The makers of the Tamagotchi have got a surprise for dog lovers. Those who want a dog but are unable to own one because of various reasons can now have their own pet, this time in the virtual world. Living Mobile has announced the release of My Little Dogs: Kawaii Dogs. This mobile game gives mobile owners virtual dogs to own, rear, and play with.

According to Sunil Gunderia, VP of mobile for the Walt Disney Internet Group, Europe, "My Little Dogs: Kawaii Dogs is one of the most engaging, interactive and intelligent pet-rearing games in the world. We feel this is a game that will appeal to a broad audience beyond the usual gamers, and we’re excited to introduce it in the European market." Indeed, as this game allows mobile owners to access their virtual pet anytime thru their mobile phones.

The game is available in both 2D and 3D versions, and the good news is that both versions provide great gameplay and are combined with leading-edge graphics and animation. My Little Dogs: Kawaii Dogs will be available through all major mobile operators throughout Europe.


View the screenshots for this mobile game after the Jump!

If your mobile phone is in need of a little more "oomph" in regards to games, Bandai America might have the right solution. The company just launched the first three titles in their planned "long list" of 3D titles for mobiles. The games are called Karate Spirits 3D, Blade Slayer, and Brunswick Billiard Challenge.

With the first two, Bandai hopes to make every fighting game fan happy. Karate Spirits 3D has already been met with critical reception on related mobile gaming sites and promises "well-balanced, customizable fighters that perform a whole arsenal of attack moves and strike styles". Chain and combination moves are entirely possible as well, only limited by the player's skills and imagination. By ascending belt ranks, higher levels of attacks, which make the characters even stronger, are gained. With a development team that has its roots in arcade and console game development, Bandai intends to reach a new level of quality for 3D fighting games on mobile platforms.

Blade Slayer offers fluid character animation, fast-paced gameplay and more than a dozen fight combinations for each character, all of which utilize unique weapons. Promising multi-angle 3D fights and vivid 2D visuals at the same time, Bandai hopes to create a never-before-seen mobile game experience.

Brunswick Billiard Challenge marks the first foray into the mobile gaming world for the well-respected billiard brand. The game introduces a variety of 3D backgrounds to play on, as well as an intuitive shot set-up mode that allows players to adjust overall aim of the shot and cue angle and height for adjusting spin. Because of the 3D engine, the camera is fully customizable and allows the player to view the table from any angle.

All of the titles sound very promising, and while the 3D engines used in the games look a bit rudimentary, we have to remember what platforms they're intended for. We don't know yet how these games will actually play, but if Bandai has spent as much time developing the gameplay as they have developed their 3D technology, the three games should provide a few fun hours for mobile game fans. Bandai has even more games up their sleeve, and we'll let you know about them as soon as we can.

These days, mobile phones are not just mobile phones. They can also be digital cameras, MP3 players, PDAs and portable gaming consoles. And the latter may probably be considered as the mobile phone's most well-known feature, as early SMS phones have already been equipped with permutations of two-dimensional games. With the advent of the more popular MMS phones came the three-dimensional Java-enabled games that promises better graphics and gameplay than its "ancient" predecessors.

But "ancient" doesn't necessarily mean less fun. In fact Bandai, a major toy manufacturer and licensing company, brings back old-school nostalgia (16-bit games, anyone?) with its release of mobile phone games reminiscent of the ones in gaming arcades: Double Dragon, Moon Patrol, Bases Loaded and Dark Castle. One may recall that Bases Loaded has been a favorite for hard-core baseball fans and Dark Castle, the number 1 game in Macintosh from 1987-1990 as been credited as the "Mother of the Horror Game genre".

These classic video games promise more hours of enjoyment, as they are loaded with improved graphics and better features, all conveniently tucked in your own mobile phone. Added features include custom character creation for Bases Loaded, more power-ups and attack buggies for Moon Patrol, new attack combinations for Double Dragon, and new areas to discover in Dark Castle.

The availability of these games for mobile phone users may get most classic video game fans pretty excited. Even though it seems that these games are geared to the ahem, the more grown-up audience, hopefully the younger ones will find these games quite fun too.