POU NEW GUIDE

 Most digital pets are talented at pooping, but Pou for iOS and Android probably marks the first time a digital pet actually is poop. Not that Pou ever suggests anything so crass, mind you. No, your new pal is an alien that just so happens to look like—that. Total coincidence. Pou may not be the most cuddly alien in the universe, but he still depends on you for food, entertainment, cleanliness, and companionship. He needs to be fed regularly, cleaned up when he gets dirty (the old adage about “polishing a turd” comes to mind), and most importantly, he needs to have fun

 I'd seen Pou on the App Store several times before, with its creepy little poop monster smiling at me from the Top Paid Apps list. The first time I saw it there, I thought it was a mistake, given how simple the game -- and I'm using the term "game" as loosely as possible here -- seemed to be. An app like this might have gotten some attention in the App Store's early years, but today?

How? Why? I had to know, so I ponied up the US$1.99 and downloaded the thing. Now I get it. Now it makes sense. Now I understand why it's been on the top of the charts for months; It turns out you're all complete suckers.

If you've not experienced Pou by yourself -- and I'm not telling you to download it, so don't even think about it -- it's basically a Tamagotchi for your iPhone. It's a little "alien" that poops and whines and needs your attention every once in a while to keep from keeling over and dying.

Pou offers a large selection of Pou-themed mini-games, and playing even one of them makes Pou a happy blob. None of the games are particularly original: There are a couple of variations on the match-3 formula, a Doodle Jump rip-off, a Bust-a-Move rip-off, and other familiar games. There’s even a version of Connect 4 that you can play with a friend, provided someone signs up to play with you.

The games form the core experience in Pou, and while they’re all functional (barring the few tilt-based games, which you can’t calibrate), they’re not very impressive. But youngsters might be impressed with the experience. In fact, Pou is best suited for a young audience, period. Kids will love feeding Pou, dressing him up, and decorating his house. There’s even a feature that lets Pou parrot whatever you say into your device’s microphone— that includes swear words.

Now in order for you to take care of Pou, you must have money to buy food, clothing, and potions. And this is where the mini-game’s come into play. There are many game’s to play, and no need to worry they are free to play. When you play the different mini-games you will be rewarded coins. Some of the mini-games are fun and addictive, funny and really captivating, while others are not original or authentic. But as long as you have coins to buy stuff for your space pet, entertaining Pou is the most important part of the game. If you are in a hurry and need more coins, and don’t want to play the mini-games, the other option is to buy coins, but keep in mind you can still earn a large amount of coins just by playing the games, so you will not have to spend real-cash.

Unfortunately, the app is almost laughably ugly, with blurry text and hideous icons all over the place. Despite being released in the Retina age, it looks like it was originally an iPhone 3G app that has been stretched to fit on a higher-resolution screen. I've only tested it on my iPhone 5s, and I absolutely cringe to think what it might look like on my iPad.

Aside from being ugly, the app doesn't explain absolutely anything about how it works. Your little brown pile of sadness poops all over himself within five seconds of starting the app and it's up to you to find the bathroom to clean him up. Where's the bathroom? Well, you end up finding out through trial and error that arrows on either side of the screen change what room you're in, and if your screen changes from red to blue, you're now in the bathroom. Silly me.
The only actual "playing" that occurs comes in the form of ultra-simple mini games like matching three colors or bouncing Pou off of platforms. The biggest compliment I can offer to the games is that they aren't broken. They're not fun past the first 35 seconds, but at least they are functional.

The app is absolutely obsessed with getting your email address. Click the settings menu and it'll ask you for your email address. If you cancel out, you'll still be in the settings menu, but it will ask for it every single time you click settings. Presumably this is so you can create an account and store friends (why it doesn't just use Game Center is beyond me), but you can't touch the settings without being asked.

I'm not really sure who is buying and enjoying this game. It seems too obtuse for anyone young enough to not care that it's downright hideous, but I have a feeling that's exactly the target demographic. But the app isn't free, so that means the blame lies with the credit card holders.
The app reviews are equally puzzling, with people asking the developer to add more in-app purchases , and writing head-scratching recommendations such as:

"I liked it but it was bad because it was so good i like the part that was bad and did not like the part that was good that is all I have to say on this mater but i would like to discus the terms of capitulation that happened while playing this game." - Cyrusiscool

I guess I'm disappointed. I thought we, as App Store shoppers, had moved on and left these types of apps behind. I assumed the days of fart apps had passed, but I was wrong. Pou is the gaming equivalent of a fart app, and it's one of the best selling games out there. I expected better.

 Pou is an interesting  space pet to have, the game offers a very simple design, which is can be appealing to children, the gameplay is great and funny, and believe it or not this game can get very addicting. It may not have the great graphics, but as long as you are having fun with Pou, nothing else really matters. Pou is free at the Google Play Store. Have fun and Happy Gaming Gamers

 It’s nice to see that Pou’s appeal doesn’t  entirely on toilet humor after all. That said, the mediocre games and pet simulator that you do receive aren’t overly exciting if you’re over the age of 12. If you have a kid brother or sister with a dead Tamagotchi, though, Pou might be a good replacement critter.

You can download the game here