Fantastic Pets for Xbox 360 Kinect, published by THQ, is a game where you have to design and care for your own fantasy pet. The aim of the game is to look after your uncle’s research lab, whilst he is away travelling the world to collect more data on the animals in the lab. You also adopt a pet of your own in which you can customize the way you want. During the game you will unlock new looks to add to your pet and new mini games to play with your pet.
Game play
Right out of the box, Fantastic Pets deserves some recognition for being the first Kinect game that enables you to have a mixture of both reality and gameplay. You will see a live feed of yourself while listening to your uncle talking through a pre-recorded message. It also allows you to see your pet at your home through the live video footage. Being able to reach down and stroking your pets head or making it roll over so that you can tickle its belly is a great idea, which will be really appreciated by children of a suitable age. Throughout the game you will be assigned tasks in which to complete. Completing these tasks will enable you to collect gems; these can be used to unlock a continent for which to send your uncle to do some research. Unfortunately there is a flaw to the live video footage, your pet can sometimes become transparent or your camera will not be able to pick up on the pet’s entire movement around your home. Even with this small hiccup it is still an amazing feature the game has, the fact that you can interact with your pet the way you would a real one.
In terms of creating your ideal fantasy pet there is a wide range of appearances to choose from. Each individual appearance helps to create your pets traits and personality, which will help to make the game play more suitable for the individual player. There is also an option to play multi player, enabling you and your friends to create fantasy pets and play mini games together. Another feature in multiplayer mode is the ability to compete against each other in the talent show mini game. The talent show mini game can only be played once a day but all the other mini games that are unlocked, whilst playing the game can be played numerous amounts of time throughout the day. You will form a bond with your pet by playing alongside them in the mini games, which themselves are pretty straight forward and quite basic on times. This is to be expected when considering the target audience, the game needs to be entertaining and fun. This game is ideal for it’s genre, however depending on the child’s average range of gameplay it could seem a bit to child like for the older children and teens. It can be fun and entertaining for all ages if you just relax and enjoy the game for what it really is, the title explains a lot about the game.
The graphics for kinectimals are more detailed than Fantastic Pets but the graphics on Fantastic Pets is suitable for the gameplay. It is bright, bold and colourful which is what you would expect when looking at the game case which advertises colourful animals of various species.The audio for the game is ideal for the gameplay itself; each animal has its own unique sound which is very interesting to hear. The background beats and the fun effects are really suitable for this type of theme and fit in really well throughout the game.
Overall Fantastic Pets is an amazing addition to the Xbox 360 market, the game is amusing and pleasurable. Although children can get bored after the initial excitement phase of a new game, Fantastic Pets can keep the child entertained for a prolonged period of time. This is down to the aspect of being able to adjust the appearance of your pet all the time and the mini games will always be an option too. Regrettably the older gamer may lose interest after completing all the talent shows to the pet’s best outcome. Nevertheless the younger gamer will always be kept occupied for hours just playing games and taking care of the pet.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
