Dog's Life pedigree shines

By Alfred Hermida
BBC News Online technology editor

A game where you cannot shoot anyone, speak to anyone or use strange gadgets to find your way around may not sound like much fun.

Car chase, anyone?

But despite not having any of these elements, the third-person adventure, Dog's Life, offers a compelling and enjoyable romp that should appeal to players of all ages.

Players take on the character of a dog called Jake, who finds himself in the middle of a dastardly dog-napping plot.

As with many games now, players can either follow a linear storyline or explore a variety of levels, from the quiet farm to the busy city.

Foul play

The environments are littered with self-contained missions and mini-games.

One involves racing against other dogs. Winning lets you take temporary control of rival dogs, each with different abilities.

Players can also see the world through a dog's eyes by going into what is called "Smellovision".

This offers a first-person perspective of a world with muted colours in which smells stand out as bright colours.

This is just one of the fine touches found in the game. Another is the way players can save games. Rather than rely on automatic saves, Jake has to go and rest in a kennel.

Have a sniff around the place

In a nod to the young audience that the game will attract, the controls are easy to pick up.

Tutorials are built into the game, with a gentle learning curve introducing the different things that can be done.

The ease of controls will appeal to both children and adults, as will the humour laced throughout the game.

Like every dog, Jake can mark out his territory by urinating against the wall.

He can even make more of a stink, literally, by doing a number two, or simply passing wind.

Dog's Life was developed by Frontier under the direction of David Braben, who is best known for the award-winning game Elite.

It is a game of pedigree that should appeal to children and young at heart adults alike.

Dog's Life for PlayStation 2 is out now.