The Sims 3: Pets

We've never really been into The Sims at Maxim HQ. We're too busy commanding peons of our own to do our bidding to have the time to do it in a game as well. That and it's been a bit too much paperwork to build a house with a swimming pool and a diving board only to take the stairs away so said peons can't get out.

But we digress.

If you already own Sims 3 on a console, Sims 3: Pets feels more like an expansion than a standalone game, but we get the feeling you wouldn't be buying it if such things mattered to you! Sims fans are dedicated, and that's a beautiful thing right there.

In terms of creating your Sim Pet, you can either choose from one of the breeds in the game, or create your own, with a suprisingly high level of customisation on offer. Fancy a dog that looks a bit like a zebra? No problem! Well, it might be a problem for the dog, but not for you.

The console version of Sims 3: Pets limits your choice of animal to either a dog or a cat, unlike the variety on offer for the PC version. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, 'cos dogs and cats are cute innit. You can create your pet to be the nicest creature in the world, or the animal version of Stewie from Family Guy. Depending on how much the owner of said pet loves it, depends on the chaos that will unfold on screen.

Our problem with The Sims has always been that we get a bit bored and go off to do something else, due to the seeming lack of direction or general need to do anything in order to progress. In Pets you get Mysteries; multi-layered quests that involve making friends, searching for treasure, ghost hunting (NICE ONE SCOOB!) among others.

Ultimately, we don't think Sims 3: Pets will convert people who don't like The Sims into people who do, but that doesn't stop it from being a little bit of fun, as much as we lose SERIOUS man points through saying so.