Nintendogs + cats
Nintendogs + cats is the first virtual pet sim my fiancée has let me near since the 'are-you-ready-for-a-baby?' Tamagotchi stocking-filler disaster of four Christmases ago. Three times I hatched a helpless, adorable little Tamagotcho, three times it died from neglect. We did go on to have a baby, by the way, and she's doing just fine... I think.
Fortunately, Nintendogs aren't nearly as needy – it took just a single biscuit to get Snowy's tail waggling after I accidentally left the 3DS on yesterday, leaving her starving and dehydrated. We're best friends again, now. She's enjoying the new tricks I'm teaching her through the responsive stylus controls and excellent voice commands. And she loved her walkies earlier – far more than me as I followed behind scooping up her 3D dog eggs.
Snowy also loves playtime and taking part in the daily contests, with cash rewards to spend on treats and toys, making playtime all the more interesting. But she's not so keen on the new addition to the family, Misty the cat, who, perhaps as a commentary on her entire species, alternates between abject apathy and outright antipathy towards us. Still, our new furry, four-legged hand grenade certainly makes for some unpredictable and memorable moments.
Both Snowy and Misty look great in 3D, even if the backgrounds are sparse. Their animations and proportions are lifelike, and they respond to petting and 'gentle' tail pulling with realistic individual body movements. I've even heard rumours that I can use the 3DS AR cards to bring Snowy and Misty into the real world, but I probably won't ever see that day.
You see, I'm really sorry guys. As much fun as I've had testing Nintendogs + cats, I'm reminded that virtual pets aren't really intended for 30-something blokes. So please pass on my sincerest apologies to the Tamogotchi when you make it to the great virtual pet shop in the sky.
Reg Rating 70%
Next page: Pilotwings Resort
COMMENTS
Realism
Forget the 3d...have they got the *ahem*..."bounce" correct in Street Fighter?
@ Simon King
I don't know if the thumbs is for my post, or the 3DS, or the iOS version with no buttons... Perhaps you're a fanboi who can't see fault with iOS devices and think that any version on an iPhone is better than any version created ever cos it's magical and revolutionary
But actually, in part, yes - do additional buttons, real or not, provide something better than the iOS version delivers?
Does the new stick thing or D-pad on the 3DS work better than the iPhone screen? They'd provide more feedback because you would know it was being pushed and the character would be doing something, rather than mashing at the screen with sausage thumbs like I do and get annoyed when Ryu's not chucking out a fireball across my iPhone screen cos my thumb's momentarily in the wrong place.
Perhaps the graphics are better, but I doubt it looking at the 3DS screen shots.
There's loads of extra characters in the 3DS version, so does that add to replayability over the iOS version?
Loads of different fighting backgrounds. How is the bottom screen used? What different, and I assume more, game modes are there... Bear in mind that the comparison is between a version of a game designed to be played on a gaming system, not a version of a game to be played on a phone that also plays games.
All of these things add up to value-for-money. All these things considered, is it 10 times better than the iOS version? If it isn't 10 times better then parents like me should perhaps think of getting an iPod for a Christmas present for our fledglings instead of the latest mobile gaming hardware
really...
just not interested in overpriced games that look like something from the arc now.
if i want an experience where i lose myself i fire up killzone 3 and the move/sharpshooter. pity my tv isnt 3d. i bet that game would be even better in 3d. oh well, nothing a few magic cigarettes cant make me feel anyway :)
Lighting effects
The Lego Starwars game makes extensive use of lighing effects and this makes for a really engadging graphics style - As the little (and they are little), light sabres fly around, the glow they impart is dynamically rendered on all objects in the scene - particulary impressive when the guy with four arms is around!
