RSS
October 25, 2006 | 5:27 PM PST
by: Jeff Kennedy
The Sims goes to the dogs... and cats too!
Last year, as the faithful to the Sims series know, The Sims 2 came out on the Nintendo DS. The game was a pretty well received title by DS owners with its well detailed 3D world, high levels of interactivity and all the various things and chores to do within the game. Fast forward to the present and now EA strikes back with the expansion pack sequel to the title simply titled The Sims 2: Pets. This time though, the game has literally gone to the dogs, but then also the cats, and more too. In this title, a different take is introduced into the Sims world as you play the role of a veterinarian and has you dive right in by creation your own Sim vet office right away. While The Sims has been known as a title based on some form of a live adventure with chores and things to do while bettering your lifestyle, this game is quite the contrast. In a move that undoubtedly goes as a nod to Nintendo and their fuzzy friends the Nintendogs, this title focuses primarily on micro-managing things and running a simulation based around pets.
As soon as you dive into this game you will dive into the world of being a digital pet owner. Immediately you will need to design your own dog or cat, of which each is represented by nine popular breeds. It starts by having you pick a male and female animal to create an offspring that you can further tune to your tastes. Each animal, just like your Sim, can be finely detailed to exactly how you want it to look allowing you to manipulate size, weight, length of a part of the animal, and so on.
Digging deep into the DS experience this title is an all stylus controlled affair so everything you will need to do or find presented to you will be displayed on the touch panel. As a vet, all your office tools to check on an animal will be represented with graphics or text boxes to touch away at. If you need to just groom an animal you can brush the fur with the brush icon, or if the animal maybe hurt you can give it an X-ray with that icon. Every bit of interaction with the animal will have an effect on its feels towards you which is shown in a bar on the top screen. If puppy is bad, punish it, and it will go down, but if you’re feeling nice and want to play games or pet it then the meter will go up which makes this quite the social adventure.
The Sims 2: Pets takes place in three areas within the game which are the home, your vet office, and then outside at the park. At home the game is pretty much standard known Sims fare where you can watch after your well being and your animal too, and many things like daily chores get handled in engaging mini-games of which there are 11 in all. If you need a break you can swing by the park for some relax and play time with your animal, and you will find as a vet you’ll end up socializing with other animal lovers and potentially sharing veterinary advice. Keeping with the community affair the game also had a link mode with local wireless where you can trade items and pets with other players.
In all this new Sims title seems to have the potential for not just a good distraction, but also a really great original game within the known and loved Sims world confines. Upon its release we shall know for sure, but the game from what has been shown gives the indication of great depth which should be appreciated by DS owning Sims junkies everywhere.
-- Jeff Kennedy
Last year, as the faithful to the Sims series know, The Sims 2 came out on the Nintendo DS. The game was a pretty well received title by DS owners with its well detailed 3D world, high levels of interactivity and all the various things and chores to do within the game. Fast forward to the present and now EA strikes back with the expansion pack sequel to the title simply titled The Sims 2: Pets. This time though, the game has literally gone to the dogs, but then also the cats, and more too. In this title, a different take is introduced into the Sims world as you play the role of a veterinarian and has you dive right in by creation your own Sim vet office right away. While The Sims has been known as a title based on some form of a live adventure with chores and things to do while bettering your lifestyle, this game is quite the contrast. In a move that undoubtedly goes as a nod to Nintendo and their fuzzy friends the Nintendogs, this title focuses primarily on micro-managing things and running a simulation based around pets.
As soon as you dive into this game you will dive into the world of being a digital pet owner. Immediately you will need to design your own dog or cat, of which each is represented by nine popular breeds. It starts by having you pick a male and female animal to create an offspring that you can further tune to your tastes. Each animal, just like your Sim, can be finely detailed to exactly how you want it to look allowing you to manipulate size, weight, length of a part of the animal, and so on.
Digging deep into the DS experience this title is an all stylus controlled affair so everything you will need to do or find presented to you will be displayed on the touch panel. As a vet, all your office tools to check on an animal will be represented with graphics or text boxes to touch away at. If you need to just groom an animal you can brush the fur with the brush icon, or if the animal maybe hurt you can give it an X-ray with that icon. Every bit of interaction with the animal will have an effect on its feels towards you which is shown in a bar on the top screen. If puppy is bad, punish it, and it will go down, but if you’re feeling nice and want to play games or pet it then the meter will go up which makes this quite the social adventure.
The Sims 2: Pets takes place in three areas within the game which are the home, your vet office, and then outside at the park. At home the game is pretty much standard known Sims fare where you can watch after your well being and your animal too, and many things like daily chores get handled in engaging mini-games of which there are 11 in all. If you need a break you can swing by the park for some relax and play time with your animal, and you will find as a vet you’ll end up socializing with other animal lovers and potentially sharing veterinary advice. Keeping with the community affair the game also had a link mode with local wireless where you can trade items and pets with other players.
In all this new Sims title seems to have the potential for not just a good distraction, but also a really great original game within the known and loved Sims world confines. Upon its release we shall know for sure, but the game from what has been shown gives the indication of great depth which should be appreciated by DS owning Sims junkies everywhere.
-- Jeff Kennedy
November 20, 2009
