The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack Reviews

• The Sims 2 Pets

  
  By A35ZGUXPB95VLK on 2006-10-19
  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!!

  
  By A2B2KGGX9YOPL0 on 2006-10-20
  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!

  
  By A3Q5QOWMVPTAN2 on 2006-11-14
  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).
  
  

• Good but Not Great!

  
  By A2X1BUJVZFGMGT on 2006-10-20
  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 ;)
  
  

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

  
  By AWVQR7YYTYJ1L on 2006-10-30
  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.
  
  
• Fun but only because...
  By on 2006-10-22
  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.
  
  
• Seriously buggy product.
  By AJSF687RKLGZR on 2006-11-20
  I like that there are pets, but I do not feel that the expansion is as much fun as the Sims 1 "Unleashed" expansion. I miss the harvestable plants, lizards, and bunnies. The new pet genetics are pretty cool, although I dislike that I cannot make new coat markings or pet accessories.
  
  My first serious complaint is a huge problem with the Create-a-Sim feature. If you make "human" Sims in CAS, then try to add pets to the same family, your Sims will revert to the hideous EA Games face templates. I have to make my Sims families and Pets families separately, then move them into the same lot.
  
  I have also had to turn off aging on any household with a pet, since a Sim entering a new life stage will revert to a EA Games template.
  
  As you may have gathered, I don't like the look of the EA Games Sims at all. I rely heavily on fan-created custom content (custom content is encouraged by EA Games - if you check the EA Games site, you will see that they host a file exchange forum).
  
  Another problem I have encountered is that the game will delete custom content that isn't compatible with Pets, instead of merely letting items exist without the brand-new interactions. I have a medieval-themed neighborhood I can no longer play because I worry that the program will start deleting fan-created items from my lots.
  
  There are further problems: EA glasses now look strange in the game, with serious perspective problems, and rear lenses appearing above forward lenses. I have had Sims randomly start flashing blue. Files have been corrupted, then when I restore them from backup, they appear to be fine.
  
  Since the game is so buggy, I've focused on creating custom content while I wait for EA Games to release a patch. This leads me to my third and largest complaint: BodyShop items - even those cloned from base-game items - are not compatible with earlier versions of the game. I have had to manually edit the code on several files to make them compatible with Pets-free games. I can understand making brand-new items incompatible without the new expansion...but new eye colors? Base-game hair recolors? It's ridiculous, to put it mildly.
  
  I do not recommend buying this expansion until it is fully patched by EA Games. If you use large amounts of fan-created content, you may want to wait for someone to make a batch item fixer.
  
  
• It's good- but not great.
  By on 2006-11-19
  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
  
  
• Sims Pets
  By A2O51PGRYXLF7G on 2006-12-18
  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.
  
  
  
  
  
• A Pleasant and Touching Surprise
  By A3FB0ARNOSW3V on 2006-10-23
  I expected the Pets in the new Sims expansion to be fun, and I wasn't disappointed. The surprise is how many new objects and decor items there are. There are a lot new walls and floors that aren't too theme-specific, and will add a lot of good new looks to building new houses. The ability to used partial floor tiles in the floor grids to make patterns is a cool bonus. They even have carpet strips to put between carpeted and tiled floors for an even more realistic look. There are a lot of great furnishings too.
  
  This game is really touching to me because I have been able to make Sim versions of all the beloved pets that I have had through the years. My son and I laughed hysterically at the photo portraits of the cats in the game; they are totally unphotogenic!
  
  I have been disappointed with the Stuff Packs because of the lack of "stuff" in them; not a good value. However, the Pets expansion pack is a GREAT value all around, and I highly recommend it.
  
  
  
  
• A great expansion!
  By A375NF45A1MDWI on 2006-11-25
  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!!
  
  
• Werewolves are cool!
  By A3V05W1DPPFZYL on 2006-10-31
  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 Minor Disapointment In An Otherwise Great Series
  By A19XVT1A1BLPRH on 2006-11-07
  Admittedly, I was not exactly thrilled at the concept of this EP. I hated Unleased, and was not sure how I would feel about Pets. Of course, like any true Simmer, I bought it. Here is an early review:
  
  Basic Game Play: 3/5
  Pets themselves seem to be fine, you are not able to control them, but you can see their needs. The stray walk-bys no longer leave puddles on your lot. The Toddler/pet interaction is probably one of the best features in the game. The Sims Wants and Fears constantly revolving around their pets grows old quickly, as does their obsession with the pet itself. The Commands that can be taught to the pet are also worth a few laughs.
  
