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.: Nintendogs Review
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By Glenn Song - October 19, 2005
Activities
There is a menu called "Go Out" where you'll have several options such as taking your dog on a walk, shopping, competing in contests, and playing with friends in the multiplayer bark mode. Shopping allows you to buy and sell supplies for your pup such as food, water, toys, brushes, accessories, etc. You can also purchase new home decors to make your home more amendable to the quadrupeds - there's a Japanese, Early American, and Modern interior designs for your puppies to live inside of. You can also go to the kennel to purchase another dog - you can have up to three in your home. If you want to have more dogs than you can fit in your house, fear not, send one of your pups to the dog hotel and let them care for it while you play with your new puppy.
Walks
Walks are a fairly good chunk of what the game is about. What else can you do with your dog after you've taught him a bunch of tricks? Walks are good for your virtual puppy since it allows them to build their confidence, stamina, and relationships with other NPC dogs in the game. Walks also allow you to interact with the other NPC owners and learn more about the game.
To take a walk, you are first taken to a map screen of the neighborhood and here is where you'll use the stylus and plot out a route. You can only go as far as your puppy has stamina. Every trip begins and ends at home so you've always got to make a circuit. On the map screen you'll also notice that there are places you can enter such as shops, parks, and a gym. There are also "?" on the screen and by walking over these you can have a chance encounter with another NPC dog owner or pick up presents. You might also find trash on the streets so beware as your pup may feast on the garbage which makes him lethargic. With each successive walk your puppy will build up more stamina allowing both of you to go farther.
Your puppy builds confidence by marking his spot. Yes, your cyberdog pees and poops like real ones. To handle poop you just touch the brown biscuit with your stylus to scoop it up. Spots that the puppies mark show up on the map as blue dots. With their territories marked, it may affect how your pooch engages with other dogs they meet along the way since other dogs will be considered as entering your puppy's domain.
Multiplayer
Bark-mode allows puppies from two DS users to visit one another. The way this works is that you leave your DS on and allow the game to search for another Nintendogs owner. Once you find someone to play with, you can give your puppy a present to bring to your new friend. This sounds like a great way to make new friends, but in reality, will this happen much? Probably not. More than likely it'll be you and your friends exchanging gifts so you can unlock more toys and accessories at a faster pace. By playing bark mode you can also unlock new breeds of dogs in the kennel.
Real-Time
The puppies' world exists in real-time. It goes through a night and day cycle. So when it's 8 pm your time it's 8 pm in Nintendogs time. That means you may find your puppies sleeping at 3 AM and they'll be eager and willing to go in the morning.
Graphics and Sound
The Nintendogs are brilliantly animated. Despite some bizarre results with collision detection, the animation and AI of the puppies is what really sells the game. Everything they do makes me believe that they're fairly real and keep me engaged with them. At times it's just fun to watch the dogs play with one another. The graphics just look very good and very clean. It proves that you don't need vertex and pixel shader 3.0 to make a game that looks beautiful.
Final Word
Nintendogs, in short, is an excellent puppy simulator. It's not a perfect game. Some people may not even say that it is a game, but for the sake of semantics let's just call it one. There is plenty to do in the game. A great deal of it is repetition, but that's part of the nature of these types of games, be it the Sims or virtual dogs, or even real dogs.
This isn't a game that you play for seven hours on end trying to defeat the "big evil dog trainer" or "trying to catch 'em all." Instead it's a relaxing virtual experience and everything in the game is conducive to that end. The home your puppies live in is clean with a large open space. The NPCs that you are surrounded with are all dog owners. You live without worrying about anything else other than your puppy's well being. I find that when I play the game it's more of a daily visit. I'll turn on my DS, feed my pups, play with them, teach them a new trick or two, earn some money in the competitions, or take them out for a walk. Maybe later I'll come back and visit them again at night.
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Comments(146) | Post a Comment | Forums
.: Comments on Nintendogs Review
danny (November 9, 2005):how do u start a new game
Keith (November 9, 2005):I Have Never Played This Game BUT FROM WHAT I HEAR IT IS THE BEST GAME OUT FOR DS
Jim (November 9, 2005):Where are you getting stuck, trying to start a new game?
