Dog's Life Preview

Ah, the dog days of summer …

Just laying about, no responsibilities … nowhere to really be … going where the mood takes you … or, as they say, “no school, no chores, no clothes.”

Ok, some of that pertains, and some does not. The bit about no responsibilities, and nowhere to be is blatantly wrong. The part about “no school, no chores, no clothes” is absolutely correct. And please, pardon the poor pun about it being the dog days of summer because in the Hip Games/Frontier PlayStation2 title, Dog’s Life, you are a dog.

Jake is not your everyday canine. So he’s a tad mangy, but it’s up to Jake to solve a mystery that is upsetting folks across the United States. The game starts out simply enough. Jake has his eye on a female dog and is working up to barking hello when they are both dog-napped. But on the way to wherever they are going, the container holding Jake is bumped out of the back of the van, and Jake is free. But Daisy has been whisked away.

And what’s worse, Jake has no idea where they have taken her. Well, he did here, but he doesn’t really remember the name.

That leaves the door open for adventure and discovery. Jake will traverse the nation in search of his canine pal. The plot will thicken when he finds out that other dogs have been stolen.

Dog’s Life does a remarkable job graphically on the PlayStation2 console system. The three-dimensional visual elements are lush and rich, the animation (while a bit slow at times – Jake’s playful bounding looks to be about half- the three-quarters speed) looks very good, and as this was a preview build, that may change in the final release. What this build presented was a wealth of puzzles, mini-games and entertainment that may have a target age of about 7-14, but should also have appeal for older gamers looking for a light-hearted, entertaining action-adventure game.

Game features will allow you to control or interact with more than 15 breeds of dogs (there is a neat little trick where Jake can actually switch doggy bodies to accomplish some takes), and some 40 hours of gameplay. Of course, the mini-games will help you feed Jake (please, no singing) and keep him healthy.

While the soundtrack is light, there are some groans in there. Take the genius and slightly demented rocket scientist (his rocket blows up and he asks Jake to track down the various scattered pieces). It may be a decent Peter Lorre accent, but it just seems more of a groan than a delightful diversion.

The game utilizes a variety of ways for Jake to find clues and trek through the game. Of course you can look around, but you can also use his keen sense of smell.

Some of the puzzles are multipart and you will have to accomplish a couple of things in order to get that dog to follow you into the garage, or another to deliver the letter to the little girl stuck inside the house. All in all, the game is creative and fun.

If you wanted to put one tag on this game, it would be simple fun. Another might be addictive. Everything within the built sent to GameZone was lighthearted and entertaining.