My Talking Tom

My Talking Tom is an interactive game from Outfit7 that is aimed at younger children. The player can pet, feed and walk Tom, but the selling point of the game is the ability to talk to Tom. The cat repeats whatever you say in a silly voice, a concept that enthrals, entertains and charms younger players!

In the game, players can raise Tom from a kitten to a full grown cat, teaching him to use the bathroom, feeding him and stroking him. Players can also customise their Talking Tom, changing the colour of his fur and clothes, accessorising him and customising his home.

So popular is My Talking Tom that it has grown from an app to a game in its own right, and even to a television series in which Tom is voiced by actor Colin Hanks (son of mega-star Tom Hanks). Tom has been given a range of friends, from Angela, the stylish cat, to Ben, the typical-annoying-best-friend dog, each of which have their own personality, preferences and atmosphere. There is branded Talking Tom merchandise available to purchase and fans have even made their own Talking Tom clips of music videos and short skits.

The game has no real back story and there are no quests or missions: the whole premise is centred on the player's relationship and rapport with their Talking Tom. The tasks that need to be performed can become monotonous after a while, but young players, who are still learning, often thrive on the stability of routine and repetition.

NB: In later versions of the game, the chat feature was upgraded to take into account the older users for whom Talking Tom and Talking Angela had great appeal. One mother was alarmed by the seemingly suggestive and uncomfortably knowing conversation that her child was having with the game and posted an alert on social media, wondering if the game had somehow been hacked by paedophiles: this was patently not the case. Setting the game to child safety levels disables the conversational features, leaving the interactive pet to simply repeat whatever is said to it, usually in an amusing tone of voice, while older uses can indulge in some friendly banter by unlocking this feature.

Pros

• Good clean fun for younger gamers
• Educational and amusing in one!
• Plenty of different animal characters to get to know

Cons

• Can be a little bit boring for older gamers
• The tasks become repetitive and boring over time