In terms of raising monsters, your main role is merely that of a babysitter. Training sessions consist of deciding which stats you want your monster to work on, but you dont actually play through any sort of mini-games in order to earn those stats you press a button, and the outcome is decided for you. Theres obviously a segment of the gaming community who go in for this sort of thing (myself included), but much of the actual process of nurturing your monster is streamlined to the point of making ranching a pedestrian affair. After this circle of life is complete, the entire monster-nurturing process starts all over again. Once your monster ripens to an old age, youll then want to freeze it, so that it can later be combined to create an even more powerful, new creature. Your monster can essentially perform one type of activity per week, and as the months pass by, your pet ages to maturity. Youll focus on a single monster, train it to raise individual attributes (speed, defense, power, etc.), feed it, oversee its general health, battle it (of course), as well as have it participate in various other activities. If youre new to the series, Monster Rancher is pretty much a pet-training simulator. Theres a fair amount of strategy and doodling to keep players busy, but the game isnt very engaging. Though the title Monster Rancher seems to suggest a collect-em-all fest similar to Pokémon or Dragon Quest Monsters, this latest adventure for DS is a more laidback experience full of minutiae and repetition.

The plot is barren of any depth whatsoever, and even fans who ranched on the original PlayStation may have a tough time overlooking the terrible dialogue and lackluster presentation. Youre a new monster rancher registered at the Bomba Academy, and as luck would have it, youre assigned an assistant who just so happens to bring with her a storied past. Monster Rancher DS does have a story, but alas, its not one most folks will likely care about. Tecmo has now resurrected one of its own creations from this niche collection of franchises, but is Monster Rancher still relevant for todays gaming masses?

After many years gaming on the PC, I was bowled over by series such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. As an old-school gamer, one of the coolest things Ive seen come along for the medium is simulation games.

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