Dogz 2

It's long been thought that man will eventually be superceded in the hierarchy of life by his own creation: technology. Many movies, from 2001: A Space Odyssey onwards, paint a picture of a future human race dominated by robots and gadgets turning against their creators in the belief that they, in some way, are superior to us. Battlestar Galactica, anyone?

Of course, if the success of Gameloft's Dogz franchise – and the leagues of other games in competition with it – is any kind of gauge, then it's our pets rather than ourselves who should be worried. Dogz 2 bills itself as the ultimate pet simulator, offering you a chance to pick, groom and generally raise your own dog. Yes, it's entirely possible to do all of this in real life, of course – this is no flight of fantasy, but Dogz 2 is a hell of a lot cheaper.

For anyone who took the original Dogz for a walk, what's on offer here is essentially an expansion of that model, offering more dogs, more choice, and generally widening the game's boundaries. For starters, when picking your first pet, three breeds of dog are now available and it's also possible to have three individual pups bounding around your virtual house.

And bound they certainly will. Character is key here, with the game assigning traits to each dog. The first dog used for the process of this review, for instance, was supposedly a bit of a thickie.

Such traits don't appear to especially hamper play – not at first, anyway – so it could be suggested that this is a token attempt to apply some colour to what could have been a very plain lifestyle simulator. Gameloft is no doubt aware that its audience will likely be a fairly young one desperate for personality-filled pups and, perhaps for the benefit of the kids, Dogz 2 holds your hand somewhat, guiding you through some of the staple forms of play to ease you into the process of caring for your new friend.

In your first few minutes, you'll have brought your pup home, fed and watered him, petted him, disciplined him, played with him in the garden and, depending on your speed, even taken him down to the beach to search for treasure. On the face of it, then, there's a lot to do, though it's fair to say that this is the kind of game that will split people down the middle; while the activities on offer are wide ranging, most essentially revolve around pressing one of two buttons (usually '5' or '0') though others do come into the mix.

What really does hamper play is some incredibly slow loading and a menu screen that insists on interrupting play routinely, debilitating any sense of quick progress. Seemingly after every action has been completed – from feeding to playing with a toy – the menu screen pops up, stalling play in the seconds before it actually appears. Whether it's an intended way of breaking up play or some kind of bug is open to debate, but it makes its mark.

Said loading times may well be what proves to be the final nail in the coffin for many, but for those who carry on, the ultimate goal is training your pup for the shows. When you eventually get invited to the stadium for the 'Dog Olympics' (if it doesn't already exist, it should), you'll be required to perform tricks and attempt an assault course. The former involves remembering directional combinations and repeating them, while the latter simply requires you to press '5' in time.

In fact, input is minimal in almost every activity. From washing your dog to performing in the stadium, the impetus is on the journey, with the constant challenge being to maintain your dog's health and happiness. You've got to make him feel loved and, in doing so, fall in love with the game itself. Whether this'll happen remains to be seen; as a pet simulator, Dogz 2 is perfectly proficient, but anyone expecting any kind of meat to sink their teeth into before getting to a bone to gnaw on for a long period of time might need to look elsewhere.