  Objects: 4/5
  There are quite a few new objects in this game. Obviously, most concern your pets. However, I think they were a little skimpy on the pets' stuff. I do like to Atomic Collection and the new kids room as well.
  
  CAS: 1/5
  No new hair, clothes, make-up, etc. They could have at least added some of the Pet Eye Genetics to the Sim Genetic list. This is one of the biggest disapointments in the game. The Pets aspect of CAS is pretty good. You can customize just about every part of their body and layer each item for an even more customized look. This is the lone factor that gets a star in this category.
  
  Build: 5/5
  The building objects in this game are the best so far. The only drawback is the octoganal wall. They can only be built as ix1x1x1x1x1x1x1 and cannot be drawn further. The Walls, Floors, Fireplaces, etc are a much needed and welcome addition. Also new, are floor lines, or room dividers. These are simple lines drawn on the floor that allow a large room to be broken up. This is usefull when using multiple walls in floors in a large area.
  
  My overall opinion is that this is the lowest rated of the EP's, but is a welcome additon. For those who liked Unleashed, you'll find this to be your favorite. If you disliked Unleased, you won't be as fond of this games as the others, but it is still enjoyable.
  
  
  
  
• Loving it!
  By A17D7XEZNFDE1N on 2006-10-19
  I love this game. If you are looking to challenge your Sims game then I recommend this. There are so many options to create and design your animals from coat textures, color, structure. I also love the interactions that you can have with your pets. But like I said it is a challenge when you factor in taking care of babies, kids, spouses and pets. Makes the game alot more realistic. I recommed also getting the Prima guide. When I first started playing without it I was clueless but after reading through the guide once I understand the strategies and works of the game. Happy Simming!
  
  
• You Love The Sims 2, So Why Not Pets?
  By A26G35WR7QCFR2 on 2006-10-27
  I gotta tell you, I absolutely hate this whole "expansion pack" epidemic going around the video game industry. These people have found a way to make some serious cash off us.
  
  The sad part, as I see it, is that I am witnessing myself dropping the cash like a lemming! I used to wonder what was going through a mosquito's mind as he flew straight into those glowing lamps to get burned alive. I now know.
  
  I totaled up my Sims 2 expenditures. Not including tax, I have dropped about $190 so far on the franchise (the base game, four expansions, and one stuff pack).
  
  Anyway, I bought and played The Sims 2: Pets the other day for $30. (After tax, almost $35.) It is a legitimate expansion pack. The only animals you really get to manipulate are cats and dogs, but there are hamsters and birds to interact with also. (The cats and dogs can be trained and have jobs, etc. The other ones are more for less deep interaction.)
  
  I must say, I am not a huge animal fan (except for dogs), but the way they programmed these animals to operate is quite spectacular. Of course, my girlfriend makes fun of me because she says, "Why don't you just get a real dog and watch them do that in real life?"
  
  My only answer stems from the financial standpoint: "I'd need money for a new house with a big backyard, food and maintenance for the pet, and the desire to keep it alive."
  
  So shy of actually leaving my house and leading a normal life, The Sims 2 franchise has done it again - giving me another reason to live vicariously through lives that don't exist.
  
  Just so you know, the price tag on this expansion won't drop below $20 any time soon, but by then it will have been included in The Sims 2: Complete Edition. So I figure you might as well spend it - you love The Sims 2 too much to be a prudent consumer anymore. I've rationalized that away in my mind already...
  
