Think Tamagochi pet hopped-up on goofballs and you've got "Nintendogs," an interactive pet simulator with puppies that manage to come off as unbearably cute as the real things.

Offered in three SKUs including "Chihuahua & Friends," "Dachshund & Friends" and "Lab & Friends," each are identical in content and gameplay save for the initial group of puppies available; the rest are unlockable as you progress.

To "play" Nintendogs is a novel affair of first purchasing a puppy, its food and toys (and clothes and furniture, for Petey's sake), naming it then teaching it its name via the Nintendo DS's microphone, followed by any other stupid pet trick you care to teach it. Come, sit, stay, roll over, don't poop in my backyard, the works; except "fetch me a beer," darn it.

You can also pet your pup through the device's touch-sensitive screen, once again proving that Nintendo has a lock on bizarre videogame innovations.

Be forewarned: your pet is as likely to become bored with you before you with it, tuckering out to the point of distraction (poor cute little pookie-wookie), also like the real thing, so hands-on time is designed to be a series of short, sweet frolics, not a simulated 50-hour dog-a-thon. Mandatory frolics, mind you, because a neglected dog will chew the furniture, after all.

Ultimately, you're trying to bond with your puppy--and you will--while training it to win shows and agility competitions which will earn you "owner points" and money to buy more puppy stuff and, naturally, more puppies--and you will.

[TIP: Click and drag the light bulb that appears over your Nintendog's head when it learns/performs a new trick and it'll eat it.]