The Sims: Unleashed

"A new spin on our friendly neighborhood Sims."

I'm not really an avid player of The Sims. I loved buying the new expansions and trying out the new items and features, but after two nights of staying up all night to play it -- and trying out every nook and cranny that was possible with the said expansion -- I was done. After that, the game either sat in my hard drive but never touched, or I uninstalled it to free the humongous amount of space it occupies.

Enter the newest installment from Electronic Arts and Maxis for their still-going-strong family simulation game: The Sims Unleashed. I figured I'd stay up nights again, but I didn't anticipate that my ''fling'' with the newest expansion pack would carry on this long.

Basically, Unleashed did for The Sims the same thing that Hot Date did to it a while back, but even better. It has plenty of new, worthwhile features that make up for the usual round of bugs that accompanies a first release.

The biggest feature that makes an impact is the idea of pets. Before Unleashed, the only pets you can have are fan-made objects you can buy directly in Buy Mode, usually only giving you the option of viewing them (well, the Fun meter does go up, at any rate). I have a Llama and a Dog, both downloaded way back when. They didn't have any personality, and now I can't even remember if they actually moved (I suppose they did).

With Unleashed, you can adopt a pet -- both high-maintenance and low-maintenance ones. High maintenance pets include a cat and a dog, which have their own personalities (Quiet, Friendly, Playful, Smart, Loyalty) and sets of skills (Tricks and Obedience, and cats have Hunting and dogs have Housebreaking). Their actions depend on their personality, and they're just like your Sims -- they have mood meters too, though all you can order them to do in-game is to ''Go Here''.

Your Sims can interact with the pets in many number of ways, though, by playing with them, training them, praising, scolding, and the like. You can also buy them toys and treats and collars as well. Just remember to put food in their bowls!

Low maintenance pets, on the other hand, include an iguana ($199), a turtle ($99), a gold fish, and birds, like budgies, lovebirds, and if you go to Buy Mode, you can buy a Macaw or a Parrot, which can help you raise your Charisma by talking to them (no more talking to a mirror!). You don't need to keep constant tabs on them, but cage cleaning and feeding is a must.

These pets can be bought from places in Old Town, which you can get to by calling a cab. In the normal game screen though, you can easily see Old Town (not like Downtown or Vacation Island where it's another screen entirely), plus there are more houses and lots to move in to.

Other than the pets, farming was also introduced. Before, you can buy flowers and shrubs and bushes and trees right on Build Mode -- they needed watering, but they were just there for the aesthetic look. No actual benefit. Now, you can buy plots of ''fertilized'' land from Build Mode, and then go to Old Town to buy seeds: Beans, Tomatoes, Lettuce, and Carrots. These you can plant and then harvest later on, where you can opt to keep them for food or sell them at Old Town. You can even buy a Plant Tonic to make them grow HUGE!

What are the disadvantages? Slowing down of game play is one, but it's not such a big deal, as well as it being already a given. It also eats up space -- it's a two-CD game. There are real-life happenings that could make things a little frustrating: water gets under appliances and fixtures, such as sinks, so your Sims can't ''reach'' it when mopping it up. Some say Sims won't sit on couches that have cat fur in them. The (unwanted) strays that can come into your yard at any one time lower room ratings as well as force you to interact with them (i.e., sometimes a stray dog will beg you). Not to mention the pests, which also fudge up your farming plots: rabbits, raccoons, and the like (you can always buy a Scarecrow). There are also some in-game bugs and features: path finding is a bit slower, which can cause your Sim to do no less than two full turns before she finally gets her plate from the table to put it in the sink for washing.

Also, you can't go alone to Old Town -- you bring the whole family, which is a problem if one of your kids is already low down in the Energy meter.

However, these seem like a small price to pay. The pets add flavor to your game play, and you can even be a recluse if you like: the pets are there to boost your Social meter, and you can just make a living with farming (not to mention other home products, i.e., gnomes, paintings, preserves, if you have the other expansions). For the first time, I even started a family that's flying solo, all alone on her own -- previously unthinkable because of the Social meters et al. More character skins, more fun objects, more career paths, more houses and lots -- even the original Sims plus the Unleashed expansion is good enough as it is. The pets are adorable -- I can't help but smile when my pet dog rushed to me instantly for a petting when I got home from my job, and the amazement I felt when my dog, waking before me one morning, went to fetch the paper and brought it to the foot of my bed -- and waited, seated, for me to wake up.

I'd always wanted my own golden retriever, and I got it with The Sims Unleashed. Woof woof!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/03, Updated 05/19/03