Pocket Dogs - Game Boy Advance

What caught my attention about this game is that it features real photographs of eight dog breeds (Welsh Corgi, Shiba Inu, Chihuahua, Papillon, Shih Tzu, Miniature Dachshund, Pug, and Toy Poodle) from the "The Dog" series -- the photos taken so as give the dog an oversize head and nose. The player selects a breed, and then the central part of the game consists of placing several still shots of the chosen breed roaming through three cartoon-like rooms of the player's house. Periodically the dog asks the player a question, some rhetorical, others requring choosing from two answers (Sample: "Do you like the city or the country?") Sometimes the pup makes philosophical observations (Sample: "I believe happiness lies in ordinary things.") or works a quote into its conversation, attributing it to the player, an amusing and educational gambit even for adults (At least one quote I had never heard).One feature that struck me as useful for a shy or introverted youngster was the "Let's chat" feature. This brings up a submenu that lets the player indicate whether he/she is feeling happy, sad, angry, bored, or wants to sing to the pup. The pup then prompts the player to talk about his or her feelings, a ploy that might help a shy child express himself in a non-threatening atmosphere. For a bit of fun, the "chat" menu also offers simple and vague fortunes.A player earns "jewels" (points) that apply toward purchasing furniture for the cartoon house and vacations by playing the three mini-games. The quickest way to earn jewels is via the simplest game, which simply directs a cartoon dog to dig at various marked spots on a small island. Two young relations, boys of 8 and 10, enjoyed seeing how many of the chests contained jewels or other treasure and enjoyed placing the furnishings in the cartoon house.The two other games are for older children and adults, and I found them very entertaining. The first is a grid of various cartoon dogs, and the player switches squares to get three dogs of the same breed adjacent, which then drop out of sight. I've really had a lot of fun trying to increase my score on this and have played it dozens of times in the day I've had the game. The second game is, in my opinion, harder and less fun: a scrambled 16-piece puzzle with one square blank; the player has 4:50 minutes to assemble the puzzle, something I have yet to achieve. My young relatives found this difficult and tedious and, as I did, much preferred the "line the dogs up" game described above.Features subordinate to interacting with the dog are taking trips with it and taking it out to play. Trips involve placing a photo of the dog on a cartoon drawing of the sea or a meadow, for example, and this and playtime, usually featuring a photo of a running pup, earn the player a "heart," an indicator that the dog is happy. The tangible reward of playtime, however, is that occasionally afterwards your pup presents you with a gift: a photo for your album: approximately 36 photos for your breed of pup and 77+ pictures of other kinds of puppies and baby animals. As the games issues these randomly and seldom, they take a while to acquire, unlike the furnishings for the house.One quirk that might momentarily upset a small child: Starting up the game a third time, I was confronted with a dialog saying the "rules" were that the pup had to leave and then asking me to select either "not yet" or "say goodbye." The second option leads to the dog saying something on the order of "I'll never get to see you again but will never forget you," which might startle and upset a young child. Taking the first option leads to the dog commenting that it will stay for a bit even though it's against the rules, a sentiment that parents may not especially want their children to imbibe.

Sucked big time.

Our kids have been playing this for months, don't forget to feed your dogs each day, they do not grow up. Parents this is a great way to have a pet without the smell.

My other dtr. has Nintendogs. We got this because it was for a GBA. She enjoyed it at first, but tired of it quickly.

My daughter got this game as a gift. She and her girlfriends love it.The graphics are cute. A fun game for all...I even play along.

The dogs are adorable ! My 8 yr old got this for Christmas....very hard to find.

This game is pretty lame if it weren't for the puzzle games included. For kids it might be fun to buy your dog stuff but it's slow and boring. The matching dogs part is addictive as well as the picture one, those two make the game worth buying but if you are a puzzle person Tetris or Dr. Mario is a better buy.

My daughter wanted this game by all means and after finally getting one she was very disappointed. She doesn't play it at all and after getting her DS for Christmas last year she much rather prefers playing Nintendogs. I can't imagine the great reviews for this product because my daughter was only about 5 or 6 when playing it and it did not hold her interest at all. She has three different Nintendogs games and enjoys all of them. Never mind the fact that she has a real dog! She prefers playing with her simulated ones! Go figure.