My Foal 3D

Horses hold a very strange place in peoples' hearts. Many in the West see them as pets that exist to be cared for and groomed, to be shown off and bred for sport or leisure.

It wasn't too long ago that they held an altogether different purpose - they were essentially items of heavy machinery that you had the option of eating.

You'll be pleased to learn that My Foal 3D isn't about making horses pull ploughs and then slaughtering them. This is a game about trying to make horses happy.

My Foal 3D places you in the role of a stable hand tasked with caring for horses brought in by local residents for R&R.

You spend your days interacting with them, cleaning them, training them, playing with them, and generally just caring for them in nearly every way.

Gauging your performance is made possible thanks to the Sims-style happiness meters that measure thirst, hunger, happiness, cleanliness, and growth.

By ensuring that each meter is full you'll be able to breeze through each horsey situation. By raising the growth bar, you'll help to nurture your young horse into adulthood - although that really only happens with your own horse, and not those brought to you to look after.

You'll fill these meters by completing various mini-games. Each one focuses upon a different area of foaling fun, ranging from the mundane task of feeding to the more enjoyable task of teaching tricks and showjumping.

There's a dizzying amount to unlock, as you have three difficulties on each of the larger mini-games as well as various types of brushes, hoses, fences, and toys to help shake the gameplay up. You can also unlock up to 25 horses that you can create, customise, and nurture in your own stable.

Thoroughbred on the surface

The visual sheen is commendable - this is one of the best-looking Nintendo 3DS titles I've played. Yes, the environments are largely unremarkable, but the horses look stunning, mostly thanks to some stupendous fur effects.

The customisation on offer, along with some interesting mini-games, makes My Foal 3D a surprisingly enjoyable affair, but for the price and length this isn't the deepest horse owning simulator you'll ever play.