Customer Reviews

Cesar Milan Dog Whisperer

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, I was impressed that there are four separate save slots, so multiple family members can have their own file. Not that anyone is likely to fight over this game, however. It's almost as tedious as training a real dog, and not quite as gratifying. The graphics and animations are great, however, and the music is pleasant, and the gameplay is solid. You'll not only get to hear/read Cesar's principles (again and again, if my first hour of play is any indicator), but the tasks are engineered quite well. I was a little disoriented at first by the bottom screens where the game illustrates what you should do (I kept thinking I should tap where indicated, but not until it does nothing until I'm working with the actual dog) while the top screen explains in words, but that became clear quickly. The breaking-obsession task can be tricky because you need to find the spot to scratch on each obsessed dog, and crazily rubbing all over with your stylus won't cut it. If you don't soothe the dog with sound AND scratching, they won't budge, and if you overdo the soothe sound, the dog will actually lose progress. For other tasks, I learned to use the verbal correction each time the dog gets out of a sitting position, and hit the arrow keys whenever they flash, and now I don't have any problems getting a passing score. I wonder, though, whether more complex cases will still have all the highlighting and stuff that basically walks me through the tasks even AFTER completing the 6-ish tutorials.

I was impressed by the buttons for the save slots: instead of typing in letters, you can write (or draw) anything you want in the space provided, so you basically create your own icon. There are a number of arrow buttons to allow you to read and re-read any information. There are simple option controls to change the volume of different game elements. There's a Cesarpedia with lots of information to help you understand gameplay as well as Cesar's principles. You save your game by pressing the bottom-left arrow key until you get back to the starting screen, at which point it will ask whether you want to save. Besides the tutorials, which are fairly brief, I see only 20 cases. Perhaps more will be unlocked as I progress? Each case can take a while (I'm guessing 20 mins), so there's a good amount of gameplay here. But so far it's quite repetitive.

A case proceeds as follows:

Prove your knowledge to Cesar. Diagnose the dog. Exercise the dog. Retrain the dog (choosing from about 5 methods). Play with and/or feed the dog (probably don't need to do both). Prove your knowledge to Cesar.

There are (so far, at least) about 5 kinds of case, so those 20 cases mentioned above will likely be repeats of the 5 methods mentioned above. Perhaps some dogs will have more than one issue, so the case will take longer. So far, the dog breeds, names, and stories change, but not much else. Even the knowledge questions Cesar poses are frequently recycled. I don't mind, however, because I truly do want to memorize the principles.

My biggest complaint is probably the speed at which the dogs walk. No bounding puppies like Nintendogs. These dogs practically crawl, unless they're the type you can take roller-blading, and even those merely trot. Mercifully, each walk gets interrupted twice by a black screen stating "ten minutes later" so you don't actually have to walk the dog at a snails pace for more than a few minutes, total. I also wish I could see a hand (as in Nintendogs) where I touch my stylus on the screen, so I have a better idea of whether my patts on the dogs head will register or not until the frisbee/ball is completely dropped.

I could see a child being frustrated trying to figure this out, and getting bored with the patience required of this game, but teens and up should be able to appreciate this, if they actually have any interest in training dogs. If they merely want teach a dog tricks or dress it up, definitely look for a different game.

I am a fan of the dog whisperer on Nat Geo, and this game is so much fun,and very realistic in the cases, you click on a case, figure out the problem, fix it, over the course of "days" (not really days,) and then at the end, you get a score up to 100. The good thing is that you can repeat the cases over and over again until you master the case. I have alot of fun with this game, and I am 26 years old!!! I would buy this game if you like the Dog Whisperer!!!

My daughter wants to be a vet, so this is right up her alley. She has enjoyed this game more than other loved titles she owns.

A GOOD GAME. IT GETS BORING AFTER A WHILE BECUASE U DO THE SAME THING OVERE AN OVER. WALK, FEED, TOSS TOY,ECT. sOME CASES ARE VERY LONG ALSO. u LEARN FROM THE GAME BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER TO WATCH HIS SHOW "DOG WHISPER" ON TV. GRAPICS R BRETTY GOOD. U DO TAKE CARE OF THE DOG BUT IT IS THE SAME WAY FOR EACH DOG. I GOT THIS GAME FOR CHRISTMAS. i DID NOT FINISH IT ETHER. IT NEEDS TO B FUNNER.

Thought this was interesting as I watch him on TV. Gave it a try and actually is quite entertaining. You have to really be into your dog (as I am) but does break up my work day and gets my mind on something new.

If you're really interested in training dogs, this is a pretty good game. Some of the sessions are really fun, but some are stupid (These are my 12 year old's words). I would not advise for a young child (under 12), because I think they would easily get bored.

This game is ok. You can learn a few things from it, but basically you'll find its the same thing over and over again.

I'm a mom and this is the first DS "game" I've played. I aim to follow Cesar's techniques with my own live dog, so this interests me and is good practice in the concepts of "exercise, discipline and affection" for solving dog problems. On the other hand, if you buy this to "inspire" your 14 year old son to learn to train your real dog with you, then this just isn't catchy enough. I'd call it more of an "exercise" than a "game" as it is quite repetitive (just like training an actual dog!) He called it frustrating. (Typical of the instant gratification generation.)

Would I spend $10 on it again? Maybe, if I had more time to play it.

I like the game except I can't get past the obssesion level and I'm stuck and nobody has any cheats or hints to help out and I'm alittle irritated about that