Tokyo Jungle

I race on through the level, leaping over rusty trucks, bounding along window ledges and despatching rabbits with ease. Then I encounter a more formidable enemy: a chicken. As it turns out, he doesn't present much more of a challenge.

Around the next corner, however, is a cat. He squares up to the Pomeranian, hissing and arching his back. The game instructs me to weaken him with a bit of L1 + circle action, then finish him off by pummelling the triangle button.

At this point, the nice Japanese girl guarding the demo shows me how to exploit the vultures - how they'll descend if you take a step back from the carcass, and how you can jump on them when they do, resulting in a chain attack combo boost. I wonder what the nice Japanese girl is going to tell her Mum about her day at work.

Now I'm facing off with an even bigger cat. Defeating him requires even more pressings of the circle button and even more hammering of triangle. But this huge, hissing feline beast is no match for my tiny, jumper-wearing dog. Take that, you big pussy.

And with that, the demo is over. I am sad. I wanted to see who the Pomeranian would battle next. I wanted to find out what the percentage counter is for. I wanted to know who would win in a fight between a porcupine and an elephant. But none of that will be revealed for a while yet, and I can't wait.

I'm not the only one, either. Don't make the mistake of thinking I was the only person keen to play Tokyo Jungle, what with me being a silly old Westerner who likes a bit of wacky Japanese nonsense and all games about animals. Here's the evidence for the defence:

At Sony's TGS booth, there is a bloke standing by each demo pod holding a sign. On these signs is written how long you will have to wait to play each game, according to the length of the queue. Here's what it said on the signs when I dropped by to play Tokyo Jungle:

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - 0 mins

MotorStorm: Apocalypse - 10 mins

Vanquish - 20 mins

Tokyo Jungle - 25 mins

So there you have it. Shiny series reboots, blockbuster racers and brand new shooters from legendary developers are officially less popular than a game about a dog in a woolly jumper murdering cats.

Yes, Tokyo Jungle is gratuitous, ridiculous, shallow and stupid. It's exactly the kind of game I've flown half-way round the world to see. Playing the demo was worth the 12-hour plane ride, never mind the 25 minute wait, so here's hoping the finished game is even better. And lets you pit a lion against a shark.