My Monster Pet

Remember all the 'fun' you had looking after the kids' electronic key-ring pets while they were at school? And the guilt you were wracked with when it turned up starving and, er, unclean after you accidentally focused on real life for a couple of hours too long? That was an awesome fad, eh?

Well, just when you thought these irksome little artificial life forms were dead and buried, along comes My Monster Pet, providing a whole new reason for you to obsessively check your mobile phone.

As suggested by the title, this is a modern hybrid of the old Tamagotchi theme and the current trend for rhythm-based mini-games. Right from the start you'll need to ask yourself if these two gaming styles are at all appealing to you, as the game is very focused on providing classical examples of the two genres. If you're not interested in Tamagotchi or DanceDanceRevolution, My Monster Pet's probably not for you.

The 'cyber pet' system has evolved directly from the old handheld electronic toys, requiring you to birth, feed, clean, train and play with your monster. The advantage here is that the display technology has improved a lot since the black and white miniature screens of yore, so the monsters live, breath and interact a whole lot more.

There's a certain indefinable charm to your growing monster, and its life becomes quite tangible on the mobile screen. As with the original systems, your monster continues to develop even when the game's not running, so a fair amount of supervision is required to keep it alive and well.

The game is quite forgiving, however, and although it might take a fair amount of work to nurse a neglected monster back to health, they're apparently capable of surviving while your boring real life gets in the way of playing.

Looking after them has progressed beyond the simple button presses, however. Playing with your pet monster means actually taking part in a variety of mini-games, such as a maze game, dancing, karaoke and a few other dexterity- and rhythm-based tasks. While none of these are particularly dynamic or would hold up as a pocket game all on their own, as an integral part of the larger My Monster Pet system they do add a level of interactive escapism.

But it's not just play time that includes these antics. Each aspect of the monster's life is controlled by some kind of mini-game, from going in the shower to giving them injections in a darts-esque fashion. (Don't try that at home.)

These mini-monsters go through a variety of changes as they reach maturity, and continue to develop even then. Unfortunately, try as it might, the overall low quality of the mini-games robs My Monster Pet of any real dynamism, and it never quite seems to get going. The actual 'cyber pet' aspects are well thought through and intuitive – with a distinct lifelikeness to the onscreen animal – but its maintenance ultimately feels like a chore.

Perhaps if you had a particular soft spot for the Tamagotchi games you'll find the more in-depth upkeep of your monster to be an enjoyable responsibility, but most players are likely to avoid turning the game on once their digital pet has suffered a few days of neglect.