The Sims 3 Pets is a video game available today for the PlayStation 3, XBOX 360, Nintendo 3DS, and PC/Mac (note – Sims 3 for the PC/Mac is an expansion pack for the Sims 3, and requires the Sims 3 to play). Pets aren’t new to the long-running Sims franchise, but the ability to play as a Sim Pet is. Players can create dogs, cats, or horses and determine their personalities, coats, body types, and breeds. You can have a perfectly house-trained dog, or the maniacal barker that terrorizes the mailman. It’s up to you.
You can also earn Karma Points within the game, which will allow you to transform Sims and their pets into other species, call down a meteor strike from the sky, or possess your pet and watch them wreak havoc upon the neighborhood.
Also, there’s a unicorn. As unicorns often are, this one is hard to find, so you’ll have to search all over the Sims’ world to find it. Once you do, you can befriend it and earn its loyalty, eventually even making it the next household pet!
There are other pets in the game – birds, rodents, lizards, turtles, and snakes – but you can only control dogs, cats, horses, or the human Sims in the household. The horses are only available in the PC/Mac version, but the other platforms have their own exclusives that make up for the lack of horse gameplay. The PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 versions feature a brand new New England-style town called Sugar Maple Coast, packed with all kinds of parks and fun places for pets to explore. Nintendo 3DS owners have the option to create an entire household of pets – no humans allowed! They can also use Play Coins collected from the 3DS’ built-in pedometer and convert them into Karma Points in-game.
The Nintendo 3DS and PC/Mac versions of the Sims 3 Pets are selling for $39.99, while the PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 versions retail for $49.99. Pet lovers will get a kick out of this one this holiday season.
