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The Sims 2 Pets

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 93 / 101
Date: October 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Yesterday, I purchased this game and waited for what seemed like an eternity at work for me to play it.

When I got home, I loaded The Sims 2 Pets, and lemme just say, it's really awesome.

The breed variety for dogs or cats isn't so big, or 'wide', as they put on the box, however. I was hoping they'd have a West Highland Terrier but they didn't, so I had to make one.

Making your own dog or cat is really nifty, though. You can pick the size of your pet, how much coat is on it, whether or not its a fat pet and different markings and colors.

The other pets, like parrots and hamsters, are also a nice little addition. In real-life, I have an African Grey Parrot, and I was thrilled to know they had this breed as one of the parrots you can choose from!

The pets do have a mind of their own--you can't even tell them to "Go Here" like you could in The Sims Unleashed. They are only selectable because you can view their needs.

Gameplay is excellent, nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

Nevertheless, this expansion is really worth buying; I got it at Target for $25, and its full of surprises!

Terrific!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 69 / 74
Date: October 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Awesome expansion. I got mine yesterday in the mail (pre-ordered here at Amazon) and played it all afternoon.

This expansion not only gives you pets, but also includes a huge variety of new items for your household..new furniture pieces, new decor, etc. It also gives you a few new interaction options that weren't available before. With this, when your Sim calls a friend, now you can not only invite the friend over to your house, but also your friend's entire household over with ONE telephone call! How cool is that?!!

The pet accessories are pretty cool, too. There are different styles of pet beds, toys, etc to provide everything your pet needs while at the same time not clashing with your decor.

You can also open up neighborhood pet shops!! I don't know if it requires Open For Business (which I have) or not in order to do that, but I'm already working on my first pet store.

This expansion is going to provide loads of fun while waiting for the next one (All Four Seasons) that's coming out early next year in 2007.

Pets is definitely worth the money to get!!

The Best Expansion Yet!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 55 / 55
Date: November 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After some disappointing "Fun packs", the Sims 2 lineup finally has an addition that's worth it! As the name implies, this expansion is all about Pets. Your sims can have dogs (small or large), cats, birds and womrats (basically a guinea pig). There are a lot of fun interactions to run the sims through with their pets. Now for the details:

PROS:
* Pets! Just about enough said there.
* As with the people sims, pet sims are very well portrayed. The movements and behaviors are very realistic. Just have a people sim play with a cat with a teaser toy and you'll see what I mean.
* Creating a Pet is as easy as creating a people sim. You can modify their features, give them various colored collers, etc. With little effort, I was able to create a cat that looks and behaves very much like our real life cat.
* Create-a-pet also has ability to create a breed. Don't find the breed you want? Make one! There is one exception, noted in the CONS section below, though.
* Werewolves! Don't get too friendly with that wolf that visits your lot...unless your people Sim is a Knowledge Sim. They all seem to WANT to become a werewolf for some reason! The matchmaker from Nightlife sells cures for lycanthropy if you're unfortunate, though. (Hmm...Sims 2 had Aliens, University added Zombies, Nightlife added Vampires, Open for business added robots, and now we have werewolves. Makes me wonder what the upcoming Season expansion will add...).
* Pets can have jobs that add a little income to the family as well. Service Pets, Security Pets and Show Pets are in high demand. Just be ready to teach them tricks so that they can get those promotions.
* Some nice new objects, floor tiles and wallpapers! Most of it is Pet themed as should be expected, but these are actually more useful than much of what is in the "Fun packs".
* New Tools. The "Hammer" tool makes remodeling so much nicer! If you want to make a room bigger, add some new walls outside of a current room, then use the Hammer tool to get rid of the one wall that's blocking the new addition from the old. Much nicer than having to live with all of the previous walls! Also, the walls you remove are assigned a value and then that much is added back to your funds, much like selling old objects to replace with new. Remodeling isn't near as expensive as it used to be either.
* Leveling Tool. Another new tool allows you, with one click, to level an entire lot to the level of the sidewalk. You used to have to drag the cursor over the whole lot (and you had to exclude the boundary squares) to level it and even then, there was no guarantee that it would be even with the sidewalk. This new tool makes it much more simple and quick. You can still use the old leveling tools if you want variable terrain, though.
* Unlockable Goodies. I can understand someone wanting everything available at the beginning, but unlockable content adds a little reward for accomplishing certain milestones. This encourages more play (like we really need more incentive to play this game!).
* Skunk! (Some might consider this a con). Watch out for Stinky Skunk. He (she?) will visit your lot sooner or later. What happens if Stinky Skunk doesn't like your pet? Well...let's just say you'd better have a people sim prepared to give your pet a bath and fast!

