My Little Dogs

Anyone who is a parent and has bought a dog for their kid knows who does all the hard work involved in mutt ownership. Sure, little Lucy might say that Mr. Pickles belongs to her, but try persuading your wife that it's Lucy that should be taking him out for a walk in the dark after dinner.

So to find that My Little Dogs is the least-involved virtual pet simulator that we've come across in the past few months is quite a guilty relief. Well, in a way – obviously this isn't a good thing if you're actually looking forward to caring for a pocket pooch, because you'll feel somewhat short-changed.

Matters are suspect from the get-go. Whereas rivals My Dog and Dogz take you by the hand and ease you gently into the whys and wherefores of looking after your virtual dog, My Little Dogs drops you right into the action with nary a word of advice.

You're not even given much of a choice over what dog you get; you're able to adopt either an ugly-looking grey dog or an ugly-looking brown dog and that's that. There's no attempt at offering different breeds or any further colours. It's all very limited.

It's a fault that rears its head again and again throughout My Little Dogs. Take interacting with your digital doggy, for instance: what you can do is defined by the camera angle you're using to look at the single room in which the game takes place.

This means you need to be looking at the door to take Spot for a walk, at the window to pet him, at the corner to brush him and at the toilet (who's ever heard of a doggy litter tray?) when he's pooped and it needs cleaning up.

It's a right chore to play like this and you end up feeling incredibly detached from your dog.

The visuals are also limited (that word again) and it all looks very cobbled together. Your dog and studio flat, which are rendered in 3D, are poorly detailed and don't engender any feelings of affection.

It's on this level that My Little Dogs' failings hurt the most. These games are all about building up a bond with your virtual pooch so that you become emotionally invested in its well-being. When you care, you play and enjoy doing so. The rewards of such titles are many, with new tricks, a healthy dog and extra toys with which to play with.

All that is lacking here and it severely dents your enjoyment of My Little Dogs. Limited tricks can be taught, but there's little incentive to do so given the lack of involvement, and while you need to do the usual feed/walk/clean routine to ensure good health, it offers up very little fun.

The only warm glow you'll get from playing it, in fact, is from the €0.25 that the publisher is donating to an animal charity every time a copy of the game is sold.

Worthy causes aside, there's no reason to recommend this at all, especially when My Dog and Dogz have already got this genre of game in the doggy bag.