Very cute game, new age Tamagotchi

This game was one of the first non-launch titles I bought for the DS, and I continually found my DS being stolen by my girlfriend to play Nintendogs. It definitely has mass appeal, and that is one of its strengths.

Game summary
The game is basically the same as one of those old Tamagotchi pets, it is a virtual pet simulator. The game begins with you "adopting" a puppy. You name it, and give it a name using the DS's microphone. This means you literally speak the name out loud as well as entering it into the game using the D-pad to type the name.

The game revolves around taking care of the puppy and training them to do tricks, teaching them their name, and preparing them for competition. There are different competitive events you can enter your dogs in each day (as in, only three events in 24 hours): Frisbee toss, Obstacle course, or obediance.

Frisbee toss has you using the touch screen to "toss" a frisbee, by moving the stylus rapidly across the screen. The farther the frisbee goes, the more points, but only if the dog catches it. At first, you will have to "throw" very short tosses, but after training the dog will run further.

Obediance game has you speaking commands aloud to the puppy and seeing if he obeys. If you have trained him enough, and he obeys, you get points. If you get the most points, you win! You have to have a variety of tricks though, because doing the same trick gives diminishing returns pointwise.

The obstacle course has you using the touchscreen to direct the puppy across a course. He has to go through tubes, jump over hurdles, and climb up seesaws. If he is not trained, the puppy will be afraid and not even attempt the obstacle. It is a timed event.

Doing well in these different events yields Trainer points, which can be used to unlock new puppies. Each game starts with 3 available, and there are up to 18 puppies available total. They are also available through multiplayer. If you wireless connect your DS to another person playing Nintendogs, you can have your puppy play with theirs. If this happens, and you haven't unlocked their puppies species yet, it unlocks itself.

You also take your dog for walks, clean up their poop, give them baths, feed them, play with them, and more.

Graphics
The graphics look really good, especially for a DS game. The puppies look really good, almost looking real. The environments are kind of bland to begin with, but new "apartments", or backgrounds, are available to purchase with Trainer points, and that helps curb the blandness.

Music
The music is really soothing and relaxing, and catchy. It is well scored and it's fun to make the puppies dance to the music!

Replayability
This section really depends. The game is replayable if you wish to train your puppy with every single trick possible and get to #1, but then what?

You can unlock a lot of other puppies and start from square 1 again. Each puppy has a different personality too, which really helps when creating a new puppy. Instead of the same-old thing when starting over, the puppy might be more friendly and easier to train, or provide a challenge and be a little more ornery.

The environments can be fun to unlock, and provide some interesting locales to train your puppies! There are quite a few to unlock as well, so if you are a completionist it can take a while.

The biggest reason this game has replayability is that the most Trainer Points are found by winning events, and you are limited to 3 per day. This severely limits the number you can earn in one day, and lengthens gameplay.

It is a great game to pick up and play for a few minutes each day.