  
• Great add-on for your Sims 2 experience
  By on 2006-12-20
  This game is great. But in more detail, the thing I like most is the unlimited possibilities in creating pets. Yes, you can only create cats and dogs, but still, you can make it as cute or as ugly as you desire. There are many breeds to choose from if you don't feel like creating one yourself, but you can still choose a breed and edit it. As the gameplay goes, there are many random happenings. One is the random occurences of pets. They don't come right into your house, but if you leave anything valuable outside, say goodbye. There is one really bad dog named Webster in Pleasantview, and man, he makes me wish this game let you have some sort of weapon. But still, it makes it fun to see neighboring dogs to come up and visit. As for new features, you have alot of new technological devices, such as futuristic phones and floors. Another feature is you can call a person and invite the whole household over. A nitpick feature, but it still adds to gameplay. You can also have small pets such as gerbils or birds. You don't have to go to the store to buy these animals, but you rather just go to buy mode and choose the cage and the animal comes with it, with a price. There has been numerous complaints of this game slowing down your computer, but in my case, there hasn't been a problem. I have noticed a couple more lagging moments, but nothing too annoying. Overall, this game adds great depth and alot more random fun to the Sims 2 experience.
  
  
• The Sims 2 Pets... To Buy, or Not to Buy?
  By A61DZZ5CNGJ0Z on 2007-01-15
  The Sims 2... one of the most (if not the most) amazing game for the computer ever invented. The Sims 2 Pets... almost identical to the former, with the exception of doggies, kitties, birdies, and creatures that resemble hamters. Yes, the cat/dog life cycle is wonderfully realistic, the sim-animal relationship heart-warming, and the selection of breeds plethoric, but there are no real changes in the game. I personally find this game mildly amusing, but you can't DO anything but have pets. You buy a house, get a job, and raise some kids; the only difference between this expansion pack and the original Sims 2 is that there's an extra mouth to feed.
  Teaching your pets right from wrong is a nice touch, though it can get a little annoying to have to drop everything to tell Fluffy not to scratch the furniture or Fido to take it outside. I found my sims not having enough time to themselves, slowly withering away until I finally just got rid of the damn pets.
  The one thing that was really useful was the "destroy-all" button, the hammer-shaped tool that lets you dispose of anything without having to switch from wallpaper to lamps to fences. It helps when you've done something horribly wrong and can't delete an object by normal means.
  There was also another new tool: octogonal walls. Hmmm... do I hear a voice that says, "totally, utterly, useless????" Yes, octogonal walls are nothing big when it comes to change.
  Overall, it's an OK game, it's just a little boring. Maybe some more objects like cars, for instance (the sad truth is that you can only get cars in Sims 2 Nightlife). Funwise, the game is really exciting when you first get it, making breeds, having kittens, buying fun pet furniture, but once that's all done one feels like "OK, now what?", which is a bit disappointing.
  I could go on for days complaining, but if you can't live life without screeching, messy pets, then this is the expansion pack for you.
  
  
• Well worth it!
  By A3PII46QOFPTQM on 2006-11-06
  My boyfriend got me the expansion for an early birthday surprise and I was thrilled. I'm a big Sims fan and I just love animals so it was a perfect gift. I found customizing the pets fun and easy, though I'm a bit upset that you can't change nose and paw pad colors - My cats are black and gray and both have matching nose and paw pads, but in the Sims 2 Pets they are stuck with pink noses and pads. The tabby striping could have more options too, but again I'm being picky. The selection of breeds, both cats and dogs, is impressive and I like the fact each cat breed is distinct. There could be more pet options like owning turtles, lizards, snakes, frogs, and mice, but the expansion is well done and well worth getting even without those added pets. The careers for your pets are fun and training your pets can be quite amusing. Overall, it is a great expansion to a great game.
  
  
• A sign of the death of quality?
  By AYJBLZ81FBGD7 on 2006-11-07
  While I have been a loyal fan of the Sims franchise since the release of the original I have noticed a growing trend with the latest generation, namely the increase of Stuff Packs and the decreasing amounts of content in the actual EP's.
  
  From reading the forums I was quite surprised to learn that not only were we to get no new neighbourhood, the amount of objects had decreased, and finally absolutely no content regarding hair or clothing.
  
  While I still feel that the game adds a fair amount of interactions and additional features, I feel as if we are now expected to pay a lot more for a lot less, as the EA franchise continues to squeeze more dollars out of their loyal fanbase to be able to add clothing and hairstyles. Something that is in a way expected with a major expansion pack.
  
  Suffice it to say, if it wasn't for the copious amounts of Custom content available on the many fansites out there, the game would have become weary a long time ago.
  
  Unless EA's plans are to run the Sims franchise into the ground by releasing more and more stuff packs I hate to say, I may not be a loyal purchaser of following expansions.
  
