My daughter got into Zhu Zhu pets about a year ago and so when she spotted a DS game featuring the little critters, she couldn't wait to get it for her DS. There is a lot of merchandise linked to these furry little creatures, originally hamsters but extended to include the 'wild bunch' comprising skunks, bunnies etc.

You get to choose your pet first off to adopt and the main premise of the game is to take care of your virtual pet by entering Nuture Mode where you can feed them, let them exercise put them to bed and play with them. Your pet has a health meter which goes up and down depending on how well you look after it so I guess an element of learning about responsibility does come with this game which is something all children need to learn! As you go through the game you also get the opportunity to adopt more pets which is appealing as who wants one when you can have two or more!

Adventure Mode is where you play through various levels travelling through mazes where you can collect items and race against the Wild Bunch and each other. If you do well nurturing your pet you can obtain a high Nuture Rating which helps you progress through the game and receive extra items and ultimately race against the wild bunch at the end.

The game is narrated which is good for children that maybe are not at a high level of reading capability although the music can be a little annoying but both can be controlled or turned off which is helpful.

There are a total of 36 levels to unlock so there is lots to keep a little one occupied but some levels (particularly the boss level) is pretty hard to get through and even a parent may struggle with parts of this game which is not great as you want something that is challenging for you child, yes, but not something that is virtually impossible for them to do as at some points you have to use the stylus and the buttons on the DS together which may be difficult for younger players and can get frustrating.

The game does automatically save and update your progress and profile and achievements which is a plus that I always look for on games to save the upset of a child losing all of their progress should they forget to save at appropriate points.

A bonus feature that comes with this game is that it has bonus levels with special camera features designed for the DSi but if yours doesn't have a camera then obviously this will make no odds to you!

The graphics are fairly good and this is a bright and colourful game but I feel that it could have been structured better so that it doesn't come across so confusing. Perhaps less is more is a good adage that should have been adhered to as far as this game goes.

My daughter soon tired of the difficulty and confusing aspects of this game after getting off to a positive start and it has been relegated to the no longer played with pile so this is not a game I would ultimately recommend despite the idea being a good one with a fairly entertaining premise so I only give it two stars.