Anonimous (November 11, 2005):I'M GETTING IT TODAY!! I CAN'T WAIT WHOOO!! BTW I'M ONLY 10
DAVID (November 28, 2005):HOW DO YOU START A NEW GAME
Tori (December 11, 2005):As soon as you log on press all the bottons on the DS and then it'll start over OK?
zak (December 26, 2005):i realy messed up on this game so i want to start from the beging how u do that
Becky (December 26, 2005):i think nintendogs is da bst game eva. Theres no need 2 get a real dog! And i think the games dosnt deserve 89/100 it deserves 100/100! Its really really fun and the graphics r sick(as in good not bad) its a good game so dont think yr wasting yr money coz yr not!! lv Becky 13 manchester
Becky (December 26, 2005):u can neva start a new game..... only kiddin. Go on www.ign.com or www.cheatplanet.com n it will tell u everything u need 2 know bout startin a new game or just do a search!lv becky again!!
anonymouse (December 31, 2005):how do you start a new game of nintendogs
joan (January 1, 2006):I have cyber bum sex with mine have my meat doggy
Emz (January 6, 2006):Right here is some tips and so forth.
Brush Mode:
If you put your nintendogs game on brush mode and make sure the brush is on your nintendog then for every minute its there you will get 1 trainer point. So if you plug your DS into its charger and leave it on brush mode for a week you will have 10,080 trainer points. Of course your dog might hate you for neglecting it but you can always win back its trust.
Balloon:
Know the way you blow into the bubble blower? Well if you do the same with the balloon you can blow it up big.
More Items on Walks:
Sick of having to wait 25 minutes after a walk before you can bring your dog out again? Well you dont have to anymore. First make sure you have a collar or something but dont put it on your dog. When your drawing out the map go through as many "?" squares as you can then go to the park and straight back home. As soon as you passed all the "?" squares and get to the park put on a dog collar. It should say "Saving Dont Turn Off The Power" once its finished saving turn off your DS and start up nintendogs again. You will still have the items you found and will be able to go on another walk. You can repeat this as many times as you like and it wont harm your game.
Luck:
If you have the Clover Clock on and your dog is wearing a Lucky Collar you have better chance of finding rare items.
Firemans Hat:
This unlocks the Dalmation breed at the kennels. If you hear a siren when your in the house go on a walk straight away and stay close to the house you might find the firemans hat. Its usually found near the house so its better to stay around that area.
JRT Book:
The Jackrussell Terrier book is normally found near the Gym. Its harder to find than the Firemans Hat. It unlocks the Jackrussell breed (obviously).
Same Stuff:
If your dog keeps finding the same stuff all the time (Disposable Camera, Blue Leather Collar etc) it might be because your dog wants to play with or wear it. After that it might find better stuff.
Mario Stuff:
There is a few Mario items you can find. The rarest is the Mario and Luigi hat (although I have 3 each but theyre still rare).
Friends:
If you befriend a dog on a walk you gain points. If those dogs happen to fight at any other time you will loose all the points you gained for every time the dogs got along.
Finding Better Stuff:
Dogs like the Golden Retriever and the Husky are better at finding items.
First Dog:
If you have more than one dog your first dog is the one that gets you better items.
How To Tell:
Tired of missing out on those presents you pass? Well if you keep your eye on the map above during a walk if the dog icon happends to stop but your dog is still walking its either because a present or some rubbish is going to show up. If your dog is hungry or thirsty when going on a walk its more likely to find crap items or rubbish to eat.
Tricks:
To get your dog to backflip tell it to lie and then jump.
-To get it to handstand tell it to lie and beg.
-To get it to cartwheel first get it to handstand then spin (Its VERY rare that a dog can learn this).
- To get it to wave grab one of its ears and move it up and down.
- Make your dog beg then grab its paw and pull it up, your dog should stand on its back legs.
- Tricks such as Beg, Handstand, Backflip and Cartwheel are good for getting you extra points during Obedience Trials.
Reset:
When you start up nintendogs wait until the red Nintendo sign comes up before the game starts then hold X, Y, A, B, L, and R. A message will come up asking if you would like to delete your saves.
Small Dogs:
The smaller the dog, the harder it is to train it for Disk Competitions and Agility trials but easier to train for Obedience.