  
• One of the Best
  By AU2IUU2WBJRTQ on 2006-11-13
  BEST YET!!
  
  The birds and reptiles are just bought "as is", but when you buy your puppy or kitten you can choose its gender and from 15 different types. For cats, go from Siamese to striped to minx with no tail. For the dogs, you can get 101 Dalmatians, or maybe a terrier is more your style? The web also offers many, many other skin types if your favorite breed doesn't come with the software. I was able to make a dog that looks, and acts like my REAL DOG!! It is so close it isn't funny.
  
  In addition to the pets, this expansion also offers five new careers - education, fashion, circus, culinary and animal care. You can grow food in your garden if you wish, and there are new places to visit in town, including a pet show to show off your new friends.
  
  But the highlight of course are the pets. You can't control them - you just interact with them. But the interaction can be quite fun. Before you know it, other neighborhood pets will be wandering by to say hello! A must-have for any Sim lover, it really adds a lot to an already addictive game.
  
  
• Fun, but really slows down your computer!
  By A1ZPB7M2DLKJAL on 2006-11-22
  Having pets for your Sims is fun, but that's about all this pack offers. There are few new objects. I guess I expected more, with this being an actual expansion pack.
  
  I never had much of a problem with the speed of my Sims until I installed Pets. Now, the game "hangs" at certain times (while loading a house, when a Sim turns into a werewolf, after a pet comes home from work with a promotion, etc.). It is very annoying, and the game overall has slowed to the point of it being unenjoyable.
  
  I hope to get a new computer soon. Hopefully, that will help. But I wish that the minimum requirements on the box had been adjusted. Yes, the game will run with the minimum requirements. But it won't necessarily be fun to play.
  
  
• This expansion was disapointing
  By AVR7F6ZU4Y0CC on 2006-12-24
  The dogs and cats are a nice addition, but I just did not feel like it was worth the money. This does not feel like a full expansion. I would rank this expansion a little below University. So far here are my rankings:
  #1 Open for business (I had more fun with this than any other)
  #2 Night Life (This expansion probably adds more to the game than any other)
  #3 University (Gets boring pretty quick)
  #4 Pets
  
  
• So fun...
  By on 2006-12-25
  Sims 2 Pets is an exciting change of pace, the pets are very detailed, specific, and adorable. Dogs, or atleast my Sims Dog, was very very easy to train, (if you don't train them, then they will bite the mailman, sleep on your sims beds, pee inside, wrip up furniture, etc.) and its pretty easy to teat your pets tricks, like play dead. (my fave. to watch) I deftinly recommend this great expansion back to anyone.
  
  
• Worth the price, with a few caveats
  By A1E935BN19VD78 on 2007-01-11
  This is an excellent expansion for pet lovers to the original The Sims 2. Dogs and cats are the major pets available, along with their own genetics. However, the pet genetics are not nearly as elaborate as the genetics for the Sims themselves. They also gave us birds and wormrats (EA's version of the hamster). Luckily these do not spread the plague like they did in The Sims 1. Another improvement over The Sims 1 version of Pets (Unleashed) is that dogs now come in two sizes, small and large. Customizing your pets can be easy or quite elaborate as EA gave us pretty good tools to be able to recreate the markings of your favorite real-life pet.
  
  Pets can be trained to use/stay off the furniture, housebreak by litter pan/outdoors, scratch/don't scratch furniture, friendly to strangers/aggressive toward strangers, and several other things to get them to behave the way you want them. They can also be taught tricks such as speak, sit, roll over and play dead. Finally, pets can get jobs and even be promoted, although their career track is much shorter than those of Sims.
  
  One nice feature of this expansion pack is that the pet stores are put into your lot bin so that they can be added to any neighborhood or sub-neighborhood that you already have instead of adding a whole new sub-hood like they did with University, Nightlife, and Open for Business. Stray pets will start wandering the neighborhood as soon as Pets is installed.
  
  No Sim expansion pack would be complete without the addition of some type of monster. Sims 2 gave us aliens, University gave us zombies, Nightlife gave us vampires, Open for business gave us Servos and now Pets gives us werewolves.
  
