Gamespot are you having a laugh?!!? This is a must have!
I have been following this game for many months so decided to buy it even though I had concerns that it would be nothing like the trailers and full of lacklustre content. I can tell you now that this is not the case!
From the moment you start playing the quality and presentation speaks for itself. The Pet begins as an egg and the professor guides you on how to make it hatch into what is one of the cutest creatures ive ever seen! Crossed between a monkey and a kitten (ever heard of a chickaboo!?).
There are heaps of quality challenges to do which reward you with new clothing and toys the more you complete. Some challenges are quite hard so it's not just a walk in the park and this will take you a fair while to get through whilst being fun. There are some good trophies to get as well.
I would recommend this for children as it would teach them how to nurture their own pets, bath and feed them. But also it is great fun for adults - this is the only game my girlfriend will let me play in her company and my friends all think its brilliant. The pet card works really well and tracks your hand perfectly.
Ive been having a slight amount of trouble with my lighting conditions so that is a consideration. Ive also had problems getting the pet to copy my drawings even though i used white paper and thick black pen (this could be a light issue but im sure they could patch this to make it more sensitive to colour contrast)
Gamespot are largely wrong with their negatives -when they say there is lack of instruction - the proffesor tells you everything you need to know. Some challenges are constantly live (eg take a picture of the pet smiling) so its a case of playing around. This is definately not a short game - although it is a sandbox game ive got through half the challenges in about 4 hours but its not something you can complete. The load times between missions is about 10-15 seconds which i would say isnt great but not unbearable. The pet doesnt really seem evolve which would be good so I agree with that point. Maybe a pet xp system which would make him draw better or fitter etc would be perfect!
I cant believe this only rated at 6.5 on Gamespot! An absolute joke. The other reviews speak for themselves so dont let this deter you if you like the look of it. At £17 solus or £25 with the camera I think this is a great little stocking filler. Also makes for a great PS3 exclusive!