Training a foal continues to be a fairly unique feather in the cap of the Horsez brand, as other competing horse sims on the DS haven't trod that ground as much. Owning your horses, both grown and newborn, is done well and takes advantage of some of the better interfaces first introduced in last year's effort. If you move beyond the overall oddity of dressage and retreat back to the rest of Horsez 2's experience, you'll be comforted to find that the remainder of the game is much as you'd expect. It doesn't help, either, that the pattern recognition in the last of the four designs seems off, often not giving you credit for traces that should have counted for you. It's just very puzzling to see these four totally different styles of touch-controlled game mashed together into one event, and it throws a wrench into the positive progress that the rest of the product was making. The third has you following a bouncing red ball on the touch screen with your stylus, and, finally, the last tasks you to draw different shapes and lines on the screen in quick succession. The second dressage mini-game has you tapping red circles as larger circles shrink to intersect with them – a very basic version of a style employed in several music games. Choose correctly and your horse continues forward without stumbling. But four games there are, and they run the gamut – the first is a shape and color matching test, where a triangle, circle or square appears briefly on the screen, then disappears, then you have to pick the one you just saw out of a line-up of six that appear on the sides of the screen. Horsez 2 separates dressage into four completely unrelated styles of mini-game, which seems more than a bit inexplicable as a design choice. But whereas the other recent horse-focused release on the DS, Horse Life, implemented dressage in an engaging and satisfying way, here it's kind of a mess. It's the horse-riding sport where a trainer displays his or her skill in guiding their animal through a variety of gaits and maneuvers, turning and trotting around a field, performing figure eights and the like. Unfortunately, though, the gains made above don't seem to carry on throughout the entire product in Horsez 2, as aspects of the horse-riding gameplay are still presented in a questionable way. With the most major issues of presentation well addressed, it's easier to get into the adventure this time and start experiencing the core gameplay that's available. And while there's still tension introduced, through a land-hungry woman named Charlotte seeking to buy you out of your ranch, overall Horsez 2 sets up a cast that's just nicer to be around.įor+whatever+reason,+maintaining+your+horse's+trotting+speed+is+interpreted+as+a+shape+and+color+matching+game. Grandpa is joined by other characters like Luc, the family friend, and Kevin, the local competition trainer, as the people Ginger gets to encounter and interact with. Ginger's grandfather is a kind, inviting character – a far cry from the overly aggressive and antagonistic headmaster from the first Horsez – and it's just much more pleasant to play in a more peaceful environment, surrounded by more peaceful people.
It's a welcome change of scenery, and much more accessible for new players. She's graduated and moved on, and has now purchased for herself a small ranch in the south of France, right next door to her grandfather. Most notably, now, is that though the main character is still Ginger she's no longer enrolled in a boarding school. Petz: Horsez 2 retains several of the positive elements of its predecessor, while simultaneously ditching several more that brought it down. But its presentation came across way too forcefully – playing it, even if you did well in the game's activities, you were consistently berated and insulted by the in-game non-player characters, and that negativity drained almost all of the fun out of the package.īut this year, improvements have been made. Its aim was to put players in the role of a girl named Ginger attending a prestigious equestrian boarding school, giving gamers a glance into the world of strict, demanding horse-riding competition. Ubisoft's first horse sim for the DS, Horsez, was released in time for the holidays last year and proved to be a less than stellar stuffer for anybody's stocking.