A day in the life of a dog! (Dogs Life (PS2))

Member Name: sear69

Product:	Dogs Life (PS2)
Date:	07/05/07 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Relaxing, simple, fun for the kids

Disadvantages: Hardcore gamers may find it boring

Dog's Life is obviously a game more targeted for kids, but older gamers may find it entertaining. I am 26 years old and I enjoy it. I find it helps me to relax because it is so simple.

BACKGROUND / STORYLINE
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The games storyline is straightforward . There is not much to Dog's Life, but what there is I find is entertaining enough. You control a dog called Jake who hangs around in the town of Clarksville doing doggy things and pining after girl dog Daisy. One day Daisy gets dognapped and Jake sets out to find and free her. Jakes adventure takes him through farms, towns, and ski slopes as he follows clues to get Daisy back.

GAMEPLAY
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To be able to complete his quest Jake needs to collect dog bones. The number of dog bones you have increases Jakes abilities. Although you do not actually see any stats increasing as you collect the bones, the more you have the easier it becomes to complete future tasks.

As a dog you have all sorts of dog type abilities to help you track down the bones and Daisy. The most important one is smellovision which shows all sorts of scents as clouds of different colours, an essential tool for finding clues that you cannot see. If you collect 50 of one colour you get awarded a bone, collect 8 of another and you can challenge the local dog to a contest which, again, you get a bone for. The number of scents you have collected and the total number required are displayed clearly at the bottom of the screen. You also get bones for completeing tasks for the humans such as finding a particular item or herding sheep.

There are other dogs hanging around and you can challenge them to mini games such as territory marking, digging, tug of war, racing etc to gain more bones. Once a challenge is completed you get to take control of the other dog for a limited period of time. This can be useful if for example you cannot get to a bone using Jake.

During the game you also have to keep track of Jakes health and hunger and hunt for food. You can tell how he is by looking at the way he moves, as he becomes unhealthy and hungry he gets slower and starts to look tired. You also get to perform other doggy things like pooping, peeing, and begging for treats.

GRAPHICS ,SOUND AND CONTROLS
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The graphics are good, they are 3D, cartoon like but still realistic with the dogs looking like they would in real life and the sound is great with a good mixture of music. The sound effects are good, when I first heard the pooping and passing wind noises I was in hysterics!
The controls in this game are simple enough. The left analogue stick is used to control Jake, the right one controls the camera. The X button is used to jump, the O button is the action button, the square button is to bark and the triangle button is used to switch between normal view and smellovision. A combination of the up, down, left and right directional buttons is used to sit, lie down, poop etc and these are taught to you during the game. There is nothing that is too complicated or hard to understand. The game is relatively easy and obviously well suited to kids.

CONCLUSION
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I like easy games as I get easily frustrated at those that are hard to complete and if I get stuck on a game I tend not to play it again for ages. A Dog's Life, however, is one I frequently play when relaxing at home. It is entertaining and good value for money.
I would not recommend it for hardcore gamers who like all the action but would recommend it for kids or those who enjoy a relaxing slow paced game.

Age rating: 3+
Developer: Frontier

(This review has been displayed on another site I am a member of so some of you may have seen it before)

Summary: Overall a great game, one that will keep the kids amused for hours