Review: GoPets Vacation Island

We received a GoPets: Vacation Island Nintendo DS game to play.

First, I handed it over to my 5 and a half year old girl. She was highly motivated to play it and loves these sorts of games where you have a virtual pet and you can buy items and make friends. Alas, because she cannot read yet, she was not able to play this game independently.

So, then I gave it to my 10-year old boy to play. He is not fond of this type of game, but despite his declared dislike for it, he played it for a solid two hours. He enjoyed the arcade area of the game.

My 15-year old son told me he'd play it and give me a review, but we didn't get that far.

What I thought was cool about this game was the ability to customize your pet and collect accessories and items (up to 700). You can also interact with other game players (if you have two games). I think my daughter will continue to enjoy this game as she gets older and can read it for herself. This is exactly the kind of game she likes. (She plays similar games on the computer.)

The age range says "E for Everyone" but the truth is that reading is necessary for continuing game playing fun. I'd recommend this game, despite my 10-year old's opinion. Perhaps it's not the perfect game for an active 10-year old boy, but it's kind of funny that he played for two whole hours before deciding that.