World of WiiAnything and Everything for the Nintendo Wii

First off let me just say that I’m probably not the target audience for this game. I’m a 30 something male with no children who traditionally loves adventure games akin to Zelda, Mario Galaxy, Okami etc. But a video game based on the small dogs with oversized heads franchise (known to some as The Dog, to others like me as STRANGE RATIO!) was just too much to pass up. So I picked it up.

At 30 bucks this game is totally worth the purchase. Compared to other games of the ‘adventure’ genre, it’s not very original, but the overall cute factor really does make up for it. Essentially the entire game is comprised of various Fetch Quests which involve your character (you can choose to be one of forty odd breeds of dogs like Beagle, Rottweiler, Basset Hound, Poodle, Akita, Husky- the list goes ON and ON and ON) learning how to sniff and running around the Dog Island finding things for other characters, all in the name of finding a cure for your brother/sister (you can decide the gender), who is a non-playable character that gets sick at the beginning of the game.

There are a few varied activities such as fishing, bug catching and dog soccer, and mild puzzle solving (not really- they sort of hold your hand through anything resembling a challenge) but for the most part there’s a lot of sniffing and digging. It’s a Dog Island, after all. For example, the Doctor on the island (a very likeable Beagle named Potan) will say “fetch me these three herbs from the field and they can be used to help your little sibling” and he tells you what each herb smells like, and you go out and look for it. Your sniff meter gets higher as you get closer and once you’re right on top of it, you dig in the ground and out it comes. Before you can find the second herb though, you’ll need the nurse’s help, who herself requires you to find her something altogether different. And so on and so forth.

The Dog Island isn’t a technological breakthrough or innovative in concept but its charm makes it a game worth playing nonetheless. With customizable hats, glasses etc you can dress up your dog in any number of different ways and you can name him anything you want too. The other characters he meets along the way are equally cute and varied, and the music is surprisingly catchy, and harmonically stimulating. Tuneful acoustic guitars and nice rhythms, even if it is somewhat compressed.

It might have been nice to have utilized the nunchuck attachment for more sophisticated interface, (as it stands it’s basically a point-and-click adventure), and camera manipulation is a little too sensitive for my tastes (moves quite quickly and sometimes gives me a headache) but as a budget title, I really can’t complain. The overall experience is still a fun one. And, no kidding, I catch myself saying “Awww” out loud every once in awhile too because those dogs are just that cute.

I haven’t played all the way through the game yet, but if the in-game heart meter is any indication, (it gets larger as you progress, but telegraphs that you can attain a maximum of 8 hearts) I’m about halfway through. Half-way through and I still find its relatively standard (read: predictable) story line and characters to be compelling. I fully expect to play through the game in its entirety and know that I’ll enjoy it all the way.
Rating: 5 / 5

I bought this game for my seven and four year old to play. Unfortunately they are both too scared of the “scary snakes” and other wild animals to play most of the quest game, although the four year old likes to change the dog’s clothes and run around in the villages (no snakes there), and they both enjoy watching me play. There’s a lot of reading required, which means my four year old can’t play without someone sitting at her side; it would be good reading practice for my seven year old if he weren’t afraid to leave the villages! But the first time he did, a bear caught his dog; he couldn’t get away and the dog was killed. Although the game lets you start at the same spot with your health restored, he was badly shaken and really hasn’t felt the same bout the game since.

I have played very few video games but found this very enjoyable. I played it myself after the kids were in bed; it took me about three weeks to get through the quest. The game starts out very easy and gradually gets harder, but helps you learn and practice the new skills you need as you need them.

*** minor spoiler alert ****

The ending changes abruptly to a much scarier, less flexible game. It’s as if they had to rush it out the door and brought in additional staff. I never, ever want to go through one particular sequence again; fortunately I know my children are years away from being able to get that far. Take my advice and don’t accept the invitation to go on the Anc Road. Not only is it no fun, but once you do, you can’t get back to the free play part of the game.
Rating: 3 / 5

This is one of The Best Wii Games I have played.It is well worth the money! The graphics are great and the music is cheerful. It is a colorful, cute game, and not short. It is not too difficult to be frustrating, but not too easy to be boring.The story is based on helping others.I would give this 5 stars!A great buy for the young and the young at heart who just want a game with good clean fun.
Rating: 5 / 5