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  REVIEWS / GAMING
Electronic Arts Sims 2 Pets Wii
Company: Electronic Arts

Pros: The same Sims you know and love; fostering the love of God's creatures; playing interior decorator with a wand

Cons: Nothing new here; cats and dogs only - no monkeys; dying in fire


Product rating:



 
 
 
 
 
         
 
   

 

"Game Review: Sims 2 Pets"

By Future | Published:04/09/2007

The simulated world of Sims now comes with pets to play with - and you can teach a dog all sorts of new tricks with the Nintendo Wii wand controller.

Ten years ago, if you would've told us that as games continue to innovate ways to defy the laws of physics, redefine societal boundaries and violently break the protocol of human decency, an unending simulation of household chores would materialise as the most successful PC game series of all time, we would've charitably filled your hand with loose change and been on our way.

But here we are. And we're not immune to the to The Sims' irony either. Many of us have stepped over piles of soiled laundry and avoided friends' phone calls to nestle up to our respected consoles to take out garbage, scrub dishes and speak bubbly gibberish to in-game neighbors for hours on end. Publisher EA knows this better than anyone, and The Sims 2 Pets has come to the Nintendo Wii.

What's new here? Pets - and not a whole helluva lot else. Oh sure, it's still the technical achievement of artificial intelligence it's always been, and the Wii Remote takes to applying tiles and buying furniture like… oh, what's a good analogy? Like a seal to water? Which is to say, it's not as H2O-friendly as a fish-like mouse and keyboard, but it's definitely better than a traditional console controller, which is like a human flopping around in the deep, blue agua. And if you ever tire of pulling your hair out watching your Sim move about his or her household surroundings like a sedated bull in a china shop, pressing the 1 button will let you dynamically take control of him of her with the Nunchuk's analogue stick.

But additions like that will only impressive the people who haven't played since the first game. As great a fit as lovingly raising, feeding and training cats and dogs can be, it's hard to recommend Sims 2 Pets for Wii as something new and worth purchasing. Hardly a true update, it's the exact same game that's been available on every other platform for months. Plus, it strips some of the customisation from the PC iteration (no multi-story houses or roofing capabilities) and there's no significant graphical or gameplay upgrades when compared to the GameCube version (which, combined with the price of a controller, is still cheaper than this version and playable on your Wii).

At its core, it's still the brilliant feat of social interaction and sparklingly mundane domesticity that gamers and nongamers alike have gobbled up by the gross for years now. If you haven't spoken Similish in a few years, or are head over heels enamoured with motion controls, this Sims 2 Pets could be a right neighborly slice of homemade pie. But for anyone else with a Wii,  we suggest you hold out for the upcoming MySims.

 

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