Review: Nintendogs + Cats - Are New Tricks Enough for this Old Dog?

Nintendogs is one of the most successful video games ever, so it only stands to reason that Nintendo would expand the series with three new entries on the Nintendo 3DS.  While Nintendogs + Cats features beautifully updated graphics and a few new features, it largely fails to differentiate itself from its predecessor.

The three flavors of Nintendogs + Cats; French Bulldog, Golden Retriever, and Toy Poodle, offer extremely casual gameplay that demands little effort from the player.  Just like their Nintendo DS counterparts, the New Friends titles can be played at any pace and still be enjoyed by a wide variety of gamers.  Naturally, everything is straightforward and the game is very easy to control.  This isn't a bad thing, however - it simply means anyone, regardless of age or skill, can pick up Nintendogs + Cats and have a great time.

The animals themselves, in addition to their surrounding environment, are absolutely beautiful.  Especially for something casual like a pet simulator, Nintendogs + Cats' visuals are more than sufficient.  3D is utilized quite well, in a subtle manner that further immerses the player in the world of their pets and truly gives a feeling of depth.  That said, 3D is largely nonessential to these titles, and you won't miss out on much without it.

Nintendogs + Cats offers the same, reliable set of features present in the series' DS iterations, with a few new additions sprinkled in.  I was disappointed with this game's implementation of cats, which are a major selling point.  While Nintendogs should, of course, be all about the dogs, it seems as if cats were nothing but an afterthought.  There are virtually no cat-exclusive activities, and cats can't partake in the same activities as the dogs.  Simply put, the cats in Nintendogs + Cats are just for show.  Luckily, Nintendogs + Cats impresses with support for both SpotPass and StreetPass, in addition to its gimmicky-yet-enjoyable augmented reality feature.

Playing with dogs and cats from a huge selection of breeds is a really enjoyable experience, but eventually the game becomes more of a chore than anything else.  Take your dogs for a few walks, find some cool novelty items, and enter a few competitions, and you'll have experienced all there is to Nintendogs + Cats.  Even the novelty features like augmented reality get old pretty quickly.

That's not to say Nintendogs + Cats is a bad game.  It can actually be quite good when played in small doses, but those who played the first Nintendogs titles will not find much value in Nintendogs + Cats.  That said, Nintendogs + Cats is a pet simulator of the highest quality.  For what it is, Nintendogs + Cats deserves three stars out of four.