Before taking control of your kitten in Purr Pals you will need to adopt a cat. You can choose from forty different breeds of cat and after you've chosen a cat you can customise the eyes, whiskers (green whiskers?), gender and the colour of the coat on your kitten. After you've customised your cat you can name it and take it home.
Anyone familiar with Nintendogs should have no problems getting used to Purr Pals. All the action takes place on the top screen with the bottom screen used to scroll through the many options to cater to your cat. Your kitten has four basic needs meters; which include food, grooming, love and play. To keep your kitten happy you will need to make sure these four meters are as full as they can be. Loving the cat is as simple as using the stylus to direct where your kitten should go; you can also "pat" the cat by tapping him or her. You are also armed with a water gun, so if your cat hops on the couch and you want the cat off then you can spray them with the water gun, we don't think that will leave them too happy though.
Who needs a real cat when you've got 40 to choose from in this game?
You will also need to make sure that you feed your cat. To feed your cat you will have to shake open the Purina cat food box and pour the food into the cat food bowl. To clean the cat litter tray (definitely one of our favourite things about having a cat...not) you will need to use the stylus to rub the kitty mess away. Grooming your cat is also quite simple, requiring just a few scrubs up and down with the stylus. To keep the play meter full you will need to purchase toys for your cat from the store.
There are also plenty of other options in the game hidden away under the extras menu. You can enter cat shows as well as change the location where your cat plays around. You can customise the look of your cat by dressing it up or adding accessories and you can shop for supplies. There are also four mini games in Purr Pals; music, cupid, copy cat and alley oop!. Alley oop! is a basketball game where you use the stylus to drag the basketball into the hoop, cupid puts you in control of a bow and arrow and you have to shoot the hearts coming out of the cats, copy cat is a copying game and music is sort of like Guitar Hero, but with classic nursey rhymes such as Twinkle Twinkle.
Purr Pals really is designed to keep the player coming back daily. It's actually quite addictive turning on the Nintendo DS every day just to make sure you cat's needs are fulfilled and they are happy. With such a large range of options Purr Pals manages to feel less like a clone and more like an original game, it really is a surprising alternative to Nintendogs.
Oh it is his birthday!
The advertising by Purina is a bit much in Purr Pals though, you'll need to feed your kitten a lot and to do this you will need to buy Purina cat food and pour this food into a Purina cat bowl. The product placement doesn't end there - if you want to take your cat to a cat show you will need to enter the Purina cat show.
Purr Pals also includes some basic multiplayer options; if you have a friend with a copy of the game then you can show off the costumes you've purchased. There is no Wi-Fi in the game at all, which is a shame.
Overall Purr Pals is a pretty fun game. If you are more of a cat person than a dog person then Purr Pals is a game you will want to pick up. The game is easy for kids to pick up and to take good care of your kitten you will need to make sure that you turn on the Nintendo DS every day, just so your kitten doesn't go hungry.
. The crazy cat lady ftw
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