Usually when you think of Ubisoft’s “Petz” franchise, you think of having cutesy animals that you collect in order to add superficial improvements like hats or sunglasses. However, one of the publisher’s most recent entries to the Petz franchise changes up the formula, instead playing out like a cross between the game’s predecessors and doctor sims.

Petz Rescue: Wildlife Vet borrows quite liberally from other titles on the Wii, namely the Trauma Center franchise of games. As a wildlife vet, you’ll be encountered with a variety of injured or sick animals, learning how to treat them and diagnosing them as you discover their symptoms. The game requires you to employ the motion detection controls of the Wii remote just like Trauma Center, pointing at the screen and performing specific moves in order to heal and treat your animal patients. When you’re between missions, you’ll spend most of your time within a medical compound in Florida, where you’ll be able to walk around and speak with scientists and other doctors.

Aside from the wildlife healing elements, there are a few times where you’ll have to go out into the wild in order to heal animals. This will often require you to perform other motion-based mini-games, sometimes cutting down a tree and tiptoeing across it to get to the other side, or even roping in a disagreeable baby elephant.

As you progress through the main campaign, you’ll gain some pet projects where you’ll have to take care of a baby tiger as well as tend to a pregnant dolphin. Each one plays out like a sub-mission, as the tiger requires you to take care of him and feed him as well as discover a cure for an ailment that it suffers from. The “research” sub-mission requires you to go around the compound and interact with other scientists in order to collect special molecule pieces in order to come up with a cure for the tiger cub. As you talk to people, you’ll get special clues to put you in the right direction and help you find the pieces of the puzzle.

The pregnant dolphin sub-mission requires you to keep tabs on her by checking in on her and performing ultrasounds to see the baby’s growth progress as well as heal whatever ailments are currently bothering the mother.

Petz Rescue: Wildlife Vet is an interesting approach to the formula set out by games like Trauma Center, but ultimately plays out like a lighter version of the latter. The game isn’t terribly difficult, and while the missions do grow more complex as you go, they’ll never really tax your mind too much.

Additionally, the experience is very short-lived. Going through the five chapters is a breeze and won’t take you more than a few hours to complete, while the side-mission is also very short. When all is said and done, most players will be completely done with the game after a few days of play.

Graphically, the game looks pretty good. While the characters aren’t the most detailed, the game has a nice cartoony look that is well-animated and moves at a smooth clip. The music and sound features some decent voice work and music that works well with the game’s theme.

Petz Rescue: Wildlife Vet is a nice approach to the doctor sim genre and moves beyond its franchise to be something new and different. Unfortunately, too much of the game treads familiar territory from other games, and doesn’t offer a lot of longevity.

Gameplay: 7.0
The Trauma Center-inspired gameplay is varied and easy to grasp, but the whole affair is very short-lived, even with the side-quests.

Graphics: 8.0
The look is quite cartoony, but looks and moves quite smoothly.

Sound: 8.0
The music works well with the game’s theme, and there is some voice work here and there.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 6.5
The gameplay is pretty derivative, owing a great deal to the Trauma Center titles, and the game is very short and pretty easy.

Overall: 7.0
A decent entry to the series and a nice change of pace, but far too short-lived and easy.