Game Card
Pet Alien (DS)
- Publisher:
- Game Factory
- Developer:
- Shin'en
- US Release:
- 28.08.2007
- EU Release:
- n/a
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Action
- Extra:
- Platform
- Age:
- Modern Times
Review
We play Pet Alien...
TV show and film tie-ins are never the easiest (or most satisfying) games to make, and while Pet Alien is probably a decent enough representation of the cartoon, it might come across as a little one-dimensional for ardent fans.
Aimed at a younger audience, hitting the demographic target might have proven a trickier task than The Game Factory thought. Now, I’m not one who believes every kid’s game should be rife with educational content. Making them into micro classrooms packed to the gills with moralising, sums and parent friendly imagery only puts young gamers off their specific age range and ushers them toward the violent escapism the rest of us enjoy.
But they still need some cerebral challenge – every game does – and unfortunately Pet Alien seems to be a little too cautious to meet even a niche audience’s requirements. Primarily a puzzle game, its linear activities become something of a simple matter of time for the majority of gamers, though a complete new comer to the world of videogame interaction might well find it to be an intriguing introduction.
Looking at the American cartoon Pet Alien is based on, it’s actually a little difficult to place the demographic this game is aimed at. The visuals are impressionistic enough to suggest a younger audience, and the jokes suitably infantile (not in a bad way, of course), yet the characters themselves seem to shun the typical, cutesy animated extraterrestrials we’ve come to expect. Shin-en Multimedia had their design work cut out when it came to this (presumably) TV producer headed merchandising exercise.
By taking our intrepid aliens and putting them in charge of a human rescue (their human owner, working on the assumption that these are indeed pets (which seems a little tenuous on the moral side for a kids game, but we’ve already decided that’s not an area videogames should get involved in), we get to put each ugly little critter to moderate test through 80 linear levels.
It’s sometimes difficult to gauge quite how a younger gamer will take to puzzle based gameplay, and as previously mentioned, the intended age level of Pet Alien is somewhat in flux, so I’m genuinely not sure whether the very steady increase in difficulty from very easy to quite easy is a good or bad thing. Suffice to say that the tutorial levels stretch a long way into the game before any kind of studious contemplation is required.
The overly linear nature of the levels ensures there’s only one problem to consider at any one time, which again, could be seen as either a plus or a minus depending on the age and ability of the gamer. The guidance is moderately subtle, allowing players to switch between the five characters at suspiciously opportune moments to solve the next little inconvenience, such as blocked door or laser that needs deflecting using a moveable boulder. All pretty off-the-shelf puzzle fare, but with enough levels to ensure that even a speed freak with especially thick glasses will find an few hour’s worth of play in Pet Alien.
To look at and listen to Pet Alien is nothing remarkable, but the screen is nicely uncluttered while the levels provide all the elements necessary to build 80 levels and five mini-games without feeling as though it’s repainting the same walls with different colours. Fans of the animation should be equally satisfied with the DS’ representations of their favourite pug-faced, bug-eyed xenomorphs, and the animation is whacky enough to entertain the young ‘uns from a purely visual perspective.
Perhaps it’s an unreasonable expectation, but these days at least some kind of co-operative and/or online play is expected, yet Pet Alien offers none, so there’s little to say in the way of family entertainment – which could harm the appeal of a kid’s game quite severely.
Another possible longevity sniper is the linear approach to level solving. While it helps ease young (or simple) gamers into the happy notion of elementary brain teasing, the unilateral methods of progressing through the game actively inspires haste, and with even the most taxing levels posing little in the way of cerebral challenge, it won’t take long before this full priced game is sitting unused on a shelf; finished and forgotten. That said, it could simply be an astute play intended to compliment the fickle attention span of youth, allowing adolescent gamers to actually finish a game before the next cartoon tie-in comes along. It’s difficult to say, really.
Ultimately, Pet Alien underestimates its young audience and panders to their vanity rather than testing their analytical resolve (in what could have been a very fun way), but this harmless and diversionary little title could be the perfect present for just the right child at just the right level of videogame awakening.
Top Game Moment: As levels progress, players are allowed to make a choice between which Pet Alien to use, which adds at least some vital randomisation to the game.