Colour:
If you select a breed when buying a dog and dont see the colour, personality or gender you want. Simply press back then select it again, there will be 3 different dogs there. Keep doing this until you find the one you want.
Teaching:
If you dont want your dogs to get mixed up with their tricks then pronounce them this way.
Sit = say "Sit Down"
Lie Down = say "Lie"
Shake = say "Paw"
Roll Over = say "Play Dead"
Brush Mode:
If you put your nintendogs game on brush mode and make sure the brush is on your nintendog then for every minute its there you will get 1 trainer point. So if you plug your DS into its charger and leave it on brush mode for a week you will have 10,080 trainer points. Of course your dog might hate you for neglecting it but you can always win back its trust.
Balloon:
Know the way you blow into the bubble blower? Well if you do the same with the balloon you can blow it up big.
More Items on Walks:
Sick of having to wait 25 minutes after a walk before you can bring your dog out again? Well you dont have to anymore. First make sure you have a collar or something but dont put it on your dog. When your drawing out the map go through as many "?" squares as you can then go to the park and straight back home. As soon as you passed all the "?" squares and get to the park put on a dog collar. It should say "Saving Dont Turn Off The Power" once its finished saving turn off your DS and start up nintendogs again. You will still have the items you found and will be able to go on another walk. You can repeat this as many times as you like and it wont harm your game.
Luck:
If you have the Clover Clock on and your dog is wearing a Lucky Collar you have better chance of finding rare items.
Firemans Hat:
This unlocks the Dalmation breed at the kennels. If you hear a siren when your in the house go on a walk straight away and stay close to the house you might find the firemans hat. Its usually found near the house so its better to stay around that area.
JRT Book:
The Jackrussell Terrier book is normally found near the Gym. Its harder to find than the Firemans Hat. It unlocks the Jackrussell breed (obviously).
Same Stuff:
If your dog keeps finding the same stuff all the time (Disposable Camera, Blue Leather Collar etc) it might be because your dog wants to play with or wear it. After that it might find better stuff.
Mario Stuff:
There is a few Mario items you can find. The rarest is the Mario and Luigi hat (although I have 3 each but theyre still rare).
Friends:
If you befriend a dog on a walk you gain points. If those dogs happen to fight at any other time you will loose all the points you gained for every time the dogs got along.
Finding Better Stuff:
Dogs like the Golden Retriever and the Husky are better at finding items.
First Dog:
If you have more than one dog your first dog is the one that gets you better items.
How To Tell:
Tired of missing out on those presents you pass? Well if you keep your eye on the map above during a walk if the dog icon happends to stop but your dog is still walking its either because a present or some rubbish is going to show up. If your dog is hungry or thirsty when going on a walk its more likely to find crap items or rubbish to eat.
Tricks:
To get your dog to backflip tell it to lie and then jump.
-To get it to handstand tell it to lie and beg.
-To get it to cartwheel first get it to handstand then spin (Its VERY rare that a dog can learn this).
- To get it to wave grab one of its ears and move it up and down.
- Make your dog beg then grab its paw and pull it up, your dog should stand on its back legs.
- Tricks such as Beg, Handstand, Backflip and Cartwheel are good for getting you extra points during Obedience Trials.
Reset:
When you start up nintendogs wait until the red Nintendo sign comes up before the game starts then hold X, Y, A, B, L, and R. A message will come up asking if you would like to delete your saves.
Small Dogs:
The smaller the dog, the harder it is to train it for Disk Competitions and Agility trials but easier to train for Obedience.
Colour:
If you select a breed when buying a dog and dont see the colour, personality or gender you want. Simply press back then select it again, there will be 3 different dogs there. Keep doing this until you find the one you want.
Teaching:
If you dont want your dogs to get mixed up with their tricks then pronounce them this way.
Sit = say "Sit Down"
Lie Down = say "Lie"
Shake = say "Paw"
Roll Over = say "Play Dead"
Emz (January 6, 2006):Also a few other things that might help.
Its best ot go for a personality that either says...
"This dog has a very bright personality and is recommended highly for first-time dog owners"
or
"This dog loves meeting people and is very friendly"
(or something like that).
Its also best just to have the one dog then having 2 or 3 (or more) because its less stressful and annoying.
