some boundaries.
-Vinny
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