The Sims: Unleashed adds a fuzzier, cuddlier aspect to the game. Now you can own a pet. You can own anything from a hamster to a bird to a reptile or even a dog. These four legged, winged, or scaled creatures provide entertainment and companionship for your Sims. Some of the pets can be purchased in buy mode, but others must be purchased in the new downtown area.

Downtown offers pet shops, restaurants, and even animal trainers. Most of the animals must be bought downtown unless you adopt a stray from your neighborhood. If you leave your home to go downtown your dog or cat must always come with you so you might as well hire a pet trainer while you're there. If your pet is not trained they can cause you a lot of problems like peeing in the house or tearing up your stuff. On the other hand if your pet is trained well enough they can help you around the house by bringing you the newspaper or even watering your garden. A trained pet makes for a happy family.

Your pets can be trained so well that you can take them to an animal judging contest downtown. If your pet wins you will win awards to show off to your friends. However, not all pets are up to the challenge. Every animal has its very own personality. They can be playful or lazy, friendly or aggressive, smart or slow, and so on. The personality can determine how easy they are to train and how well they will do in competition. In order to place high in the pet contest your pet also needs to be well cared for. When you adopt a cat or dog they become just like a regular Sim. The pets also have bars that show the needs that have to be tended to. In order to place at the contest those bars need to be green.

Unleashed has over 125 new items. Not all of these items revolve around pets, though most do. This expansion pack is top notch and must not be overlooked when one is trying to expand the Sim life. It is a must have for the Sims collection.

Miranda Stites
HeroesOfGaming.com
"Saving Good People From Bad Games"
http://www.heroesofgaming.com/games/pc/s/simsunleashed/simsunleashed_rev.htm