THE GOOD:- Customisable riding wear, casual wear, horse colour and tack
- Utilises the DS's touch screen ability pretty well
THE BAD:
- Gameplay can become somewhat repetitive
- Gameplay isn't particularly challenging
SUMMARY:
If you're the kind of person who loves the type of game-play of Nintendogs, and has a passion for horses, then this could very well be the game for you. It is like a duplicate of Nintendogs, but with equestrian concepts and abilities replacing the dog ones.
Just as in Nintendogs, there are three types of competition which you can train and compete in; dressage, cross country, and show jumping.
Just as in Nintendogs, you can care for your horse by washing with a hose and with brushes and combs, pick out it's hooves with a hoof-pick and clean out it's stable. All of these activities are played using the touch screen. Notice there is a bigger range of maintenance activities in this game than in Nintendogs.
You can also go for a relaxing hack in the countryside with you horse, finding items that other characters have lost, and completing favours for others. This can be seen as the equal of the dog-walking in nintendogs, except you aren't walking in a straight line, you can go at your own pace, and there is much more to explore. The area in which you go for a hack changes with the seasons throughout the game, which adds some interest and prevents it from getting too repetitive. It also gives you a chance to check out the course for the cross country activity.
The cross country and show jumping competitions and training are pretty much similar, except your rider's outfit is different in each of them, and so is the setting (during show jumping, you are in an arena, whereas in the cross-country you are out on the country course with obstacles such as tree trunks which you must jump over). Both of these are more easily controlled without a stylus, and can become very repetitive and easy.
The dressage, however, is much more different. You use the touch screen to press the round icons that appear randomly on the screen (the course is pre-set, so you don't have to direct your horse). Your horse will go through green icons which will change your gait (walk, trot and gallop; a collected, medium, and free version of each, piaffe, flying change and halt). When you ride through a pink checkpoint, you must draw on the screen the shape that was shown on the pink checkpoint. Dressage is more challenging than the other activities in the game, and doesn't become too repetitive.
Another part of the game is buying yourself, and raising foals to become fully grown riding horses. This mainly consists of making each of the foals bars (happiness, cleanliness, hunger, etc.) fill up to the maximum, by doing certain activities with it. These include playing with it using toys (something which much reflects nintendogs), washing and grooming it, handling it, training it to trot and jump over obstacles on a rope, buying different decorations for it's enclosure (such as better troughs, stables, flowers, etc), and feeding it treats. You also must make sure it's food and water troughs are never empty. This part of the game is enjoyable if you just want to mess around, but it doesn't take much effort and can become a tad boring.
The last brief part of the game is one that is much like a vague shadow of 'The Sims'. If you choose to go to the chat room, you can interact with other students of the riding academy. You must do this to make sure your popularity bar stays up. In this mode, you can do jobs and favours for other. The controls in this mode are very fiddly, slow, and annoying, but it is only a small part of the game.
At the end of each week, if you pass all of the subjects with good grades, you can compete in the three competitions (all of which are pretty easy) to try and be the best in the class.
The graphics are good for the DS; They aren't very detailed, but the 3D graphics give a much more enjoyable and realistic approach to the game. They aren't quite as good as Nintendogs though, but the more varied game-play makes up for that.
Overall, if you like Nintendogs and horses, you'll love this game. But if you prefer more challenging, less repetitive games, then this probably won't be the one for you.
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