• Site: Petz Sports
• Publisher: Ubisoft
• Developer: TransGaming, Inc.
• Genre: Simulation

By Brad Cook

In 1999, ESPN placed the famous racehorse Secretariat in 35th place on its list of the greatest athletes of the 20th century; he was the only non-human in the top 50. If ESPN covered the world of Petz, you might be able to train and race your own animal to a spot on the list of greatest athletes of the 21st century. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for personal fame and glory with friends and family.

Begin your quest to become top dog by choosing one of 18 breeds of Dogz — from quick, agile Chihuahuas to powerful Rottweilers — and prepare your puppy for the game’s 36 races spread across four cups. As in Petz: Dogz 2, you build a strong relationship with your new friend by playing games with it, petting it, and teaching it more than 20 tricks. Put series of tricks together to teach routines to your puppy.

As your pet successfully completes races, tricks, and games, you unlock new content, including more challenging races, tricks, and games, as well as new clothing and accessories that ultimately give your dog more than 100,000 custom looks to choose from. You also earn adoption coins that let you acquire more dogs whose canine racing careers you can nurture too.

New Dogz, Old Trickz

The games, which become available after completing your first set of races in the Street Cup, consist of jumping rope and playing fetch. During the former, you command your dog to jump to the beat of the music, performing special moves when indicated. In the latter, you use a slingshot to hit targets with a tennis ball; successful strikes result in your dog leaping through the air to catch the ball.

When teaching tricks to your pet, pick up a treat and guide it along the path, turning it when necessary — if you stray too far outside the lines, your dog will eat the treat and you’ll have to start over. Complete that task three times to teach your new dog old tricks; teach your dog a routine by quickly completing several tricks in succession.

You’ll need to move between races, tricks, and games as you build up your dog’s skills; you must complete all of them at a certain level of difficulty to unlock the next one. The strength and stamina your dog accumulates from tricks and games come in handy during races, where he must slalom through series of poles, leap over hurdles, circle cones, cross narrow beams, and jump across sandpits. You’ll compete in four racing cups: Street, City, National, and World — the final one takes place in a sold-out stadium with thousands of cheering fans.

Any time you want, you can compete against a friend or family member in a race from any of the cups. Petz Sports supports up to six profiles, so each of you can build your favorite canine’s abilities through solo play before pitting them against each other. A victory in the World Cup final may not be the same as winning the Kentucky Derby, but we’re sure it will be enough for personal bragging rights.

Jump Rope Hero. Press the right arrow key at the proper time to make your dog jump to the beat of the music.

It’s a Dog-Eat-Dog Race. Rots leads the pack heading into the slalom.

If you liked these games, check out:

• Black & White: Creature Isle
• Petz: Catz 2
• Petz: Dogz 2
• The Sims: Unleashed
• The Sims 2: Pets
• The Sims Pet Stories
• Zoo Tycoon 2

System Requirements:

• Mac OS X version 10.4.11 or 10.5.5
• Intel Core Duo processor
• 1GB of RAM
• ATI X1600, Nvidia 7300 GT, or Intel GMA950 (requires Mac OS X 10.5.5) or better graphics chipset
• 2.1GB hard disk space