Good Names:
These are names that your dog will find easy to learn and wont mix up with tricks and stuff.
Lucky
Sparky
Stinky
Buddy
Winnie
Pixie
Albert
Troy
Skunk
Beetle
Oscar
Sasha
Monty
Muffin
Charlie
Avoid names such as Rover, Ben or Jake because they are nearly always confused with tricks.
When teaching your dog its name say it the way you would normally say it and dont say it in a high-pitched tone. If you say it in a normal voice then it might respond afterwards even if you DO say it in a high pitched tone.
If you teach the dog its name by saying it in a high pitched tone (like you were cooing at it or something) then it will only respond to its name if you say it like that (which can be annoying).
Its best ot go for a personality that either says...
"This dog has a very bright personality and is recommended highly for first-time dog owners"
or
"This dog loves meeting people and is very friendly"
(or something like that).
Its also best just to have the one dog then having 2 or 3 (or more) because its less stressful and annoying.
Good Names:
These are names that your dog will find easy to learn and wont mix up with tricks and stuff.
Lucky
Sparky
Stinky
Buddy
Winnie
Pixie
Albert
Troy
Skunk
Beetle
Oscar
Sasha
Monty
Muffin
Charlie
Avoid names such as Rover, Ben or Jake because they are nearly always confused with tricks.
When teaching your dog its name say it the way you would normally say it and dont say it in a high-pitched tone. If you say it in a normal voice then it might respond afterwards even if you DO say it in a high pitched tone.
If you teach the dog its name by saying it in a high pitched tone (like you were cooing at it or something) then it will only respond to its name if you say it like that (which can be annoying).
Rower (January 6, 2006):wow i didnt no u cud unlock new breeds those tips rly helped thx emz especialy the 1 about gettin more stuff on walk. well i did hear u can unlock an irish wolfhound but i dnt kno how 2. if u no emz plz tell me!!!!!
michelle (January 6, 2006):HOW DO U GET THE WOLFHOUND??????
MICHELLE (January 6, 2006):OH AND WOTS THE RAREST ITEM U CAN GET?????????!!!!!!!!!!
MICHELLE (January 6, 2006):EMZ YOU DERE?? BTW WAT TYPE DOG U GOT AND WATS ITS NAME AND HOW MANY TRICKS DOES IT KNOW OH YEH AND HOW MANY ITEMS DO U HAV????
I GOT A BROWN SHIBA INU CALLED PUFFY!!!
I GOT A BROWN SHIBA INU CALLED PUFFY!!!
martin (January 6, 2006):i have a shihtzu called Gravy
a pug called Mr.Bigglesworth
and a dachshund called Fart
a pug called Mr.Bigglesworth
and a dachshund called Fart
MICHELLE (January 6, 2006):NOT U U FREAK!!!!!!
Emz (January 6, 2006):Ok erm....
Irish wolfhound? I dont know if that exists in the game but I heard it does. Didnt unlock it yet though.
Rarest items probably the Weird Alien because thats the hardest to find.
Gold bar is hard to find too but its worth a LOT of money.
Michelle I got a Golden Retriever called Lucky (hehe I put that name first on the list) hes the light coloured one and he knows
Sit Down, Lie, Paw, Play Dead, Beg, Jump, Spin, Handstand, Backflip, Cartwheel, Wave, Sneeze and a few others that I cant remember.
I dont know how many items I have altogether but I have loads anyway. I dont bother selling them at the shop. I'm currently looking for the JRT book *muahaha*.
Irish wolfhound? I dont know if that exists in the game but I heard it does. Didnt unlock it yet though.
Rarest items probably the Weird Alien because thats the hardest to find.
Gold bar is hard to find too but its worth a LOT of money.
Michelle I got a Golden Retriever called Lucky (hehe I put that name first on the list) hes the light coloured one and he knows
Sit Down, Lie, Paw, Play Dead, Beg, Jump, Spin, Handstand, Backflip, Cartwheel, Wave, Sneeze and a few others that I cant remember.
I dont know how many items I have altogether but I have loads anyway. I dont bother selling them at the shop. I'm currently looking for the JRT book *muahaha*.
nicola (January 7, 2006):i love nintendogs its like the best game EVA!
