Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Bell
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Rabbit care game not entirely accurate, but extremely cute.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Petz Bunnyz Bunch
What's It About?
In PETS BUNNYZ BUNCH players can care for up to 20 rabbits at a time, choosing from 10 popular breeds including Dutch, Mini Lop, Californian, and Lionhead. Players see to the rabbits' basic needs while interacting with them in a virtual living room, and can play mini-games to earn coins to spend on toys and decor. Rabbits can't be taught commands like the puppies in Nintendogs, but they can passively learn "tricks" by spending time with a favorite toy, rewarding the player with cute animations to watch.
Is It Any Good?
The latest game in the long-running Petz seres, PETS BUNNYZ BUNCH is more of a general introduction to pet ownership -- and an excuse to interact with adorable virtual bunnies -- than a real primer on rabbit care. While the rabbits definitely look the part in the game, sometimes they act more like dogs, cats, or hamsters. (Any rabbit owner will tell you that rabbits don't purr, squeak, eat with their hands, or need to be bathed.) That said, the rabbits are still great fun to watch and interact with, making this a perfect virtual pet alternative for children who are too young for (or too allergic to) the real thing.
Online interaction: Kids can send and receive rabbits to each other via wireless connection. Kids also unlock Petz Bunnyz codes that can be used to unlock bunny breeds in Petz World, an upcoming online social game.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about in what ways you would need to care for a rabbit differently than a dog or cat. Do you think rabbits are more challenging to take care of, or less so?
Parents can also talk about the significance of animal shelters, since all the rabbits in the game are adopted from an animal shelter rather than bought from a pet store.
Talk about the different breeds of rabbits. Do you prefer large rabbits or small breeds?
Game Details
- Platform : Nintendo DS
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : UbiSoft
- Release date : March 8, 2011
- Genre : Simulation
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
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