I feel the need, to feed
The game has no time limit; most goals given to you can be completed at a leisurely pace. You have complete control over Jake, By completing certain tasks dealt out by locals you get bones, bones are the biggest bonus you can get in Dog’s Life The areas in the game range from farmhouses to little villages, After collecting enough smells you will be able to take place in a mini game. These games range from a marking your territory contest, to chasing away crows and waking up grandpa. These tasks can become tedious because if you fail them you have to collect the smells again to have another go at the task, This means half of Dog’s Life is spent repeating tasks just to get a bone. Some areas cannot be explored without the required number of bones which means there is a lot of backtracking. An advantage the game has is the free-roaming capabilities. You can take Jake anywhere within the limits of the game at any time once the area is opened up, there are literally acres for you to run Jake around. To add a sense of realism to the game, Jake will get hungry and will need to find food to eat otherwise he will be tired. Jake will think how hungry he is to give you a hint and his ears will be drooping down, he also runs slower. Occasionally you have to jump into a lake to keep Jake clean otherwise humans won’t pay as much attention to a dirty dog. These small inclusions can add to the backtracking element of the game. After completing certain tasks you can also take control of other dogs for a short time frame, this can help you to retrieve bones or items out of areas Jake can normally not access.
Smellovision is the unique inclusion in the game. Aside from collecting smells it also directs you to extra areas and gives hints as to where to find a bone. It also tells you where to dig for a bone. Tasks can also be found using smellovision so it is a very important inclusion in the game and sets Dog’s Life apart from other games. The novelty of smellovision wears thin after a little while and if you forget to go into smellovision you can miss certain parts of the game. A lot of your time will be spent in this mode.
Life's a bitch, then you die
This game smells, no seriously, it does
The graphics are ample in some parts but disappointing in others. The dogs are recreated well and most of the places you travel through look good but the human models look terrible. They look like plastic lego and bring the whole game down (As humans are a prominent part in the game) At times it can be a challenge controlling Jake, not just in smellovision mode but also while in normal play, jumping from platform to platform can be more of a challenge than it should be. Races can also be confusing as sometimes the camera will get a little jumpy. The wide open environments look great; smellovision mode also makes the game look better.
The developers have done a good job of recreating the atmosphere of a country town, not just the small details like horses or country houses but the sound of dirt tracks or trees in the wind are always able to be heard. Jake’s comments are disappointing. For some reason Frontier saw the need to make Jake into a comedian but some of his comments are atrocious. Gladly the humans don’t try to be as humourous.
Bone-a-riffic?
Dog’s life is a unique concept, it puts a twist on the platforming genre, it combines “cute” animals which children love and it contains potty humour. There is small consolation in the fact that the game has been released at a $79.95 price point, as an adult playing this game it wasn’t enthralling enough to keep me coming back, nor did the game pass as anything above average. Dog’s life has some very clever ideas which have been conveyed in the wrong way.
Sit!
This is a perfect title for children as they would spend half the time playing with Jake and making him going to the toilet, but for people looking for a platform title which will keep them coming back they should look towards Jak II or Ratchet and Clank. The lifespan is a significant issue and Dog’s Life will last less than eight hours (maybe more for a child) This makes the game a perfect game to hire, rather than a purchase. Dog’s Life is an average game once it lasts, but after that I cannot see anyone returning to play it again.
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