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| Pet Alien might not be a game of great depth, but it makes good use of the touch screen – a vital element for any DS game | All five “Pets” from the TV series are included, with unlockable (if slightly rubbish) mini-games for each. Those are the real rewards for finishing the game |
Aimed at a younger audience, hitting the demographic target might have proven a trickier task than The Game Factory thought. Now, I’m not one who believes every kid’s game should be rife with educational content. Making them into micro classrooms packed to the gills with moralising, sums and parent friendly imagery only puts young gamers off their specific age range and ushers them toward the violent escapism the rest of us enjoy.
But they still need some cerebral challenge – every game does – and unfortunately Pet Alien seems to be a little too cautious to meet even a niche audience’s requirements. Primarily a puzzle game, its linear activities become something of a simple matter of time for the majority of gamers, though a complete new comer to the world of videogame interaction might well find it to be an intriguing introduction.
Looking at the American cartoon Pet Alien is based on, it’s actually a little difficult to place the demographic this game is aimed at. The visuals are impressionistic enough to suggest a younger audience, and the jokes suitably infantile (not in a bad way, of course), yet the characters themselves seem to shun the typical, cutesy animated extraterrestrials we’ve come to expect. Shin-en Multimedia had their design work cut out when it came to this (presumably) TV producer headed merchandising exercise.
By taking our intrepid aliens and putting them in charge of a human rescue (their human owner, working on the assumption that these are indeed pets (which seems a little tenuous on the moral side for a kids game, but we’ve already decided that’s not an area videogames should get involved in), we get to put each ugly little critter to moderate test through 80 linear levels.
 |
 |
|
| Although the puzzles lack a bit of variety in places, the scenery is diverse and provides plenty of action for the cartoon characters | Controlling the bug-eyed antagonists is very easy, making Pet Alien a good introduction to videogames for the young and uninitiated |
It’s sometimes difficult to gauge quite how a younger gamer will take to puzzle based gameplay, and as previously mentioned, the intended age level of Pet Alien is somewhat in flux, so I’m genuinely not sure whether the very steady increase in difficulty from very easy to quite easy is a good or bad thing. Suffice to say that the tutorial levels stretch a long way into the game before any kind of studious contemplation is required.
The overly linear nature of the levels ensures there’s only one problem to consider at any one time, which again, could be seen as either a plus or a minus depending on the age and ability of the gamer. The guidance is moderately subtle, allowing players to switch between the five characters at suspiciously opportune moments to solve the next little inconvenience, such as blocked door or laser that needs deflecting using a moveable boulder. All pretty off-the-shelf puzzle fare, but with enough levels to ensure that even a speed freak with especially thick glasses will find an few hour’s worth of play in Pet Alien.
To look at and listen to Pet Alien is nothing remarkable, but the screen is nicely uncluttered while the levels provide all the elements necessary to build 80 levels and five mini-games without feeling as though it’s repainting the same walls with different colours. Fans of the animation should be equally satisfied with the DS’ representations of their favourite pug-faced, bug-eyed xenomorphs, and the animation is whacky enough to entertain the young ‘uns from a purely visual perspective.
Perhaps it’s an unreasonable expectation, but these days at least some kind of co-operative and/or online play is expected, yet Pet Alien offers none, so there’s little to say in the way of family entertainment – which could harm the appeal of a kid’s game quite severely.
Another possible longevity sniper is the linear approach to level solving. While it helps ease young (or simple) gamers into the happy notion of elementary brain teasing, the unilateral methods of progressing through the game actively inspires haste, and with even the most taxing levels posing little in the way of cerebral challenge, it won’t take long before this full priced game is sitting unused on a shelf; finished and forgotten. That said, it could simply be an astute play intended to compliment the fickle attention span of youth, allowing adolescent gamers to actually finish a game before the next cartoon tie-in comes along. It’s difficult to say, really.
 |
 |
|
| Each Pet Alien has its own unique abilities which are called on to solve the puzzles. Until later levels, however, the necessity to figure out which Alien to use is taken away from gamers, simplifying the puzzles a little too much | Many of the levels borrow from established gaming staples, such as the maze and racing genres seen here. No bad thing when it comes to inaugurating new videogamers |
Ultimately, Pet Alien underestimates its young audience and panders to their vanity rather than testing their analytical resolve (in what could have been a very fun way), but this harmless and diversionary little title could be the perfect present for just the right child at just the right level of videogame awakening.
Top Game Moment: As levels progress, players are allowed to make a choice between which Pet Alien to use, which adds at least some vital randomisation to the game.
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Trailer #1
Posted 05.06.07
Length 01:04 Views 804
