The Sims 3 Pets Preview

Just like having real pets…if you could control them.

The Sims 3: Pets offers a slew of new features, allowing players’ Sims to own and interact with a variety of highly-customizable controllable pets. It’s the perfect addition to The Sims for animal lovers and also for people who don’t want to put up with lots of poop and dander in real life. Virtual pets are hypoallergenic!



Pets can now be controlled by the player, and they can have a variety of personality traits as their Sim owners do. This new feature allows you to create digital versions your own beloved pets or make the pets you wish you had (like ones that don’t pee where they shouldn’t). They now have lifetime ambitions to fulfill, as well as wants and fears. Pets can also build relationships with each other and the Sims around them through many new interactions, and they can even start their own families. This means, of course, that your pets can “WooHoo”, and their “genetics” are passed down onto their offspring. But don’t worry; they’ll go into the doghouse or someplace suitable to get busy.

The pets are as visually customizable as Sims themselves, and some truly interesting creatures can be made. No tentacles or anything like that—but pretty every aspect of your critters can be tweaked, including the colors and coat. When I was told I can indeed have pink, polka-dotted cats, I was sold. Imagine the kittens it would produce with another purple-striped cat! It’s almost too cute to bear. Speaking of cute—you’re also able to send your beloved canine out to find a date for your Sim, which is one of many new interactions available.



For the Xbox 360, there are “Mysteries” to explore with your pets, which are quests you can send them on. They’re stories within the game, and “Karma Powers” (a variety of “cheats”) can be unlocked by completing missions and getting certain achievements. My inner-little girl is most excited about the horses in the PC version of The Sims 3: Pets, since I never did get a pony for my birthday. Your Sims can build a relationship with their horses, riding them and entering competitions. Both the Sim and the horse build skills together as they interact, so the relationship can be a working one as well as personal.

This Sims 3 Pets expansion is definitely worth a gander, since it adds so much to the already complex and highly entertaining world of The Sims. There is a great balance between the real-life aspects of owning pets... and fantasy.