Amy (January 14, 2006):How do you adopt a new puppy?
tyla (January 15, 2006):how do you start a new geme
shy (January 21, 2006):how do you start a new game and where are the cheats you did make some dident you
chelsea (January 22, 2006):nintendogs is the best game ever i am hardly ever of it because i love my dogs so much lucy,my shetland sheep dog,is my first and favorite then i had rex another sheltie
craig (January 22, 2006):suzzie my first dog on nintendogs well she was a miniture pinscher she took one side of the pull rope and she took it of me well nintendogs is the best ever game but she accidently got donated so igot another dog called stooky who is a shetland sheepdog
sasd (January 22, 2006):iam fa ameraca#
shing shang (January 22, 2006):####/;'lo][lp[o[o;lplp[[l#][]''''''#[china['[][#['#''##'[''#[[][][['['#['#'[[#['#[nuggiet'[[#'][#]['#[]'[']/.,,.//;./'./#;';';,,.,giblet'''['#[
iain (January 22, 2006):i lov nintendogs because i love to kill my dogs
charlie (January 23, 2006):do you know how to start a new game
jessica (February 14, 2006):i have 7 nintendogs and 2 real ones and my bro bought the ds when i was 8 and it is so kool but 2 of my dogs hate eack other what can i do?
kitZ (February 21, 2006):hell ppl moii name is Kitz and i havbe a ds i have nintendogs and super mario nintendogs is a bit betta my fav dogs called milly she is a shetlie she knowsdance n stuff she is cool and the sum1 said the mario and luigi hat r the rarest mario thing wouldnt the mario cart be i hvaeone of dem lol
Saka9496 (February 21, 2006):THIS GAME ROKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Saka9496 (February 21, 2006):IM GITTN IT TO-DAY 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lori (June 11, 2006):Wow Emz U Know evrythin bout nintendogs!
elle bells (June 10, 2006):i have a chihuaha on nintendogs does anybody know how to get the wolfhound the newest dog ive had in the kennel is a dalmation and j russel is the any other dogs after that????????
CONFUSED (June 4, 2006):How do you start a new game???
Erin (June 4, 2006):how do you start a new game??
Briana (June 7, 2006):How do you adapot a dog
Dunno my name (April 15, 2006):I'm gettin' nitendogs on may 19th if you bought it in Australia Is it in English
Karla (April 18, 2006):How do you start a new game the button thingy dosent work!!!
johnny (May 6, 2006):how to u start a new game on daushand and friends help
cherish (July 3, 2006):how do you delete a dog?
Jeez (July 12, 2006):Hey, it's your lord and master Jesus! If you are thinking of buying this game then don't listen to the little children who are talking shit. It is one of the best games out for DS, but in heaven we can have as many puppies as we want because our mummies and daddies aren't worried we'll kill them. It is NO substitute for the real thing. The best part of having a real dog is the real, live hard work you have to put in. Talking it for walks after a whole days work, cleaning the crap off the carpet before you eat, you just can't substitute that with a computerised dog. Seriously, get a real dog kiddies.
Jeez (July 12, 2006):Oh, and if mummy and daddy wont let you get a dog then that's just tough titties, ain't it?
On another note, if you are given a choice between this and a real dog (it does happen, trust me), then you had BETTER get a real dog. Instead of making Nintendo richer then it already is, why not go to a shelter and adopt a REAL dog that will DIE if it doesn't find a home? Ok, I'm done. :]
♥
On another note, if you are given a choice between this and a real dog (it does happen, trust me), then you had BETTER get a real dog. Instead of making Nintendo richer then it already is, why not go to a shelter and adopt a REAL dog that will DIE if it doesn't find a home? Ok, I'm done. :]
♥
nick (July 26, 2006):how do u start a new game
???? (July 28, 2006):Can you breed the dogs?
allyson (August 8, 2006):in order to delete a game on nintendogs, when booting up the game press a,b,y,x and the r and l buttons on the startup page, before your dogs load.
leigh (August 10, 2006):how do u start a new game the a b xy r and l fing doesnt work
nack (August 11, 2006):how do i start a new game???
dAISY (August 29, 2006):i bought a ds 2nd hand and now its half way through a game , how do i delete it and start my own
Glen (September 10, 2006):How do i get my puppy to learn it's name it keeps forgetting it!
