The Sims 2: PetsThe Story Well, as far as story lines are concerned, this game doesn't really have one! The Sims 2 Pets Wii is a very nicely done and well-thought-out game, bringing the complete open-mindedness of most other Sims games to the console! Yes, that's right, this game is perfect for those with a creative mind who long for life simulation style games. This is a family-friendly version of a Sims game with a new feature: Pets! Yes, if one thing had to be relatively close to a story, it would be this game's new feature of being able to have pets! You can still create a neighborhood however you want to, create and customize Sims that will grow (in terms of business, wants, and home improvement), change, live, love, cry, and fight, and you will still become emotionally attached to these wonderful Sims that you put on your made-up world, but now you can add pets to the mix! At the Create A Family menu, you will now not only be able to create almost any Sim-person imaginable, you will also be able to create almost any Sim-animal imaginable.
Customization Many people have argued that console versions of the Sims series never really captured the full extent of customization that the PC versions were famed for, and in other departments, I agree, but, in this department, I disagree. You can still choose from an array of clothes (gender-specific, of course) for your Sim that you can change the material, style, size, and various other things of. So you should always feel free to just go ahead and make any kind of Sim you want, customizing them literally from head to toe, not just with fashion, but with body type, head shape, facial features, skin, hair, aspiration, personality, and name, too, plus more! I'll admit, some other Sims games do have a little more customization, but not by much. Also, there is probably an even wider array of possibilities when it comes to creating a pet. When you first decide to create a pet, you can choose between a dog or a cat, male or female (obviously), and then dozens of breeds. Once you choose a breed, you can alter body shape, fur style, fur color, fur markings, tail shape, head shape, body size, fashions (yes, even tops and shoes for your doggy or kitty), personality, and much more! So really, the customization variety in this game shouldn't be criticized. The maximum amount of Sims/pets allowed in a family is six, and you must have at least one Sim. Creating a family in this game is one of those things that you can spend five minutes or an hour on, depending on what kind of person you are.
The Town Square The Town Square is really just the public center of your neighborhood where your Sims can go and buy various different awesome items for their pets (they can even put them in a boarding kennel when you just need a break, or get them professionally washed) using Pet Points, the Town Square's currency, and where your Sims can also socialize with all your other Sims. Also, as you spend more time in town, and as you buy more things there, new stores and places will start to open up... not to mention Townies! Townies are pre-created Sims that appear as you earn more Aspiration Points. You will most likely see them in the Town Square first. It is even possible to unlock a Sim version of Hilary Duff! The Town Square is a fun, unpredictable, pet-themed feature of this game, so I'd say it's definitely a nice touch.
Playing The Game After you've created a family, you'll get to choose from one of the pre-created houses on the map, one of the empty lots, or you can even build a house of your own, using nice customization options about as in-depth as creating a Sim. There are lots of options for walls, flooring, landscaping, doors, windows, and more. Once you're all moved in, you can use the handy Object Catalog to sift through hundreds of different everyday items. You can literally get everything your Sims could possibly need and more here. Once you're playing the game, you can play through it in either Classic Control Mode (which I think is better suited for the Wii console because it uses an onscreen pointer to select actions), or Direct Control Mode (which allows you to, well, directly control your Sim). There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of actions your Sims can perform, so go ahead and have some fun with your Sim's life! Anyway, one thing that makes this game a little more difficult is how you can't directly control your Sim's pets. You can really only watch them as they loiter about the house, so it's up to you to strategically place items in your house to keep your pets happy. As a side note, Simoleans are the currency used in your house (and only your house), while Pet Points are only accepted in the Town Square. Also, your Sims still speak that signature language of theirs (also known as "Simlish"), which is good news, plus the time still travels at a faster pace than in reality, which makes the game easier to get through, but also more annoying when you find that your Sim has taken about an hour to pee. Finally, the loading times are at the midway point between long and short, relatively speaking.
Subtractions Even though this is a great game, there are a few things that put me off of giving it a full-on five. These include the subtractions of some features of the PC version. In this game, Sims cannot WooHoo, have children, age, die, become ghosts, pets can't age, die, become ghosts, get jobs, or enter into competitions, you'll only get to travel in your car to go to work once a weekday, and there will only ever be two lots available at any point in the game; your house and the Town Square. And finally, there are no wolves, skunks, or weeds, and Sims can't turn into werewolves. If you can get past these, it's still a wonderful game.
Similarities Now, since we've established that The Sims 2 Pets for the PC would always be a step-up from this game and any console Sims game, I'm comparing this game to the PC version in it's similarities; the good things that were kept in this game. Pets can have puppies and kittens, burglars can rob you, Sims can faint of either hunger or energy, fires can start, Sims can be abducted by aliens (though, if they do, they will not get pregnant, they will simply go and puke), Sims can throw rockin' parties, Sims can get married, cheat on each other, become best friends, or even become enemies, and more. Also, as was said before, Simoleans are still used as the house currency... you earn Simoleans from your job... or, if you are lazy, you can use the Cheat Gnome, which is another similarity to most other console Sims games. Finally, as was said before, Simlish, that nonsense language all Sims speak, is still used in this game.
New Features This game does also feature a few new things... for example, the Pet Trainer comes rarely, but when he does he sticks around for a while, offering to teach your pet every trick possible... for a price. Also, Pet Points, as was said before, are the new currency used in the Town Square... you earn them by fulfilling your Pet's Wants, or using the ATM machine to convert Simoleans into Pet Points. There is also the mystical Zombie Monkey Hand, which can be found by having a Sim search any couch... though, as would be expected, it is more commonly found in the more expensive couches. When found, the Zombie Monkey Hand grants your Sim relief of a random motive, or, in rare cases, all of them! It is also capable of other things, including changing your Sim's Wants. Finally, Direct Control Mode is a relatively new feature. It is an alternative control scheme to using the Wii Remote like a mouse in Classic Control Mode, and is also known to be more popular in this version. In it, you use the Nunchuk to directly control your Sims' movements.
Controls I personally think that EA did a pretty neat job with the controls for this game. They are a little different and sometimes unexpected when compared to other Sims games for consoles. However, though it can be difficult to get the hang of these controls, I think this game is very nicely suited for the Wii in the controls department, especially when you are on Classic Control Mode. That being said, Direct Control Mode is probably easier to use with the Nunchuk.
Glitches Well, in general, the in-game issue count is low, but I have found a large extent of sometimes annoying glitches, like your Sims getting stuck on items and furniture, though this is really the only big one. Others include invisible objects, randomly falling trash cans, a continuously full Fire Code, and more. The glitches can be annoying, but are usually only minor, so if you can let a few slide, then you should be okay. However, you can really expect to see this kind of thing on any Sims game.
Audio/Visual The music and sound effects in this game are a nice touch. The music fits well and rarely gets annoying. The sound effects are at a nice level and give a nice finishing touch to the game. Visually this game has a lot of eye candy, and rather standard Sims game graphics. The visual effects are usually smooth and well-fitted. There are some more nice finishing touches in the visual graphics department.
Overview To bring this review to a conclusion, I'll just say this: The Sims 2 Pets for the Nintendo Wii is definitely a good game, and it is totally and completely worth it if you are willing to forget a few little glitches, bugs, and subtractions from the original PC version. It is also great for if you don't have the right kind of computer for the PC version. Otherwise it's just a nice all-around game! I give it a 4.2 out of 5!
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