Turn your desktop into a kennel! A game similar to The Sims, but aimed at a younger generation.

Cats and dogs, pigs and hogs, and long-tailed rodents, too. That’s what you see, play with and yearn to cuddle in the latest in the Petz series, published by Ubi Soft. Catz 5 and Dogz 5 are actually two separate games. They are practically identical, except for the featured pet, so I decided to review both at the same time.

My nine year old installed both games without my permission and without a hitch, and he’d never installed a computer game. Playing either game is easy. For those new to the series, allow me this brief primer.

The latest version boasts of new “toyz”, new “litterz”, and new “breedz” (aren’t you sick of the cutesy spelling by now?), and it’s true. Fans of the Catz series can now adopt, play with and raise a Scottish Fold, Egyptian Mau, and Japanese Bobtail, among others, and Dogz fans can proudly claim a Papillon or Jack Russell Terrier (a.ka. Jack Russell Terrorist to real life owners of the breed like me), or stick to more conventional breeds featured in older versions.

Change is good, in my opinion. And more eclectic fans of the series must be sick and tired of such pet yawners as Labs, Spaniels, and Tabbies. To remove some of the boredom, each game comes equipped with a total of fifteen breeds from which to choose.

Catz 5 and Dogz 5 are truly targeted at young gamers. And that’s okay. Gamers come in all ages. But some not so young gamers – the pet-loving kind - will also be smitten by this inventive game.

Whether you choose Catz or Dogz, the game essentially turns your computer into a kennel. They live inside your PC. They enjoy their virtual lives playing with toys that you supply them, eating food that you serve them, and engaging in spirited and playful interaction with other animals.

For example, sometimes a pig will wander into the picture (probably from your neighbor’s barn) and there are live rodents that you can try to feed to your puppy or kitten. I’ve even had pets frolic on my Windows Desktop when I thought I had exited the game.

You select a play scene (environment). Then you go to the Adoption Center (identical for both games) and adopt a pet. There is nothing to stop you from returning to the Adoption Center at any time to select more. However, it appears that only two are permitted on screen simultaneously.

Play scenes are more than just wallpaper. They are outdoor and indoor interactive areas. Play scenes make up your pet’s world. There are thirteen play scenes that come with either game. Your dog’s or your cat’s “world” can be something as simple as a back yard or the family kitchen, or as exotic as an Asian Temple. If you get tired of the pre-packaged play scenes, both games come with an editor that allows you to design your own.

Fortunately, your pets are never lonely. In the options menu you can choose to have host characters. These characters are other animals that frolic in your pet’s world and interact with him. You can also select weather effects for outdoor play scenes. The effects are nothing more than eye candy to bring more “realism” to the play scenes, but they are nice eye candy.

Finally, you need to choose if your pet will live and grow before your eyes in real or compressed time. If you’ve got all year to play this game choose real time. Actually, it takes only a few days of playing with a particular pet to see it grow to adulthood. Nevertheless, most people will probably choose to compress the clock.

Aware that the primary audience for this game has yet to even start dating, pets never grow old or die. And, for romantics, dogs or cats can produce little ones. You have to bring a male and a female together and hope they like the way the other one smells, or something like that.

You can pick up any animal in the play scene, including the rodents, with a cursor in the form of a tiny hand. You can bathe your pet (just pick it up and drop it in the tub). And they’ll even fall asleep right in front of you when it gets late (Hint: get ‘em to eat a big meal and it’s slumber time - works like magic).

At your disposal is a carrying case that when opened provides access to a number of different types of toys for your pet’s play. It also serves as a sort of portal to take you back to the Adoption Center and some other options, including the ability to create more pets.

Aware that some gamers, even kids, might grow weary of simply creating and raising pets, the developers included “mini-games” within the play scenes. For example, in the Haunted House play scene, clicking on the scary-looking skeleton named “Mr. Bonez” starts a game that requires you to compose music. You do that by persuading or luring your pet to touch (walk on) floor tiles in the exact order they light up. Another play scene lets you play Tic-Tac-Toe on the beach with your pet.

Like real pets, if your dog or cat eats too much it will become fat. If it gets sick you have to add medicine to the animal’s water or food. Neglected pets will run away.

Call Catz 5 and Dogz 5 'The Sims for the youngest generation'. But since both series have been around longer than The Sims, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say The Sims is Catz and Dogz for grownups. Either way, the furry creatures are just as much fun.