The Sims 2: Pets

The Sims 2: Pets
North American box art
Developer(s) The Sims Division
EA Salt Lake (Wii version)
Full Fat (Nintendo DS version)
Artificial Mind and Movement (GBA version)
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Aspyr (Mac)
Designer(s) Hunter Howe
Charles London
Mike Darga
Lakshmi Jayapalan
Series The Sims
Platform(s) GBA, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PSP, Windows, OS X, Wii, N-Gage[1]
Release
Genre(s) Life simulation, God game
Mode(s) Single-player

The Sims 2: Pets is the fourth expansion pack in The Sims 2 series of games published by Electronic Arts. It was also sold as a stand-alone game for several consoles. The Sims 2: Pets was announced on July 26, 2006 and released on October 18, 2006 in North American and via download, as well as on October 20, 2006 to the rest of the world, except for Australia/New Zealand, where it was released on October 26, 2006.[2] Aspyr released a port of the game for Mac OS X on November 7, 2006.[3]

It was released for the Wii on June 12, 2007.[4] In Australia, one Australian dollar per game sold, from at least 50,000 copies of the game, was donated to the RSPCA.[5] Unlike the other expansions, this game does not have a new neighborhood. Instead, new lots (with Sims living in them) are available for placement in the existing neighborhoods. The Sims 2: Pets has sold over 6 million copies.[6]

Gameplay

Pets

Sims can own cats, dogs and gerbils. Pets features 75 pre-made breeds of dogs and thirty pre-made breeds of cats. Create-A-Pet is similar to "Create-a-Sim", where a user builds a human Sim characters. In Create-a-Pet, players may customize a cat or dog by choosing patterns and colors of coat, body shape, facial structure, and personality, which determines playfulness, neatness, loyalty, aggression, and intelligence.

Pets have motives like their Sim counterparts. Sims and pets are similar except for the absence of the "Room" motive, which "Scratching" replaces in cats and "Chewing" in dogs. Sims may also train their pets to do various tricks.

Pets can follow one of three career paths: Security, Showbiz and Services. When pets get promoted, various pet-related "unlockables" are made available along with a code so players can share these items with others.

Pets have three life stages: Puppy/Kitten, Adult, and Elder. The length of a pet's elder hood is selected at random, however there is an aspiration reward object which will extend the pet's life by a few days with each use. Pets are able to breed, and doing so will produce a litter. The number of puppies or kittens is dependent on the number of Sims and pets currently in the house. Players can play with up to eight Sims or six pets at one time, although one can only have a total of six Sims and/or pets in a household altogether.[7]

Training

Pets can be trained to do various tricks, and they can be scolded or praised. The tricks include sit, stay, shake, come here, guard, roll over, sing, and more. In the Nintendo Game Boy Advance version, they can be taught to stand up on two legs and juggle, or other unusual tricks. When the pet learns a new trick, it adds to the Sim and pet relationship. If the pet does something bad, it is able to be scolded. There are a few unpleasant acts: pets may relieve themselves where it is inappropriate, dig up the yard, chew up the newspaper or floor, scratch up furniture, or dig out the trash. It is helpful to praise a pet after it has done something favorable. It can also be given a treat after praising it to do the favorable action or completing a trick.

Werewolves

Werewolves are a type of supernatural creature which the Sim can interact with or even be transformed into. Sims exist as Werewolves only during night hours. During these hours, the werewolf's energy will go up, but their hunger will decrease more quickly as well. A Werewolf can teach a pet faster than humans and can fight against burglars. They might occasionally howl at the moon, howl at player's command, or howl to summon wolves.

To become a werewolf, players must build up a relationship with any wolf with glowing eyes (the werewolf pack leader). The pack leader will eventually "nibble" the Sim it was interacting with, causing it to become a werewolf. Once a Sim has become a werewolf they may "savage" another Sim to turn them into a werewolf. Werewolves are not featured on the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube or Wii versions.

Music

There are many new songs that appear in the original Pop radio station from the base game in this game that have been converted in Simlish:

Locales other than US English contain more songs:

  • Danish: West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
  • Dutch: Krezip - "Can't You be Mine"
  • Finnish: Roni - "Never Coming Back"
  • French: Kisha - "Sowieso"
  • German: Kisha - "Sowieso", Krezip - "Can't You be Mine"
  • Italian: Finley - "Run Away"
  • Japanese: West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
  • Korean: West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
  • Norwegian: Lene Marlin - "What If"
  • Russian: The Smokebreakers - "Baby Let's Dance"
  • Spanish: La Oreja de Van Gogh - "Dulce Locura"
  • Swedish: Lene Marlin - "What If", West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
  • UK English: Finley - "Run Away", West End Girls - "Booglurbia"

These songs are not played in other locales (including US English), but they can be extracted from the game resources.

Motives

Sims and pets have several different motives that they want to do. This could include needing to use the bathroom, or the litter box, or needing to sleep, or relax. These needs vary. Here is a list of the motives for Sims and pets and their information.

