Ever since the release of EA’s The Sims franchise, the release of unusual extension packs has been par for the course. Take the Ikea version, for instance. But unusual doesn’t mean bad – in fact, quite the opposite. EA’s pure brilliance was shown in a PS2 release a while back. Welcome to The Sims 2 Pets.

Pets saw the addition of animal companions to the series; feline and furry friends to keep a lonely Sim happy on a cold night; and it worked fantastically well. Alongside the realism which made the original such a hit, animals gave the game a really fun and lighthearted feel which made young and old feel broody.

This addition to the Sims family implemented a direct control approach to living the life of your Sim. The classic, mouse pointer controls were still there for any die hard fans of the original, but the idea of controlling your Sims directly by using the analog sticks to make them walk was pure class.

Graphically, particularly considering that this was a PS2 release, Pets was absolutely astonishing. Cartoon style graphics were combined with an element of real life graphic effects to create something really special – imagine your artistic, cartoon Sim painting a realistic looking lake in the distance. That’s what I’m talking about.

The one thing that let Pets down – and don’t get me wrong, it was only a tiny niggling thing – was the music. Repetitive would be the perfect word to describe it. Annoying would be another. Luckily enough, however, this music was only heard on menu screens and the pause menu, making it bearable enough to not spoil the gameplay experience.

The Sims 2 Pets had to be one of the best PlayStation versions of The Sims ever released. EA finally pulled it out of the bag and produced an absolute gem of a game with Pets, and hopefully the successes of this one will spur other The Sims games on consoles. If you are a PS2 owner, make sure this one is in your collection – you’ll absolutely love it.

9.5/10

Linford

Discuss this article in our friendly forums

Sign up to our community today and discuss our articles, debate over upcoming games and organise matches and playsessions with like-minded people just like you.

Liked this? Spread the word - share with your friends!