If the Pet Alien license is foreign to you, it should be since the show is... well, foreign. Based on the British CGI cartoon of the same name, Pet Alien for DS follows the show's cast of aliens as they navigate a series of puzzles to escape an alien spaceship and avoid becoming exhibits in an intergalactic zoo.

Pet Alien's 3D visuals are some of the best I have seen on the DS. Everything has a bright, likeable look that should really help to snag people's attention - especially if you are playing on a super-bright DS Lite. While managing to sneak in a few levels during breaks at work, more than a few people saw the bright colors and immediately asked what I was playing - even people who were familiar with my... ahem, unique taste in games.

Music and sound effects are just as colorful as the visuals. Background music has a fun, catchy beat that is very reminiscent of something you would hear on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, while the sound effects fit the game's atmosphere perfectly.

Pet Alien, the show, is the story of a boy named Tommy who befriends a group of aliens after their spaceship crashes into his lighthouse home. Pet Alien, the game, finds the group enjoying a quiet evening at home when they are abducted by a race of robots, the Robotix, who want to make the aliens exhibits at their zoo, with Tommy as the main attraction.

Apparently the Robotix's ships are built differently than other ships seen in movies like Star Wars or Star Trek. The ship is spilt into multiple floors, each containing a series of puzzle-filled rooms and robot bosses. Each room is designed as a puzzle where the aliens must use their powers to overcome obstacles and collect gems that allow them to teleport to the next room. Swanky can push blocks, while Gumpers can destroy blocks. Each has a useful ability that you must use to figure out puzzles. Sometimes the choice is made easy by a specific switch panel, while at other times, you need to choose which alien would work best.

Pet Alien has a vibe similar to classic NES top-down puzzlers like Adventures of Lolo. Rooms require some thought and aren't something you can wiz through quickly. You can't directly attack enemies; instead you have to avoid enemies, which requires some patience. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to clear each room, though some need to be replayed once or twice before you figure out exactly what to do. Pacing is handled well; challenging puzzles are usually followed up by less demanding ones, so you never feel stuck. Also, the layout of each floor is open enough that you can take a different route and bypass some puzzles.

Pet Alien doesn't offer much outside the main game, which is over pretty quickly. A set of mini-games is unlocked as you progress through the game, though they likely won't hold your interest very long.

Puzzles range from easy to moderately difficult. Most of the layouts are pretty simple once you learn the mechanics behind each of the monsters, as well as how things work. For example, robot drones follow a white line that you will sometimes have to manipulate by hitting a switch. Figuring out which line to switch isn't a difficult task, but the timing takes a few tries to get right. Some levels will even require you to skip picking up certain gems so drones can't pass or quickly dodging between narrow gaps before a drone passes your way.

Most of the game's difficulty comes from getting down timing - especially during boss battles, which are the game's best designed elements. During the first boss encounter with a giant robot frog, you need to time jumps to make sure cannons fire off at the right time, but also avoid the frog's expanding ring attack. While I was able to complete a majority of the levels in one or two tries, boss battles usually took much longer. Though they do border on frustrating, they are nothing that can't be overcome with a clear head (and fast thumbs).

Pet Alien's control setup is as easy as they come. Movement is handled with the D-pad, while abilities are activated with one button. One thing that really stood out as I played the game was how comprehensive the pop-up tutorial screens were. Rather than simply saying, "Press this button to jump" they explain how each ability works within the game, when to use it and how to use it. True, long strings of explanation text are usually frowned upon, but the menus managed to explain a lot with only a few words. Alright, so this doesn't matter to 90% of you, but considering how illiterate some tutorials are, it is surprising to see a well-written, easy to follow set for a change.

Getting back to the controls, the touch screen is used primarily as a display screen to show you how many gems you have collected, how many are in the level and what colored key cards you have. The only time you ever touch the screen during gameplay is to select aliens after stepping on the generic "Pet Alien" switch pads.

Pet Alien is short, but fun - at least for younger players who enjoy puzzles or games where every problem is solved by shooting or causing physical harm to something. Older gamers, even those who enjoy this style of game may want to avoid Pet Alien due to the remedial puzzle design and short length.