Sim motives

If motives are not met, they will lower the overall Mood of the Sim and the Sim will not perform basic actions (such as cleaning or getting a job) until the motives are fulfilled.

Motive nameneeded materialif need is not fulfilled
Socialother Sims to talk to or play withSim will become very lonely.
Bladdertoilet, eco-toiletSim will start waddling and attempting not to wet themselves, but if too late, the Sim will urinate on the area they are standing at.
Hungerfood, water, coffeeThey will die if the need is not tended to (They will faint in the console versions); in the Wii and ps2 versions, they will faint, and then a paramedic (or another Sim if possible) will come to revive them.
Energybed, couch, or benchIf too late, the Sim will simply doze off and then fall flat on the ground. When awakened, the Sim will go angry due to no rest.
Comfortchair, couch, bed, or benchThe sim will become uncomfortable (specifically Comfort and Energy needs are the same at about 80% of the time).
Funvideo game, TV, computer, fireplace, otherThe Sim will most likely, if not having enough fun, become bored.
Roomclean houseNothing happens if it is all the way down (it often does not affect the Mood), but the Sim will demand an environment that has no dirty areas, no puddles, and no furniture that needs repair.
Hygieneshower, tub, fountain, whirlpool hot springThe Sim will revolt in response to their own stench, and others will be repulsed by the Sim because they stink; they will take a bath or shower, or splash in a pool or fountain.

Pet motives

Motive nameneeded materialif need is not fulfilled
SocialA Sim or another pet or stray; to play with or meetThe dog or cat will become very lonely, and this puts a big effect on the Mood of the animal.
BladderA spot for the pet to relieve themselves, such as a tree or mailbox for a dog, or a clean litter box or mailbox for a catThe pet will do the same thing a Sim would do; it will automatically go to the bathroom wherever it is.
HungerA pet dish full of pet food, or a treatIn the Wii and ps2 versions, as with a Sim, the pet will faint and become unconscious, while a paramedic or other Sim will come to revive it.
FunA toy, a Sim to play fetch with, or a chase of the tailThe pet will become bored, and it will put an effect on the Mood.
HygieneFor a dog, a Sim to wash the pet in a tub, or to visit a pet salon if available; for a cat, just to lick itself, or visit a pet salon if availableThe pet will whine, but mood is usually unaffected for dogs. However, cats' moods are usually affected.
EnergyA pet bed, pet house, cat condo (cat tree), a fireplace, or a couch for the pet(s)If the pet eventually does not find a good spot to sleep, it will just lie down and go to sleep, although the pet will have a bad mood if there is no good spot.
ComfortA pet bed, house, cat condo (for cats), fireplace, or couchThe pet will lie down. If it is a cat, it will meow.
Scratch (cats only)A scratching post or cat condo (cat tree)The cat may start ripping up furniture on the lot.
Chew (dogs only)A chew toyThe dog may begin to rip up the furniture, a cat's toys, or newspapers.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings67.40%[8]
Metacritic76%[9]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot7.1/10[10]
GamesRadar+[11]
GameZone6/10[12]
IGN7.4/10[13]
Nintendo Life6/10[14]
Cheat Code Central3.6/5[15]

Pets received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[16] indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[17]

The Windows, Mac, PS2, PSP, GameCube, and Wii versions of The Sims 2: Pets received mainly mixed to positive reviews from critics, while the Game Boy Advance and DS versions of the game received mixed to negative reviews.

The Australian video game talk show Good Game's two reviewers gave the game a 6.5/10 and 8/10.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "N-Gage Game Showroom - The Sims 2 Pets". Nokia. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
  2. ↑ "EA Announces The Sims 2 Pets!". TheSims2.com. July 27, 2006. Archived from the original on August 29, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Aspyr Media, Inc. Ships The Sims 2 Pets For PowerPC- And Intel-Based Macintosh". Aspyr. November 7, 2006. Archived from the original on December 2, 2006. Retrieved December 8, 2006.
  4. ↑ "The Sims 2: Pets Release Information for Wii". GameFAQs.
  5. ↑ "The Sims 2 Pets". RSPCA Australia. Archived from the original on 2006-12-08.
  6. ↑ "Newsmaker: Keeping up with the Simses".
  7. ↑ "Chat Transcript". TheSims2.com. October 5, 2006. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
  8. ↑ "The Sims 2: Pets". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Sims 2: Pets". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  10. ↑ Andrew Park (October 17, 2006). "The Sims 2: Pets Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Sims 2 Pets review". GamesRadar+. June 27, 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ "The Sims 2: Pets - PSP - Review". GameZone. May 4, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  13. ↑ Jon Habib (October 26, 2006). "The Sims 2 Pets Review". IGN. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  14. ↑ Sammy Barker (July 3, 2007). "The Sims 2: Pets Revie". Nintendo Life. Nintendo. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  15. ↑ Matthew Walker. "The Sims 2: Pets Review". Cheat Code Central. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  16. ↑ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Gold". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on March 19, 2009.
  17. ↑ Caoili, Eric (November 26, 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Good Game stories - Sims 2 Pets". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. November 14, 2006.
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