The Sims Pet Stories

by Aspyr

Product Features

• Two Complete Stories in Directed Story Mode ¿ Play as Alice, who needs to win the Dog Show Competition or as Stephen, a chef who has chaotic cat-sitting adventures.
• The Brand-New Pet Show ¿ Train your Sims' pets to strut their stuff.
• Open-Ended Freeplay Mode ¿ Over 70 dog and 30 cat breeds!
• Laptop-Friendly Gameplay ¿ Featuring simple shortcuts and an all-new auto-pause.
• Be Creative While Staying Connected ¿ Stay in touch with your friends by using your own IM and email with playing the game in its own window.

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000UU6O6Y
• Item Weight: 12 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: September 10, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,590 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #35 in Video Games > Mac Games > Simulation
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Mac

Train, play with, and care for your Sims' cats and dogs, and do your best to keep them happy. Count on many unexpected twists and turns in this easy-to-play, laptop-friendly version of The Sims¿. Choose from two different stories in the directed Story mode, taking on a variety of challenges as you compete in a local pet show and learn that even pets have their own personalities. Unlock rewards as you achieve set goals for your Sims and their pets. In open-ended Freeplay mode, create your Sims and their pets, design their homes, and teach your pets tricks. You decide how their stories unfold.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth about $5, not much more., January 1, 2012

By 

epicpaige - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sims Pet Stories (DVD-ROM)

I have been a long time Sims fan, Sims 2 being my favorite. However, I had all the games for my PC, and when I switched to Mac, I realized that reinvesting in the collection would be expensive (and impossible - Aspyr never finished making all the Sims 2 expansions and stuff packs for Mac). I tried Sims 3, and it wasn't my cup of tea, so I figured I'd try Sims Pet Stories since it was only a few bucks on here.

The Sims 2 Pets (as well as The Sims 1's Unleashed) has always been my favorite expansion because I like being able to add a canine or feline companion to make my family complete. The pets were just as lovable in The Sims Pet Stories as they were in Sims 2. Nothing different about them. In fact, not much is different.

Except for the fact that you have less to work with when it comes to build and buy mode than you do with The Sims 2 base game. I was sorely disappointed at the lack of objects, and while there are cool objects exclusive to this game, you have to finish the stories to earn them.

The stories were okay. Not too compelling, but also not a total snooze. After completing the first (the dog training one, to be specific), I found I didn't have the patience to complete the other. I have always been a fan of sandbox play in games, so the missions weren't my cup of tea necessarily. Some of them I liked. But overall, they felt too easy. There wasn't a challenge in them. Expect to make your dog run through obstacles until the game says you've trained him, or to be directed on how to interact with other Sims. I prefer the challenge of raising six kids without prompts, but hey, that's just me.

There is a sandbox mode, but I realized soon that this was disappointing due to only one factor - sims don't become elders. You're probably thinking what I was thinking originally - they must just live forever, and you'll have to off them yourself if you want to play an accurate family tree. Nope. They just die at the end of adulthood. I found this to be terrible - their life spans are just ridiculously short, and if you're unprepared (like I was), you'll have young children without an adult sim, and therefore your game will be done, as child services will have to take them. If I were to play again, I suppose I would make my Sims already have a teenager upon creation so they can tend to the younger ones when the adults die, but that would again defeat the idea of having multiple generations.

Overall, the game kept my attention for a few days, and I suppose that's due to the fact that I was looking for something closer to Sims 2, rather than something completely different. I suggest this game to anyone new to the series - if you prefer the stories and the mission-based game play, you can go on to buy Life Stories and Castaway Stories, or even Sims Medieval. If you prefer sandbox mode. Sims 2 and Sims 3 will be perfect as the next step. As for long time Sims players, if you go in with no expectations (which is hard to do) of it being as satisfying as Sims 2, then I suggest the buy. If not, I'd stick to the normal games!

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