 Review By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Independent Arts Software |
| Publisher: | Valusoft | |
| Genre: | Simulation | |
| ESRB: | Everyone | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | 1.2 GHz Pentium 256 MB RAM GeForce 3 (or equivalent) with 64 MB VRAM with hardware T&L 600 MB hard drive space |
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| Buy Now: |   |
The PC has become so integrated into the lives and education of America’s children that knowing the basics of operating one is almost required in today’s society. That culture has in turn really opened up the game market to a flood of new children’s titles that go far beyond what Oregon Trail or Number Munchers ever provided. Paws & Claws Pet Vet 2: Healing Hands aims to give young (mostly) female gamers the chance to manage their own veterinarian shops, and by and large it’s a pretty good effort.
Like most simulation games of this type, the gamer starts by first creating a new character profile. Unfortunately, it’s here that the game’s low-budget roots show. Fortunately there are male and female characters available as younger male kids at least should enjoy this game, but beyond that there’s precious little customization to be found. Each sex only has four different hairstyles, and four different hair colors to choose from…that’s it. Facial type, skin color, height, weight…none of that can be modified.
Different clothes and things for the home can be purchased in town, using the money earned for treating various animals. Like character customization however, these options too are limited. For example, furniture to be purchased includes a lamp, poster, drapes, stereo system, couch, mural, and a few other misc. things. Clothes include several types of riding clothes, leisure clothes, doctor’s overalls, and a few accessories like a baseball cap. So there is some customization to be found here, just not nearly as much as you may be used to in other games.
The game also apes the Sims franchise by giving the main character a few needs that need to be met regularly. During the course of a day, your character needs to eat and rest regularly. Of course these actions are kept simple, and accomplished by simply double-clicking the fridge to eat or the couch to rest. If these needs aren’t met the character automatically returns home to rest, although I saw no ill effects when I let my character starve. At 9pm each night, your character will automatically return home and go to bed.
The other major need is for a good education. The in-game computer contains a Lexicon with a wealth of information on the game’s eight different animal types, and is recommended reading before visiting the Academy in town. It’s at the Academy that players can take simple three question tests, and passing them expands the range of animals that can be treated in the game. This is critical for expanding the clientele of the business, which in turn will bring in more money to expand the business itself. In addition to buying clothes and home furnishings, the town also has a bank for obtaining a loan, a food store for animals, a pharmacy for buying precious medicine and supplies, a café for getting advice from a friend, and an agency that can create the player an internet site to improve business.
While the first in-game day is spent largely getting to know the town and game mechanics, it’s advisable that this day be used to stock up on supplies. Some supplies will be wasted at first, as the player must first diagnose an animal’s symptoms before taking action to cure it. Usually animals will be brought to the player for treatment, but as the practice grows larger animals will require house calls. Diagnosing a problem is done by using a magnifying glass to inspect the injury, hands to feel the injury, a thermometer to take its temperature, ultrasound equipment, or even by taking a blood sample depending on the type of problem.
Once the injury has been identified, the character’s PDA will provide all the relevant data including the steps necessary to cure the illness. This is done by using various color-coded instruments, such as tweezers, cotton swabs, a spatula, syringe, bandages, or neck collar, on like-colored hexagons identifying the area of the injury. Occasionally this can seem pointless however, such as when the pet’s owner identifies the problem as a tick, but yet the player must still seek it out and identify it as such before removing it. To treat the problem, the player simply clicks on the area and colors it in until it’s treated, uses tweezers to drag the tick to a bowl, or injects medicine where appropriate. As business grows, new animals will be brought to the vet practice (although sadly many have the same injuries you’ve already treated multiple times), and additions such as a rabbit pen kennel, and an aviary can also be purchased. These additions will allow the player to take good long-term care of sicker animals, including feeding them, cleaning their space, brushing them, stroking them, playing with them, and also applying extra medical care when needed. Eventually, horses can also be unlocked as riding animals, simply for use when the player needs a break from care giving.
As a low-budget children’s title, the graphics are obviously not up to par with full-priced titles. That being said, this is not a bad looking game, even if the “town” is basically limited to one intersection and a few buildings. I also like that this in turn keeps the system requirements pretty low, so it should run on almost any machine released in the past five years (important when many children are using hand-me-downs). The music is upbeat and cheery, and while it repeats a little too often, it’s perfect for a game like this.
Bottom Line:
Paws & Claws Pet Vet 2: Healing Hands is put together well enough that I know it will be a good fit for budding veterinarians or animal lovers, even though I’m not really in the game’s target market. The $20 MSRP may be a little steep though given the limited scope of the game.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
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| 6.5 |
Posted: 2007-09-08 16:34:23 PST