If you own a Nintendo DS, and even if you don't, chances are you have probably heard of Nintendogs and for good reason. Nintendogs is innovative, it looks good and it really draws you in (for a little while, at least). But, while others are touting it as Nintendo's first real "killer-app" for the DS, I think its bark is worse than its bite. In fact, it may be all the hype surrounding Nintendogs that makes it fall so terribly short of my expectations.
I played the Lab and Friends version of Nintendogs, though three other versions exist, including the newly released Best Friends edition. Lab and Friends, Chihuahua and Friends and Dachshund and Friends all have different breeds to choose from in the beginning, and Best Friends has the most popular breeds from the other three versions right at the start. All the games play identical and all of the starting breeds can be unlocked in every version, but choosing one that offers a breed you like right in the beginning will add that much more fun and, hopefully, longevity to Nintendogs.
When you first start out, there is no doubt that Nintendogs will wow you. The design of the puppies are some of the best, most realistic graphics I have seen on the Nintendo DS to date. The dogs are terribly expressive, so, at the risk of having my masculinity scrutinized, I have to say this: those little dogs are cute and incredibly endearing! Seriously, until I had unlocked the German Shepard, I kept one of my first pups, a disobedient and unruly Miniature Pinscher named Stilts, simply because of the pitiful, heart-wrenching face he made when I went to donate him. And, apart from their interaction with you, their interaction with one another, and with any items you toss into the fray, is a testament to the technology, as the dogs seem almost real and not just a program. However, Nintendogs is just a program, just a game, and like every game it has flaws.
The biggest flaw in Nintendogs comes not from there being so much game that problems inevitably slip through the cracks, but from there being so little game that the only thing slipping is our interest. Of course, Nintendo makes an admirable attempt to salvage the game, adding lots of items to collect, things to unlock, tricks to learn and competitions to win. And while this may seem to go a long way towards saving it, Nintendogs simply gets too repetitive too fast.
Once you pick out your first puppy (the game technically lets you have up to eight at one time: three in the house and five at the Dog Hotel), you start by making your dog feel comfortable, teaching him his name and how to sit, playing with him and eventually grooming and taking your new pup for a walk. Get used to this - you'll be doing it for the rest of the game, with little variation to break up the monotony. The game, and several pieces of Nintendo-supplied strategy, suggest that you get your dog on a schedule, feeding and walking it around the same time every day, grooming it every other day, training for a few days and then competing in a competition or two. This, however, makes Nintendogs feel much more like a chore than a game. And besides, who wants to play a game for just a ten to fifteen minute stretch every day?
The repetitiveness of Nintendogs is only the start of the game's problems though. Rarely have I played a game that I would consider perfect, and Nintendogs is no exception, as the paragraph above should be proof enough of. However, it is also a rare occasion that I play a game that has such flawed mechanics that they practically cripple the gameplay. Sadly, Nintendogs is the exception here. Take the stylus, for example. As anyone who owns a DS can tell you, the touch screen is not always the most accurate of tools and here, in Nintendogs, when your stylus misjudges your actions, it is often for the worse. When you go to grab the strange little dog snack icons that will appear from time to time, more often than not you will grab your dog's paw instead, which is quickly followed by a yelp of pain. It is not the worst of the game's problems though, so perhaps a bigger issue is the game's microphone, which is so essential to the gameplay that it simply can't afford to have imperfection. Odd as it may sound, I was fortunate enough to have a cold when I first played this game, and with my tone changing from one moment to the next, I was able to notice something key right away and experiment with it. The results: Nintendogs does not respond well to any changes in the player's voice or their inflection. So players that are, if you will forgive me for saying it, at that age may find it difficult to keep their dog trained. The options allow you to change the sensitivity of the microphone, but I didn't notice any real difference. Players can also have their dog forget a trick (though not their name), so they can re-teach it to them later. Let's face it though, that is really annoying, so the best advice I can offer is to speak slow, soft and clear, like you would a baby. This is also necessary since the game doesn't start recording your voice commands until you start making noise, which means the first part of your words get cut off.
