Game Reviews

The Dog - Beagle

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| The Dog
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The Dog - Beagle
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| The Dog

As a teenager, while the rest of the world was safely tucked away in bed I was up at 6am delivering newspapers. On one such morning that I was bitten on the ankle by a black labrador, an experience which has tainted my relationship with the canine world ever since.

Not that it did much damage - the beast left barely a mark, thanks to my fleeing haste. But being chased over a garden gate by an overly-territorial hound is something you tend not to forget.

Hail the toothless, clawless virtual pet.

Puppy Love

The virtual pet tutorial has become almost reassuringly standardised in gaming lore. The Dog - Beagle refuses to defy convention and quickly gets down to the business of teaching you how to care for your four-legged charge.

Having chosen your dog's name and gender, you're immediately transplanted into your home. A somewhat stark environment similar to the white room in The Matrix, your home consists of a selection of eerily detached furniture that serves as a 3D navigational menu, linking you to places or items of interest.

The controls are fairly intuitive, and you'll quickly pick up the basics of interacting with your new pet - a gorgeously rendered beagle pup with an oversized head. Keeping your dog clean, fed and happy is a simple affair, usually achieved by navigating to the right icon and pressing a few buttons.

Walkies

There's the usual range of activities for you and your dog to enjoy, from throwing a stick around at the local park to walks on the beach. You can also visit the local pet shop for items and supplies, including the essential dog treats that come into play as you teach your dog new tricks.

This is achieved by observing your pet's behaviour and rewarding them when they lie down or crawl. There isn't a great deal of depth to the training aspect of the game - you're prompted to press the appropriate buttons in order and your dog learns a new trick.

Armed with his or her new knowledge, your pet is able to enter into a range of competitions from tests of obedience to throwing and catching. These mini-games play out like a scaled down version of Guitar Hero, challenging you to press the appropriate number key at the right moment in time in order to perform the correct trick.

Get it right and you'll earn money to spend on essentials like food for your puppy, as well as receiving magazines that enable you to learn new tricks.

Bad dog

Visually, The Dog - Beagle is very pleasing, and swapping between the minimalist 3D environments is almost instantaneous. Aside from the initial 20 seconds or so it takes for the game to start up you won't encounter much in the way of loading times.

Your tiny 3D animal is nicely rendered, too, which is a good job as having a good looking star is a big must for any virtual pet game.

Much like its real world counterpart, then, The Dog - Beagle is endearing if a little short of functionality. Despite the dull distraction of the training minigames, if you're looking for a cute, casual, low-maintainence virtual pet then you could do a lot worse than this.

The Dog - Beagle

The Dog - Beagle is a fun and attractive young pup, though perhaps only younger players will find it entertaining beyond the first half hour or so
Score
Wayne Turton
Wayne Turton
Wayne's childhood ambition was to become a superhero. However, having been told that running round in tights is improper adult behaviour he now spends his days playing video games and watching cartoons instead. Millions of citizens sleep more soundly in the knowledge that he isn't watching over them.