CONS:
* The Create a Pet/Breed utility, though great, for some reason doesn't allow you to modify a dog's leg length. Because of this, creating a believable Dachshund (wiener dog) or Corgi is, as yet, impossible. I'm not a huge Dachshund fan (don't dislike them either), but I do like Corgis, so that was disappointing.
* Bugs! For some reason, some people sims have their wants disappear. Having another controllable sim ask them what they want is one way around this, but it's a pain when you just need one more want satisfied to put the sim in gold status, but you don't know what they want! That's a new bug that I've noticed with Sims 2 Pets. Many of the bugs from previous Sims 2 expansions are still there as well. Does EA know what a patch is?
* Would have liked to have seen a new "Pet Lover" Aspiration in addition to the ones we already have. There is one Lifetime Aspiration (one that creates permanent Platinum Status) for having 6 pets reach the top of their career chains (I believe this one is a potential life time aspiration for Fortune Sims), so the prospect wasn't completely ignored.
* Taking care of and training Pets can be work. If you're a glutton for punishment, get a sim couple who are still early in their careers with a toddler to take care of, then give them a male and female dog, have the dogs spawn puppies, and then start a home business (assuming you have Open for Business expansion). If you accomplish this and keep everyone happy, my hat is off to you! :-)
* Birds and Womrats work similar to the Aquarium that already existed in the game (though you can interact with them, unlike the fish). If you get busy with other things, they're easy to forget and they die (even if you keep the food dish full). Birds can be taught to talk and they will fly around if you let them out of their cage (not sure why I put this paragraph in the CONS section). I don't find the Saltwater aquarium any more exciting than the original one.

In summary, this is indeed the best Expansion Pack yet for Sims 2. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give this a 7 for fun alone. The bugs, though not show stoppers, still led me to give it an overall score of 4 stars. I still strongly recommend the game, though. The fun does overcome the occasional frustration of the bugs. This one will easily keep me occupied until the upcoming Seasonal/Weather Expansion (I'm assuming every house will need a roof for more than cosmetic reasons when that one comes out).

Pets Is Great...Minus the Word "Expansion"

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 21 / 24
Date: October 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When Maxis came out with the original expansion pack of a similar nature to this one with The Sims 1 "Unleashed" I was less than thrilled, which is funny because I do genuinely love animals. I actually only *bought* the game then because Maxis, likely sensing some potential uneasiness in their cult-like consumer base, included five new career paths.

When Pets came out I had a similar reaction. Although I'm sure the integration of adding an entire new species to the game is tough, it lacks in adding actual gameplay for the user. Unlike Unleashed, there is no expansion of the neighborhood (mostly because it's unnecessary), there is no vegetable gardens to plant, there are no career paths for Sims, and the theme included is not nearly as nice as the French Quarter theme included in Unleashed.

What you DO get however, is access to a wide variety of pets - about 24 styles of cats, and at least double or triple that of small and large dogs. It kind of felt like the game was meant for dog lovers since many of the pet houses/decor etc. felt geared towards dogs, but then again, there are more breeds. When it comes to getting a pet, you can create them in the Create-A-Family mode, which gives you several customization options such as ear height, fur style, eye colour, leg thickness and so on, but it's not nearly as detailed as I had hoped. The other ways of adopting pets involve visiting a pet shop (several are included in the game) or adopting one.

There are new jobs in the game, but for pets. Yes now you can pimp out your beloved kitty or puppy to bring home a few hundred bucks per day, in fact a new lifetime aspiration for your sim could be based on this very task. I believe there are five new jobs with about three to five levels of difficulty and pay increases. With each promotion you have to train your pet to learn a trick - which can be done by your sim or by hiring a trainer (who isn't nearly as cool as the safari-esque guy from UL). With each promotion you also unlock a new type of fur such as star-pattern or green to decorate your pup or cat.

For those of you that want kittens or puppies (who are extremely small) you can adopt them (and change their appearance slightly by using a mirror) or breed your pets - which is more difficult than it sounds since you have to make your *uncontrollable* pets build relationships with one another, as well as build your relationship with each pet.

In terms of sim-pet content, there are a number of interactions you can take part in. Whether scolding or praising your pet for their behaviour (including scratching up the furniture or sleeping on your bed), playing with them, or taking them for walks, the animations are really good and the pets are adorable, in particular some of the larger dogs. Be warned though, you can't control your pets. You also will likely get sick of the short range of interactions that actually exist - there are only 2-3 ways to play, and show love to your pet. Also be warned, you CANNOT take your pet to University, unless you buy a bird or wormrat (ie: gerbil).

