What's more, after you defeat a dog in one of these games, you'll be able to control that dog for a short period of time to complete tasks that Jake can't complete on his own. The range of dogs in the game is pretty impressive. There's everything from a Chihuahua to a husky, from a Saint Bernard to a bulldog. Each one has unique attributes that make it suitable for completing a particular puzzle. The Chihuahua, for instance, is small enough to fit inside a doggy door so that it can retrieve a bone for Jake, while a dalmatian is fast enough to chase down a pesky goose that's swiped a bone. The other dogs don't play all that differently from Jake, but they do provide some nice variety.
There's another aspect of Dog's Life worth mentioning, and it's one that makes the game a rather, shall we say, accurate portrayal of doggy existence. In effect, you have to keep track of Jake's hunger, well-being, and so on to keep him performing at capacity. This entails nosing around trash cans, stores, and countertops to find food. If he gets too hungry, Jake won't be very energetic and will move slowly as a result. When food is plentiful, this isn't a problem, although if there's none nearby, it's frustrating to be so sluggish while you're looking for some. And, of course, what goes in must come out. As a result, you can (and, in fact, are required to) make Jake poop on command to keep him feeling frisky. You can also perform some other doggy functions, like peeing and begging for treats, all with some simple controller combinations. Though the food mechanic is a bit annoying at times, it does add a little extra bit of canine flavor to the game.
The minigames are awfully easy, and keeping Jake fed is occasionally a chore, but Dog's Life has a certain charm all the same.
The graphics in Dog's Life get the job done, though they're nothing particularly special. The environments have a fairly whimsical if somewhat simplistic look to them, and the people aren't very detailed or interesting to look at. The dog models are quite nice, though, because they all accurately mirror their real-life counterparts. Frontier has done a noteworthy job on the doggy animation, so Jake runs and turns very much like a real dog, and he realistically slows to a trot before stopping when you let off of the controls. Also, smellovision has a nice washed-out look to mirror dogs' color blindness, which is a nice touch. The voice acting in the game is a bit cheesy, but it's not downright bad. (Kids probably won't mind it, anyway.) There, unfortunately, aren't a whole lot of different barks in the game, because Jake and most of the other big dogs actually use the same one. But Dog's Life has a good mixture of music--including a Eurotrash dance mix that plays during some of the minigames--that's not exactly overwhelming but has a certain likable quality regardless.
The fact that Dog's Life has debuted for a mere 20 bones (ha ha!) really works in its favor, since it's relatively short and extremely easy. It's very obviously suited for kids, based on its difficulty and doggy subject matter, which may involve a little toilet humor but is still completely harmless. Yes, you can make Jake relieve himself at just about any time, but this isn't graphically depicted, so it's definitely not any worse than what you'd see if you walked out your front door and watched some real dogs for a few hours. In any event, Dog's Life isn't a bad little game for the price. There's not a whole lot to it, but what's there is entertaining enough, and it certainly lets you do things you can't do in just about any other game.
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Dog's Life (PlayStation 2):
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