Gamertell Review: Littlest Pet Shop for Wii
Title: Littlest Pet Shop
Price: $39.99
System(s): Wii (also available on the DS and PC)
Release Date: October 14, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Electronic Arts (Electronic Arts)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Pros: A pretty good variety of pets, very simple controls for kids, kids can dress the characters up with lots of accessories and when you play a game, you actually play it with the selected pet.
Cons: Overly structured in the beginning, you can’t choose which pets you want - you must unlock them in order and some of the animals really aren’t that cute.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 80/100; B-; *** out of 5
EA Casual and Hasbro have teamed up to blanket the video game market with a series of Littlest Pet Shop games based on the series of toys which have infatuated young children around the US. The Wii version of Littlest Pet Shop certainly wouldn’t be in my top 10 list of most wanted holiday games, but the target audience will likely express the same love for the game as they do for the toys.
Littlest Pet Shop is clearly geared towards the grade school set. In fact, anyone over the age of 10 may find themselves incredibly frustrated by the title’s simplicity and overprotective tutorials, not to mention the character art. Kids will likely adore it though, as the entire game is almost like the series’ toys brought to life.
Turning a toy into a game
Littlest Pet Shop begins with the player being given three tickets for pets to be adopted from the adoption center and board the train to Pets Plaza. You will then see a brief cinematic of your first three pets, the Cuddliest Bunny, the Cuddliest Gray Tiger Cat and the Littlest Yorki, as they arrive in Pets Plaza. You then get to name your first three pets.
After that, you’ll go through an extensive tutorial which guides you around Pets Plaza, teaches you how to buy from Meow Market, dress pets up in the Salon, play in the Arcade, see what pets you’ve adopted in the Apartment and interact with items in the environment. Along the way, notifications about new Meow Market items, activities or locations will pop up.
A mini-game collection clearly for kids
The best part of Littlest Pet Shop is its variety. There are over 30 different pets in the game, and you can switch off among them at any time while in the four different locations (pet plaza, jungle, winter wonderland and garden) . There are also over 100 different accessory and clothing items, and 16 different mini-games to play with your pet.
It is also very simple to play. The only buttons used are the directional pad, the A button and the B button. Games often require pressing these, or moving the remote in a certain way, and always preface any interaction with clear instructions and images showing what to do to succeed. The games’ difficulty levels also seem to have been designed with young children in mind - players over 12 will have no problem getting blue ribbons in the hardest difficulty levels of the mini-games.
The only problem is, the game is far too structured. You’ll constantly be given messages about what to do. Its like a nagging inner voice, that just won’t go away. To make matters worse, you can’t even choose your first few pets, or really in what order they arrive in. I mean, I’d rather have had the Fanciest Corgi, Sportiest Horse and Chilliest Penguin as my first three pets. But no - players don’t get to make that decision, despite this game having pet raising elements.
Fans of the series of toys won’t be disappointed
Littlest Pet Shop is clearly a game made for those kids who adore the Littest Pet Shop toys or pet raising sims with loads of mini-games and customization options. If you’re over the age of 12, you won’t derive the same amount of joy from the game or have the same experience with the title as a child would. In fact, the older you are, chances are the less fascinated you’ll be by the game. Kids will enjoy it, and that’s what’s important.
Site [Littlest Pet Shop]
