Nintendogs digs it's way into the hearts of dog lovers, but the game itself? Fair.

User Rating: 6.5 | Nintendogs: Lab & Friends DS
By clickster_34 | Review Date:
This game was made to simulate having real dogs, and it serves it's purpose. But whether or not the game is actually fun depends on the player. You start off by adopting a one of six starting types of puppies (A lab, corgi, shiba inu, poodle, pinscher or schnauzer) and must give it a name. Unfortunately, Nintendogs should be played in a quiet place unless you turn the mic sensitivity down. Naming a dog isn't exactly easy, "Max, Max, Max, MAX!". I spent a half hour naming Max. Then you must teach him to sit, not much better, because now you have to combine touch with voice. And since I was 13 when I got it, my voice has changed too much for Max to remember me. But the game is still something you can chew on for a while.
Graphics- Probably the best part of the game because they look just like real dogs. The smooth 3-D is probably the best of any of my DS games. One problem though is that when another dog puts his paw on your dog (or vice-versa), they don't always make contact; and the leash often goes through the dog's head, which is quite creepy.
9/10

Sound- It sounds like barking, scratching, panting ect., but there really are no quality sounds, nothing you just WANT to hear.
7/10

Music- Adequate, but the only song I really like is "Shredded Fur" because it mixes up whatever you record on your white record (the white record being what other dog owners hear when you play multi-player, more on that later). Then again, it's not bad or annoying, rather soothing.
6/10

Game-play- This is what lost me. You have to feed, hydrate, and bathe your dogs regularly or they might run away. You can also enter them in contests of obedience, agility, or Frisbee-catching to win cash to buy dogs, decors, supplies, and toys. You can also take your dogs for walks, which is the real meat of the game as you can find toys and junk, or train for disc and agility trials, or play with other dogs. You draw out your course which gets longer as your dog grows older and bigger. Meeting other people on walks usually just results in useless information "Your dog looks like a championship caliber" "They like people don't they?" with the exception of Archie Hubbs: "Someday I want to go to outer space. Weird huh?" "Lately a cat has been marking it's territory in my house, ugh!".
5/10

Multi-Player- You can link wireless to other Nintendog owners via Bark Mode and bring one item, and interact as you would with other dogs on a walk (except for bringing a toy). You can also record a brief message on your white record. Unfortunately, I lost my rarest item this way because it fooled up on me. 7/10

It's not a bad game, it just wears down extremely fast. One should be able to enjoy this for short sessions, not hours on end.

Other Helpful Reviews for Nintendogs: Lab & Friends

  • Rating:6

    Fun for about one hour.

    By Phil709 | Review Date: Feb 21, 2006 | DS

    nintendogs is the kind of game you shouldn't buy. Instead, you should rent it (if DS games are rentable) or play your friends copy of the game. At first, the game is pretty cool with the cute little dogs and you learn ... Read Full Review

    7 of 7 users found the following review helpful
  • Rating:9.9

    Very Nice Game.

    By Dr-Poque | Review Date: Jul 02, 2006 | DS

    Nintendo has made their new philosophy quite clear: in addition to pleasing their traditional audience with epic installments to the Mario, Metroid, and Zelda franchises, among others, they intend to attract non-gamers t... Read Full Review

    5 of 5 users found the following review helpful
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