Dog's Life

[SteveW]

I picked this PS2 game up recently because of a magazine article (I think in Retro, i'm not entirely sure) about it, and it really looked interesting. The game is bizarre, to say the least. You play a dog, living in the country, and your potential 'bitch' gets dognapped. You have to build up your skill to go after the dognappers, by roaming around, finding bones, and getting into contests with local dogs. One contest was a puzzle type game where you had to out-pee a chihuahua. You also have to use "Smello-vision" to smell other dog's marked territories, and locate things like buried bones. This game is seriously strange, but it's also pretty fun. The only problem was I had to stop playing it because the Smello-vision viewpoint started making me motion sick.

 

I'm amazed that this type of game even came out. It doesn't seem like the game publishers nowadays want to take a chance on something as offbeat as this game. Japanese publishers make some oddball games that occasionally get published over here, but they're fairly rare. This one isn't even Japanese, it's British. You can tell by it's sense of humour.

 

It only cost $19.99, which is another good thing about this one. So, has anyone else picked this one up?

[Vic George 2K3]

Sounds like realism taken to a extreme that offers little that entertains. Like who really wants to be a dog if being a dog means having to do all those little everyday canine rituals that would fascinate only the depraved of minds?

[SteveW]

There's not all that much realism. For one reason, your dog talks........ When you win a challenge against another dog, you get to control that other dog. When you take over the chihuahua, you can get into small places, and go inside the house through the doggie door. It's still a game after all, so there's all sorts of mini-games you have to do, like track down footprints and stuff.

 

It does seem very British, even though it's set in a generic midwestern American town. It's pretty quirky. It makes me think of that Japanese game "Mr. Mosquito", where you fly around sucking the blood out of a household of people.

[Jasoco]

Sounds interesting. Reminds me of "Family Dog" for the SNES.

[Jasoco]

Bump: So, is this game worth picking up? I saw it on the shelf at GS. I'd love to know if it's worth it.

[Cootster]

I've had this general idea for years . . .

 

I so want this game! PS2 only, or is there a PC version?

 

I'd buy a PS2 to play it (well that and GTA:SA)

[Stingray]

Sounds just odd enough for me to want to pick it up.

 

-S

[liquid_sky]

i LOVE odd games like mr mosquito. Am going to have to get this when i can get a ps2 for 10 dollars at a pawn and hunt the game down..

[Adrian M]

Am going to have to get this when i can get a ps2

 

What??

Oh dear god! Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

[atari70s]

i bought it and it really isnt that hot. its something interesting but thats all. the wierd game well worth buying is katarmari domacy for PS2. where your uncle or soemthing breaks all the stars and youhave to roll stuff up ( no drugs sadly) but then when you reach the size ( or time ) which ever comes first they shoot it into space. and you get points. you can roll tacks, tape rolls, mice, frogs,rc cars, even flowers. its a cool game that looks to suck at a first look. but its worth it.

 

im holding a copy of Xbox yourself fitness. we got one copy in my store and i heard it was a very limited release. why do i have a flashback to video life by commavid. but im waiting for it to come down before i buy it.

[sega saturn x]

Sounds dumb i hate dogs.

[Cootster]

 

im holding a copy of Xbox yourself fitness. we got one copy in my store and i heard it was a very limited release. why do i have a flashback to video life by commavid. but im waiting for it to come down before i buy it.

 

Aren't you thinking of Video Jogger by Exus?

 

Video Life is about growing bacteria or something . . .

[Jasoco]

Sounds dumb i hate dogs.

Thanks for voicing your opinion. My dog hates you.

 

I passed this up twice today. And by the time I decided to get it, the store I was at didn't have it and I forgot to check at the Best Buy and TRU. D'OH! Oh well, I got Katamari Damacy, I'll get this next time.

[Shannon]

Last dog game I got into was "Dog Daze" for the atari 8-bit computers.

[Shannon]

Too think that these are the same people who are in charge of making Roller Coaster Tycoon 3.

 

Hmmmmm

[carolsheba]

We had it traded into the store I work at last night...and I am considering it

[Godzilla]

Dog's Life is awesome, imho. Its by David Braben's company (he made elite, virus, zarch, frontier, etc.) Frontier UK. It has a lot of that normal 'open world' type of braben play but with a lot of humor. I love pooping. And I love the 15 different breeds you can take over and how they actually play differently. I love dogs, too, so thats another nice thing. I have 2 lab muts and 2 pure breds (german pointer & Blue tick beagle,)

[Jasoco]

I'm sold. I need another game to play when I get my PSTwo. And I've been looking for a reason to get this other than "The package looks cool."

[shep]

i LOVE odd games like mr mosquito. Am going to have to get this when i can get a ps2 for 10 dollars at a pawn and hunt the game down..

 

Me too! Mad Masestro and Mister Mosquito are some of my favorite games every. Quirky and original is good.

[Jasoco]

I can't wait to go hunting for some cool PS2 games. Can't wait for Rez's re-release next month.

[Godzilla]

Yes, I too have mad maestro and mr mosquito... must be some kinda weird game trilogy, maestro mosquito dog.

[Jasoco]

Two games I'd like to find.

 

I guess I'll have to go after Dog's Life on Monday. Wish the PSTwo were out yet. Two more damn weeks.. Well, MORE than two weeks.

[Jasoco]

I just picked this up today and I have to say it is so freaking cool!

 

The only hting I'm disappointed in is how crappy the graphics got after the really nice realistic intro video they had. But it's no big deal. Once I got into the game it didn't matter anymore.

 

First off, the dog movement is so realistic. How he wags his tail when waiting. Looks at stuff as he's running. This is all stuff I've seen real dogs do. They must have put a lot of thought and research into this game.

 

I just found out how to save by going into a dog house and lying down. LOL. That's so cool. The detail is amazing.

 

I went into the kitchen and opened the microwave. It was funny watching him sit there waiting for the meat to cook. And taking control of the little dog was funny.

 

Great game.

[Godzilla]

Glad you found it and enjoyed it. I've been playing it lightly. It's the perfect game to play in bits over a long time. Just reached 14 bones of ranking, and finally got all the bones in the first area. Smellovision can help you track down the hippies batteries...

 

Yea, I love the dogs movements and special moves, the different begs and shakes and stuff. The way you can tell health is really cool, too. I feel bad whenever jake is hurting! The animations and idle graphics and general movement seems so real. It reminds me of DC Ecco in that way. (that's a compliment,)