Finally the issue I've had with most of the Maxis expansions to date is the lack of actual content beyond the new interactions or neighborhoods. If you were hoping for oodles of pet stuff, don't. There are only a couple of toys, several GIGANTIC houses that only let one pet sleep in them at a time, a few pet bowls, and the bird cage or wormrat cage. I did fill a fairly big pet store (using the OFB expansion) but it was mostly due to the sheer size of the pet beds. For decor there is one new silghtly bizarro (as in unrelated to animals) theme - "Space" which includes everything from new bed sheets to lamps to doors and windows, plus a big schwack of pet-themed art.

Ultimately I think most people will buy Pets, and probably enjoy it, but I don't think it added enough to constitute a full expansion. UL actually ended up being one of the best expansions with the original Sims, but Pets' content is limited and repetitive. If you are a diehard for either animals or The Sims, then get it, otherwise, wait till it hits the bargain bins in a year or two.

Sims Pets

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: December 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The Sims 2 has been out for a while now, and I've been looking forward to the pet expansion the whole time. It was one of the most fun parts of the original expansions for The Sims.

With Pets, now you get to create your pets, using either their collection of breeds of dogs and cats, or create your own. The layers you'll need to create to make your own unique breed can be a little confusing at first but if you start out with one of their pre-made animals and experiment a little, you'll have it in no time.

One of the best new things about this expansion versus the Unleashed expansion for the first Sims is that you can train your animals. If you've played The Sims 2 already, than you'll be familiar with the mechanics enough to understand what's happening. You can also encourage or discourage your animals to do different things (like playing nicely with others) much like you can children or teenagers in the game.

The most useful feature of this expansion is the ability to send your animals out into the world to make money for you. They can get a wide variety of jobs, just like your humans and it'll help supplement your income, or make you not need to work at all, depending on how well you continue to train your pets.

Graphics: I love the look of the pets. They're more interactive, and more detailed than in the Unleashed expansion for The Sims. And there's always the ability to improve upon the games choices by creating your own layers and colors and patterns.

Controls: As with all The Sims and Sims 2 expansions you'll always run into bugs. My first one was while trying to give my dog a bath. The game didn't tell me that the bathtub had to have a certain space of room in order for the dog to be able to get into it. So it took a while to get things positioned correctly.

Sound: They've added a lot of new sounds for both your Sims and their pets, especially while training. Teach your dog (or cat) to Play Dead. It's by far the most fun to train.

As will all Sims games, how your Sims and pets interact and progress depends on you. There will always be strays in your neighborhood, or friendly animals that stop by to knock over you trashcan. The Sims go on forever now in generations. There's always something new to do or discover.

Fun but only because...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 22
Date: October 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is game is probably the best of the Sims 2 series (with the exception of University) but what makes it the best is it IS NOT a copy of the original Sims Unleashed. You can customize your cat and dogs features (eyes, ears, body shape, color, etc.) in the create a family
mode. You have to buy the wormrat (hamster) and the bird from the catalog though.

You must walk the dog (of course! If not then what kind of simulation game is this?), and you must bathe the dog. PERSONALLY I think having a cat is MUCH easier because the only time you must bathe a cat is when it gets sprayed by a skunk (yes folks their are skunks now!) but otherwise it keeps itself clean. To train the animals (pee in the litterbox and staying off the furniture mostly) you must say good cat or BAD DOG through Sims.

I have to say though, creating the animals WITHOUT reading the manual is a pretty stupid idea. At the bottom of page 6 there is instructions to make a cat. Making a dog is MUCH easier and shorter.

Now, the objects. The Sims 2 company makes a big fat ruckess about all the new items and crap. Well I own the game and let me tell you, OBJECT WISE that pets can use (chew toys, litterbox, scratching post) there isn't even two pages. If you bought the game for new items or a new neighborhood...DON'T. There is no new neighborhood, a few good items, two new families and a few new stores that you will probably never visit.

But it isn't all negative. There is a new collection. Space. Outer space. It is actually quite cool and I hate outer space. They have new telephones! Don't even tell me that you haven't been wanting one!

So all in all it's a decent game if you want pets. If you don't well then don't get it. 4.5 stars. Sorry that it's so long.

Good but Not Great!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 24 / 31
Date: October 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I got my copy of the Sims Pets the day it came out! I was excited about this edition and was hoping it would be great. It falls slightly short of great. This is in no way as good as unleashed was.

