In the beginning, there was Nintendogs. Shortly thereafter, as a reaction to Nintendogs cocking a leg to all opposition in the sales charts, we were treated to Catz, Dogz, and Hamsterz. And in the very near future, we will have Animal Paradise, the latest Nintendogs rip-off addition to join the mushrooming Nintendo DS pet genre, and one that sports a menagerie of beasts that would have made Noah think twice about building that ark of his.

Whereas previous DS pet games were happy with one type of animal, Animal Paradise is to have 18 of the buggers, all of which you can feed, walk, clean, play with, and photograph.

The creatures themselves include various dogs (the small, yappy ones that double up as useful dishcloths seem to be preferred), cats, rabbits, hamsters, a horse, a pig, a chicken, a duck, and, bizarrely, a squirrel. Can one actually "walk" a squirrel? Is it even possible? We hope it is. And this November, we shall know for sure.

Scroll down for the first screenies in all their cute-as-hell, dewy-eyed glory (there’s a lot of them, so bring a bucket).

Featured Animals

• Miniature Deutchhound (Dog)
• Welsh Corgi (Dog)
• Labrador Retriever (Dog)
• Golden Retriever (Dog)
• Shiba (Dog)
• Chihuahua (Dog)
• American Shorthair (Cat)
• Russian Blue (Cat)
• Netherland Dwarf (Rabbit)
• Lop-Ear (Rabbit)
• Golden Hamster
• Jangalian Hamster
• Miniature Pig
• Horse
• Squirrel
• Chick
• Chicken
• Duck