E-Mail This Article to a Friend Puppy love Happiness is a warm Nintendog BY MITCH KRPATA
	NINTENDOGS For Nintendo DS | Rated E for Everyone | Developed and published by Nintendo.

Machines can build cars, survive the unforgiving vacuum of outer space, and travel back in time to kill Sarah Connor, but they aren’t supposed to be advanced enough to feel love. Nintendogs presents a convincing argument to the contrary. Rather than a conventional game, it’s a puppy simulator. Although puppies never age in the world of Nintendogs, their affection is all too real — and will overcome even the most cynical hipster.

Nintendogs originated in Japan, the country that blurred the line between reality and fantasy. (Thank you, ASIMO.) The eponymous mutts aren’t superdogs, or seeing-eye dogs, or even our brave fighting dogs currently wearing Doggles in Iraq. They’re regular old puppies; you simply pick a breed to call your own and start to raise it. There are three Nintendogs cartridges available: Lab & Friends, Dachshund & Friends, and Chihuahua & Friends, each of which offers six different dogs to choose from. (Eventually you can unlock all 18 breeds in each cartridge, so it’s not just a marketing stunt.)

Whichever dog you start with, you’ll immediately start petting it, using the DS’s stylus and touchscreen. The simulation is accurate enough that it would be eerie if it weren’t so gosh-darn adorable. Scratch their ears with the stylus and they’ll cock their heads to the side. Rub their tummies and they’ll lift a paw in the air to give you better access. Touch their noses and they’ll stick out their slobbery tongues to lick your imaginary hand. Although there’s rarely much to look at on screen besides the dogs, the game’s makers have modeled everything from the dogs’ skeletons out to their fur. You can actually observe their musculature and respiration in action.

Like a highly evolved Tamagotchi, a Nintendog depends on human care to thrive. A simple status screen displays how hungry, thirsty, and dirty your dog is. Keeping it happy by addressing these needs is the essence of the gameplay. But don’t worry: your Nintendog may run away if you neglect it, but it can never, ever die, unlike a certain real-life dog I could mention if doing so didn’t tear me up inside.

Using the DS’s built-in microphone, you can train your dog to respond to voice commands. The drawback is that, particularly as you advance beyond "Sit" and "Lie down," the mike is finicky about what it will accept. But that should affect only disciplinarians whose perfectly behaved dogs are the nerds of the canine world.

Despite its lack of formal gameplay, the notoriously grouchy Japanese rag Famitsu gave Nintendogs an unheard-of perfect score, probably because even jaded video-game critics have a soft spot for panting pups. But there are things to do. You can explore the neighborhood with your dog, befriending other pooches and playing in the park. A rudimentary economic system allows you to earn money by winning athletics and obedience competitions. You can spend your winnings on new dogs, grooming supplies, and better dog food.

Mostly, you’ll take your dog for a walk, feed it, pet it, and then leave it be for a while. This isn’t the type of game you spend several hours absorbed in, trying to "win." It’s something to pick up a few times a day and spend a few minutes feeling better about the world. A plastic touchscreen may be no substitute for a wet nose, but when you’re stuck in an apartment that doesn’t allow dogs, it’s the next best thing.

Score: 9.0 (out of 10)