The Bottom Line
For those that have the patience to learn the landscape of this game, "hidden" areas open up to be more feature-rich. For others though, the repetition of cases and frustration of running a busy practice alone will end the game before all areas are explored.
Pros
- Teaches kids about the basic care and husbandry of different animals
- Discusses preventative care for some cases
- Role-playing character that can work, shop, add buildings, earn money
- Can do horse riding activities as part of, or separate from, regular duties
- Features build as character earns them
Cons
- No receptionist or veterinary assistant help (that I could find)
- Repetitive cases and species
- The exam is very cursory; the tools didn't really "examine"
- Did not always agree with the treatments
- Cannot customize character's gender or appearance
Description
- A brief synopsis of the disease and treatment appear, and you then follow the steps to treat the pet and earn your pay.
- Everything regarding treatment is spelled out for you. You must gauge your medications and equipment on hand.
- You can go to the town to buy food, supplies, do your shopping, banking and grow your business (purchase a web site).
- The Animal Encyclopedia is available on the computer at all times. Study to pass additional exams and expand your practice.
- Equestrian activities are available, and you can ride around the environment, purchase tack, feed, and build barns.
- You must feed and care for all of your pets regularly. If not, they will be removed and your practice will be shut down.
- Some of the treatments I disagree with, such as using alcohol in raw, inflamed ears of a dog.
- We could not find a way to customize the main character. My son wanted to have a male avatar.
- It was frustrating being alone. A single vet with that many clients is not realistic. How do you "close" to eat? shop? rest?
Guide Review - Review of the Nintendo DS Game: Paws and Claws - Pet Vet 2: Healing Hands
As I began a new game to try it out myself, I noticed that the day started promptly at 8:00am, and there was $1000 in the bank. The clients walked in as a steady stream. I called them in one at a time, the client stated the problem, then I could accept or decline the case. If I ran out of supplies or needed to take a break (meter bars for food and rest warn you if you need to take a break), the clients would start marching out of the office. Angrily, I assume.
I saw several cases and worked until my food meter was empty. After reading the instruction booklet, I found that I could walk over to the refrigerator for a snack and then to an arm chair to refill the "rest" meter. All of the cases were either rabbits or budgerigars, with the exception of one canine case. I think that as you build the practice and add buildings such as horse stalls you can see other animals. The cases repeated several times, and it was no challenge to get through the diagnosis or treatments.
I was excited at first to see that I could select a tool and move it over the patient. The first tool was the magnifying glass. I was disappointed to find that it didn't really magnify anything on the patient or provide insight, it just grayed out one of the differential diagnoses on the top screen. Waving the tool over the animal ruled out diseases without any explanation. I would have liked to get information from the tool to make my next choice. Instead, the answer appears once you run the tool over the affected area. If only it was that easy.
