505 Games has announced that it has shipped Hotel for Dogs, a video game based on the upcoming feature film, "Hotel For Dogs", from DreamWorks Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. In the Hotel for Dogs video game, players enter the old hotel to help two siblings, Andi and Bruce, feed and entertain an adorable collection of canines by building amazing gadgets, playing with the pooches and keeping the dogs happy in their new hotel home. Navigating through 10 levels of gameplay, players must accomplish various goals to keep their beloved canines healthy and amused. Players will even explore the areas outside of the hotel as they attempt to locate and rescue additional pups in need of some major TLC. Hotel for Dogs is available for PC, DS and Wii.
Between these missions you have to make sure your doggy clients are looked after, and you can play with them in some lackluster minigames. Nintendogs Wii, this is not. This game isn't being criticized because it's a crap tie-in; it is because it's no fun.
The main draw of the Hotel for Dogs film was all the cute and funny dogs doing wacky things like getting shoes out of vending machines. The game has none of that cuteness, save for a couple clips from the film itself. Instead you get a title that is barely a game at all. The only goals in it are to do the bare minimum to keep the dogs happy, then just move on. There is no visual, or gameplay rewards, and the game is over in a couple of hours. Hotel for Dogs is bad even for a low budget movie tie in. It doesn't seem to understand what a game is, and certainly doesn't understand what makes a game engaging for kids. Here's a tip for next time developers: No kids think hunting through dirty rooms for pipes is an enjoyable way to spend their time.
One of the things you don't feel in the game is an abiding affection for the dogs. The game makers spent so much time on designing the gameplay that they left much of the love you're supposed to have for the dogs to the cut scenes you watch (and which can be replayed all together once the game is finished). But even without a love connection to the canines, there are some interesting twists on gameplay in Hotel for Dogs that come to you via a successful combining of game genres.
Hotel for Dogs? Hummmm
Why does this not surprise me? Of course it has to be for the Wii.
Lol I am sure it is coming for the other systems as well, but such crapware belongs on the Wii.
Just seems right.
