Treva Entertainment releases a lot of animal simulation titles on the 3DS eShop, one of which was the not so lovely Outback Pet Rescue 3D. The title had a significant number of shortcomings, and offered plenty of room for improvement with this new release. Unfortunately for anyone looking for a pet training simulator, you'd be better off training your pet rock to play dead.

In what sounds like a step up for the 3D series, this title offers a tutorial right off the bat to attempt to help you learn the ropes. Unfortunately this guide doesn't offer much help other than giving you a general direction to head in. You begin by selecting a Pet to train in your school, which is in reality a house with a small fenced off area outside. Training animals occurs in this barren plot of land, and then pets sleep in a small shack behind your home.

While walking around, it becomes quickly apparent that this is a step up from previous titles. There are actually 3D landscapes to explore, though you do move at an infuriatingly slow stroll. Everything begins to head downhill when you attempt to move however, as the surroundings all have some of the worst framerates on the 3DS. The camera moves more jarringly in terms of framerate than anything else, giving some of our review staff headaches.


As your customizeable character walks around, on the bottom screen, he uses no stereoscopic 3D effect; the top screen displays 3D but most of the time it is a black screen displaying the time and your cash. The walls of buildings randomly appear and disappear, and your character can walk through them in places. On top of it all are some horribly long loading screens- what takes so long to load, we don't know.

Beyond the near-infuriating movement system is a terribly boring pet tecahing simulator involving nothing more than tapping the screen. You must, one at a time, bring each animal over to the training area to teach them whatever you're being paid to (it varies but ultimately doesn't matter). By tapping the desired icon, the animal will either learn it or not listen to you. Tapping Praise if they do well, or No if they do it incorrectly teaches them everything in the game.

Between carting around client's pets, you can explore a side town and an open forest area. We recommend you don't. Besides being near pointless, there isn't any map in game, and you can easily become lost or stuck in a piece of the scenery. It is better to simply stick to the store in town for animal food, and hope you make it back alive.

As enticing as quests such as "You can teach Panther simple things" and "Train my animal" sound, you'd be better off playing almost any other pet simulator available. The cost of entry to this broken game is quite high, and there isn't much to do besides repeatedly tap buttons. When an animal is done with schooling, they simply disappear- shame this game doesn't disappear when you complete it.


Review Copy provided by: Treva Entertainment