  Speaking of werewolves, they are supposed to be Sim in the daytime and werewolf at night. But there are some issues with some Sims not losing their hairy features, or losing the hair on part of the Sim but not all of the Sim, or staying hairy even after they have been cured of lycanthropy. Changing into a werewolf also changes the personality of that Sim.
  
  There are quite a few other bugs. There are some issues with the game reporting that no one else can join the household because of a pregnant pet even if the family doesn't have a pet. Some features that were fixed in past patches have been re-broken.
  
  Another feature they included was damage to furniture if a pet scratches or chews it too much. Unfortunately, they didn't think this through. Instead of causing your furniture to look ragged, it causes the furniture to collapse into a pile of dust. Not exactly realistic. One of the bugs that they missed is that a pet can do this to a crib while it is occupied by an infant and then the baby disappears.
  
  But all is not lost. Several Sim fan sites have released fixes for these problems until EA gets around to giving us a patch. These make the game fully playable and enjoyable and best of all, these sites give the fixes away for free.
  
  The bottom line: An excellent expansion, well worth the money if you take some time to download some free fixes to get everything to work right. Otherwise you can either play the game as is (it won't crash, just irritate you) or wait until EA releases a patch.
  
  
• Mediocre, convoluted... WTF!!!
  By A1M3UCO4E9UDG6 on 2007-01-18
  It's a Sims 2 expansion pack that adds pets...
  
  There are only a few things worth noting:
  
  1.) You must be a patient Sim-overlord if you are going to tolerate pets in your Sim home. You have no direct control over the pets, and depending on the pet's personality, you may go through a lot of furniture until you can have your Sims convince their pets not to destroy your hard-earned furniture.
  
  2.) You must be willing to suspend some disbelief. Otherwise, you will find yourself cursing profusely at your monitor as your sim-cat refuses to leave its litter-box, slowly starving until the Sim City SPCA comes to the rescue of the poor neglected animal. Why wouldn't the cat move from its litter-box? The little squeaky mouse blocked the cat's egress.
  
  3.) Did I mention patience? The Pets expansion fits in well with the micro-management style of Sims play. However, it soon breaks down into frustration and annoyance the more hands-off you become. Sims are all too happy to play with their pets. However, even one pet can keep the whole family busy cleaning up after it until bedtime and beyond.
  
  This expansion is a novelty at best.
  
  
• ......Buy Open For Bussiness Instead
  By A3GTI34WXT5VMW on 2007-04-25
  I bought it 2 days ago and reutrned it today for a full refund.I thought you could actually control the pet and make it do fun stuff.Actually you can't even command it to move.WHAT KIND OF PET IS THAT???!!!Only a small variety of breeds.The only lest bit fun of it is that you can custom design your pet.
  
  THE UPSIDE
  
  -You can open up a pet store if you have this
  
  THE DOWNSIDE
  
  -You also have to have business to do that
  
  
  BIG DISSAPOINTMENT MAXIS YOU GET 2 THUMBS DOWN
  
  :(
  
  
• Very fun! But poor quality...(Kevin's Sister)
  By A9XTZJDPO8C6E on 2006-12-07
  This game is the most super duper funnest game of all sims exspansion packs! But it really slows your computer... I was loading a family when it just hung there without going to the family still loading for like 30-45 min! I went to go watch 2 half an hour shows and I came back to check on it, and it was still loading!
  I guess its so jam-packed with loads of fun, it took so long to load all that fun! I will admit, very fun but it just was too slow, you never even play the dang thing! I finally decided I would return it for the sims 2 nightlife! Nightlife isnt slow and its fun!
  If you love the sims 2 pets like I did, and its not acting slow on your computer, then good for you because its fun, but I never got to play mine!
  You can buy gear for your pets, adopt a pet, give a pet to adoption, go to the pet store, make a pet with your new family, move pets and people to occupied lots or houses, take your pet to the pet park, and even play with stray dogs.
  It was fun for the first day that it lasted for me..
  
  
• Sims 2 - Pets Review... Eh.
  By A17Q11D1L3RNQ5 on 2007-02-19
  Personally, I love The Sims and the expansions, but this one in particular fell a bit short. My biggest beef with the pets are the pets themselves...
  