Cons:
-There are only about 12 items for your pets. Various beds, a toy or two, and dishes.
-You're not able to control your animal at all. Where as in unleashed you were able to "play" your animal that's not the case in this edition. Your animal has a mind of it's own and you can interact with it but no control of it is available.
-No new rewards. I thought maybe having your pets reach a certain career level would have them gain rewards but now they have a new feature which is entitled "unlockable" content. The unlockable content was very appealing to me at first. I got my cat to the first level and she was promoted. The first object I unlocked was pink fur and I was excited at this addition. When I finally reached the pinnacle of her career I got more fur, bit boring. This is on the star career track and I haven't yet tried other careers so to be fair maybe other careers have better unlockable content!
-The fact there is no new neighboorhood was disappointing. I knew this way before I pre-ordered but it's still crummy when I finally did get the game.

Pros:
-Pets are very customizable. Eye color, shape, size, fur texture, color, etc...!
-The fact that we have no control over animals is disappointing but when you have a busy household of sims including a husband, kids, and yourself I guess it's a good idea you don't have to worry about controlling a pets needs as well!
-Good fun regardless of the cons I've listed above!

The game overall is good but it's far from being great. I'm buying the strat guide to see if that'll unlock some of the games mysteries and make it less of a disappointment for me. I love the Sims and I'll always buy anything they put out on the line! Pets wasn't what I was expecting or waiting for but it's a good game!

I'm hoping they don't suddenly come out with another edition of "Pet Stuff" . That would really stink as who wants to pay for this expansion plus pay again for additional items. I'd rather have them charge me more now and give me the stuff!!!!!!!!!!

Overall I give it a 4! I was going to give it a 3 but I'm too big a fan to go that low ;)

It's good- but not great.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 14 / 15
Date: November 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I own all The Sims 2 expansion packs so far, and I own all the Sims 1 expansion packs. Overall, I just think that The Sims 2: Pets wasn't as exciting as it looked.
You cannot control your pets(which is understandable), and there are new interactions between them and your sims comparing to the Unleashed expansion. But, with that said, there are also interactions that were not in The Sims 2: Pets- but were in Unleashed. For instance, your sims can't tell their dog to attack a disliked neighbor anymore. You can't have a dogshow, either.

I think that it is great that you get to create your own animal rather than just picking a breed. Doing such is definitely the best feature of the game. Having pets for your sims is a great thing, but I believe there's really not as much excitement to it as it looks. It wasn't living up to the expectation I had set it to- but perhaps that was my fault. If you had to chose between this and Open For Business- I recommend Open For Business.

The Sims 2 pets is for younger children, in my opinion. Not as enriching for adults or mature figures.

Pros:
+Great variety of pets
+Easy to create/customize pets
+Can rename pets
+Nice objects that come along with it
+Pets keep your sims social
+Pets can do many things; wreck your furniture, sleep on your bed, etc.
+Wolves
+Interesting tricks

Cons:
-No more animal shows
-No attacking neighbors
-Limited interactions, it seems.
-Other sims interact with your pets and it gets annoying
-Pets don't always follow out commands

Werewolves are cool!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: October 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Just want to say I love the game. This expansion pack has really slowed my playing down, and that's a good thing. I've loved creating dearly loved pets that have passed away. The learning curve wasn't too bad in the "create a pet" and I now have very realistic renditions of real former pets running around my neighborhood. It took me a little longer to figure out how to turn one of my sims into a werewolf. The secret is TREEs, lots and lots of trees. Fill up your lot with the cheapest tree and for every 4 trees it increases the chance of the wolf Leader to show up at your house by 1 percent. Having children and todlers also increases the chance of the main wolf showing up. (It's black and only shows up at night) Once you make friends with it, it will give you a "friendly" nibble. You have a werewolf! After that, it's easy to spread werewolves around the neighborhood. Its also easy to cure them; just call the matchmaker on the phone. Fun, lots of fun!

A great expansion!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: November 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I confess I was one of those people who pre-ordered it and waited for the day it would arrive on my doorstep. Having bought a new computer in the last couple of months I have be enjoying the better game play overall from the Sims 2. Adding pets was just great. I am myself an animal lover and own cats of my own. I had great fun being able to create my own cats for the Sims2. You get a lot of items that you can add which I love and new ranges of wall papers etc. and items. The cats and dogs can travel off to work and earn money which is great if you don't want to have yours Sims working. I loved that you also can have birds and rodents too. All in all I would give this a huge thumb up for everything. I haven't had too many game play problems as others have reported and I am sure that the patch will be out soon for those. I could say more in favor of this game. I am off to play fetch with my newly created species of dog!!

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