Since Nintendo has pretty much thrown traditional controls out the window in favor of their own unique style of gameplay, via the Nintendo DS, both the touch screen and the microphone become that much more important. You start teaching your dog a new trick by using very specific movements with the stylus and, once it performs the desired action, you tap the little light bulb that appears and try your best to say the command into the microphone the same way each time. Also, stringing together a series of moves (or meeting another Nintendogs owner with a very talented pup) can unlock more difficult tricks, which really make an impression on the judges and will help you come home with the cash. Of course, even without a very obedient dog, it is no problem earning money in the game, since a good score in the Frisbee challenge or Agility trials, both of which you train for with just the stylus, will fetch you hundreds of dollars. Trainer points, on the other hand, are another story.
Your trainer points add up very slowly, and they are unfortunately very essential to unlocking some of the cooler items, new house designs and new dog breeds. And, to add to the problem, the points needed are so far apart that you will probably become bored with the game long before you unlock anything that could help keep it fresh. Then again, if you want to get some of those cooler items and new breeds easier, you could always try to have your friends, or a total stranger, do all the work for you.
Much as I am sure it is not true, I have to admit that the multiplayer aspect of Nintendogs seems a little ad hoc. I mean there is nothing really spectacular about it, except that it can have some interesting results. For instance, if you meet a player who has dog that you don't have yet, this is one way (and one of the faster ways) to unlock it in your own. Also, if the dog you meet knows a trick yours does not, you may see your dog repeat it later, which makes it a great way to unlock some of the more complicated moves in the game. The Nintendo DS uses the local Wi-Fi to connect players, though they have to put their system and game into Bark Mode first. Bark Mode is a nice idea, since you can give your dog a gift to carry and give to someone you meet (and you, too, can get a gift), but meeting someone is the hard part. Not only do you have to find someone with Nintendogs, but you also have to find someone who has the game turned on, but is not playing at the time and has it set on Bark Mode. While that may be a lot easier in Japan, here you probably have a just as much chance of winning the lottery.
Oddly enough, the entire experience of Nintendogs is a bit of a mixed bag. Take the graphics and sound effects, for example. Only a few things really amazes you the way you think it should, but everything else is all just good enough to get the job done. Apart from the dogs and some of the items, Nintendogs just looks very bland and 2-dimensional, and mostly because of the backgrounds. When you are outside taking your dog for a walk, the town is amazingly simple, with a series of flat buildings and objects fading in and out as you pass by. And, when you are inside, your house just looks incredibly empty, but at least you can change how it looks, assuming you have enough trainer points and enough dough. As for the sound, well, it is quite crisp and clear, but it is also quite simple most of the time, too. It comes in handy plenty of times, though, so it is rather unfortunate that it isn't really anything to go on about. Throughout the game you will get audio cues that can provide helpful information, like how your dog feels about another dog (if the actions aren't enough, that is), how your dog feels about you and your actions (the yelping is bad - let go of whatever you are holding!) and even when your dog is answering the call of nature (so have your stylus-cum-pooper-scooper at the ready), which is great since the music during the walks can easily put you to sleep. There are also some subtle effects within the house that are, once again, very simple, but they add a sort of ambience to the theme of the house that is really quite nice and, at times, peaceful. And that peaceful, take-it-as-it-comes style of gaming seems to be what Nintendogs is all about.
Bottom Line:
Just to be clear, Nintendogs is not a game, as I would normally consider a game. It has no story, very few goal and the closest thing it comes to a boss battle is trying to survive the droll and repetitive "humor" of the contests' commentators. It is a pet simulator, plain and simple, and as such, its possibilities are somewhat limited. Perhaps Nintendogs started out as a good idea, but it just seems like it was thrown together too fast and without much planning for the multiplayer aspect. Almost everything about this game is mediocre, but the game still has the ability to draw in a large crowd, which is perhaps part of the tragedy. As a pet simulator, Nintendogs is something of a novelty and is a treat for anyone who can't afford the consequences of owning a real dog. However, as a game, well, Nintendogs simply is not. It should have either been released soon after the Nintendo DS first came out, to help show off the system's capabilities (for all the good it would have done), or it should have been delayed, so Nintendo could have worked out some of the game's bugs and improved upon it.
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7.2 |
Posted: 2005-12-05 15:18:19PST