The pet care genre has been a huge hit for Nintendo of late. With solid motion controls now in its arsenal, Sony is looking to capitalize on the market with the latest version of EyePet. The previous iterations have done well, but having a solid form of motion control really adds to the interaction. Even though I’m not an avid pet game player, I still enjoyed EyePet.

I have three cats and a rabbit at home and my wife is going to vet school. To say we like animals in my house is an understatement. And even though we care for multiple real animals daily, it’s still fun to hop in with a virtual pet once in a while. EyePet takes it to another level with the augmented reality features — your Move controller transforms on the screen to fish water guns, hoops for your pet to jump through, and various other toys and gadgets. Starting from hatching your pet and rolling through multiple daily challenges, you’ll constantly be stimulating your pet’s physical and mental senses, earning rewards along the way to customize your pet’s appearance however you see fit.

While EyePet is quite a bit of fun, especially for younger gamers, I have a feeling it will get old quickly without a fair amount of DLC (which Sony has promised, but it will most likely hit your wallet). You only have 15 days of challenges, so after you complete those, you’ll just be toying around with your pet with no real progress to complete. If you don’t mind that sort of thing, have at it, but just keep the limitations in mind. The other issue I had was needing to move my PlayStation Eye camera to a much lower position than I normally keep it (on top of my HDTV). The camera needs to be placed lower with a full view of open floor space so that your pet appears to be running around on the floor instead of floating in mid-air. Moving your coffee table and other furniture is suggested. It’s not absolutely necessary, but it does add to the experience if you comply, so I’d say move your camera around when playing (unless you want a floating pet – some of you are weirdos).

Sony did a great job with this version of EyePet, particularly with the augmented reality. Whether you’re watching your Move controller become another a toy or watching your pet react to you, your friends or objects in the room, the level of polish that went into the Move integration really sets this title apart from previous iterations. If you have a 3D TV, you’ll get even deeper integration, but I’m in that boat. I have a feeling I’ll be going back to EyePet every once in a while when my cats annoy me. At least the virtual pet won’t puke in my car.

[A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.]