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What It Does:

Renkoo is a company that has a focus on creating applications for social networks. Their Haikoo Zoo entry allows you to put overly adorable pets into your Facebook profile to be cared for by you and your friends.

The Beauty Is In The Breakdown:

I know that as a reviewer I am supposed to be an unbiased source of information, a stable, unrelenting bastion of integrity, a veritable fount of stone hearted observation. I am happy to say that no one, not even the integrity driven Walter Cronkite, could remain unbiased when faced with the unforgiving cuteness that is the pets of Haikoo Zoo.

Once you go through the normal application installation process you get to make the hardest app choice you will ever be faced with. You are presented with a list of the cutest drawn animals you will ever see. You can choose from a wolf, koala, dragon, fox, hedgehog, tamarin, lovebirds, hippopotamus, penguin, bunny, tiger, and a panda. Each and every one is adorable in it’s own cuddly way so take some time to choose the one that is right for you. Think of a good name too because you are going to want to fill out your new pet’s profile with likes, dislikes and age. You will be able to choose from a wide variety of accessories to dress your pet up in. For example, the first thing I bought for my Hedgehog, Stonk, is a brown cowboy hat.

These items, as well as food, backgrounds, habitats, and small pet pals are purchased from the market place with coins. You earn coins by taking care of your friends pets. You can go visit anyones pet and play, cuddle, pet, or poke them and you will be rewarded with a cute phrase and five coins. Another way to earn coins is to challenge friends to a game called “belly bump”. You have to bet five to two-hundred of your own coins and then pick a friend to bump. Under each friend there is a bit of information about your chances to win and the multiplier for if you do win. For example, if you beat a friend with a 4.107 multiplier a bet of 25 coins will yield roughly 102 coins for a win.

The food that you can buy to fed your pet when the get hungry ranges from simple fruits like apples to food that will make your mouth water like Philly cheese steak subs and miso soup. There is a growing range of items for you to purchase and decorate your pet’s habitat with. Want to set a romantic mood? By her some candles. Or maybe your Panda really gets it Saint Patrick’s Day when you get him a four leaf clover. There are normal items like schools of fish and items that are added for holidays like firecrackers for Chinese New Year. These items, as well as the food, can be bought and then gifted to friends. When you do this the cost of the item is returned to you as a thank you for your kindness. There are currently 22 backgrounds for you to put behind your pet depending on how you see her personality. Is she a little bit of a diva? The spot lighted stage is perfect for her. His your Koala a bridge enthusiast? Let him bask in the splendor of the Golden Gate Bridge. Tiny pet pals are the last thing offered in the market place. These little pets are replicas of the larger ones, but will only display one emotion/pose and you do not need to take care of them. As an example I gave my mini-hedgehog a perpetually curious fox and my girlfriend gave her dragon perpetually sleepy and sleeping mini-dragons. Renkoo says that they plan to add limited and special addition pet palls in the future, so that is something to look out for.

Haikoo Zoo gives you plenty of reasons to come back, whether it’s caring for your pet or a friends, browsing the market for new items to give your pet some flare, or trying to decide exactly what background fits the soul of your little virtual friend. The belly bump, though simple in execution and animation is adorable and oddly addicting.

There are a few things I can think I can think of to improve this app a little better. The promise of another game to add to belly bump would be really nice as well as the ability to drag habitat items around the habitat to position them as they are currently limited in where they can be placed. The app has been having some problems recently with inviting friends to to it; it seems that the Facebook friends list is not showing up as populated. Renkoo is aware of the situation and is working with Facebook to rectify the issue.

The people over at Renkoo know what they are doing and have a clear winner in this app. As long as they stay the course and keep doing what they are doing I don’t see this app getting old anytime soon. This application is available free of charge from Renkoo.

10/10 For perfectly implemented cuteness overdose.

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