  When you have a new puppy and are training said canine where to "go potty" - the buggers are about as sharp as a circle. They want to go outside so they freak out trying to find a way down (if there is a foundation). Then, they pick some random object in the outdoors to pee on... Usually way in the far off corner of a huge lot that is foliage -- or the mailbox. You don't want them peeing on the mailman? Punish them to unlearn the trait, then re-praise them after they're gone potty inside and you have to break them of that a second time... rinse and repeat until they pee where you are pleased. Not fun. This especially comes into play when they pee somewhere waaaay far away. You forget they ran there, you forget to have someone clean it up.... and then you have a negative million environment score outside. Why? Because the area is so overrun with weeds that it takes almost a full sim day to clear it all out. Tips: have a robot maid (not the Servo specifically, a CleanBot -- if you have Open for Business), use a Servo (also OfB required), or hire a maid + gardener.
  
  The other big beef is the motives are a bit...off. Sim is a family sim. Sim has a lifetime want of having 30 puppies / kittens grow up to be adults. (Literally. Not children. Pets.) Annoying if you are doing a particular family without a pet.
  
  My final beef with this expansion entails the new wants... I want a birdcage. I want a kitten. I want a puppy. I want a hamster. Sadly, I had all four of those at one time -- on a knowledge sim! Sheesh! It's like with the University expansion -- yay for new stuff, boo that if the sims don't get to PLAY with the new stuff they go mentally insane -- literally.
  
  Am I sorry I bought this expansion? Nope. But it did fall short of my standards overall, unfortunately. Here's hoping the next expansion does a bit better.
  
  
• Not Totally What I Expected
  By A172EYUSAO6GZ0 on 2007-03-31
  I expected this to be more sophisticated than it actually is. All the dogs are built on a basic mold: either generic small or generic big dog and to make different breeds it alters it a bit. But the breed-specific anatomy isn't that great. I can't help but think the programmers didn't consult ANY breed standards. Many of the "breeds" on this game just bear a faint resemblance. Even when you totally customize a dog you are quite limited in what you can do. For instance the proportions are largely stuck the same. You can't really change angulation, leg length, depth of chest, etc. And forget about making far from the generic mold like Bulldogs and Shar Pei. There just simply isn't enough ability for customization. You can sorta change the texture of the coat (it has the options straight, curly, wavy, etc.) but it is not convincing to the eye. Pretty much the further away from straight you get the blurrier it gets. You can change coat length but it looks funny the longer it gets. I'm also not too happy with the tail options. Like for docked breeds you can have a docked tail but it's the length you'd see on a Weimaraner or Vizsla and it doesn't stand up at all! It looks pretty funny on a Doberman Pinscher, Schnauzer (you can actually make convincing schnauzers by the way!), Boxer, etc.
  
  What really peeved me is there is no way to control the depth of the head. It's like, stuck on being really deep. So when you make a Pit Bull (called an Amstaff on the game) it looks more like a Pit Bull-Great Dane mix!
  
  Now there are some good sides to it. If you don't care about breed-specific nuances and just want to make cool looking dogs regardless of if they look much like their breed or not then you would be happy with this. You have a good bit of control over markings in the coat.
  
  You can own cats, birds, and some small pets too. Cats and dogs can get jobs which makes you quite a bit of money. This game adds wolves and werewolves. If you have a lot of trees on your property a wolf will probably visit. If you play with it for awhile it will bite you and turn you into a werewolf until you purchase the potion that cures it from the pet trainer. This is a good thing if you have a sim with these aspirations.
  
  
• Great Game
  By on 2007-04-15
  I got this game for Christmas. I enjoyed playing my regular Sims and could not wait to add an expansinton pack onto my game. The pets a very realalistic and the graphics are great !!! You can have big dogs, small dogs, puppies, kittens, cats, birds, and a hamster. I wish they would have put other pets like fish ,horses,and turtles, but the other animals are cool too. Your pets can have jobs like movie star or rescue pet. Your pets can even fall in love!(how cute) Anyway I recammend this game to pet lovers and Sims fans of any age. It really is a great game to paly
  
  

• The Sims 2 Revised: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)
• Sims 2 Pets (Prima Official Game Guide)
• PC Gamer (1-year)
• The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff

• The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack
• The Sims 2: Open for Business Expansion Pack
• The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff
• The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack
• The Sims 2: Nightlife Expansion Pack