Virtual newspaper not included. Review

Virtual newspaper not included.

If there is one thing you can say about Electronic Arts, it’s that they have done

their best to support their breakthrough title from 2000, The

Sims. The Sims: Unleashed is the fifth expansion to the game and, in

depth and scope, runs second only to Hot Date

with regard to innovation.

In this

expansion, animals are fully integrated into the lives of your Sims. Your Sims

can now buy pets, along with all the necessities for feeding, housing and grooming

them. Once adopted, pets become members of your household and develop relationships

with Sims and other animals. This is a great addition and adds a good deal of

complexity to the game.

Pets are not directly controllable. Your Sims will have to develop a relationship

with their animals and eventually train them in the various arts of hunting,

dancing, and even pooping in the right place. In addition, the relationships

Sims have with their pets are just as deep and fulfilling as the relationships

they have with one another. This means that it is entirely possible for a Sim

to relate to no one other than their pet without sacrificing their Social meter,

which allows for a greater variety of personality types.

In The Sims: Unleashed, Sims can keep their own vegetable gardens. Although

they take some work to get going, these gardens produce crops which, once harvested,

can be stored for use or sold for cash. This is very cool and allows jobless

Sims to earn their keep.

But gardens come with garden pests like skunks, rabbits and gophers, which

will attack your garden with a frenzy as soon as it’s planted. Here is where

your pet’s hunting skills will come in handy. And this is why you will need

to have a pet if you want a garden.

Cats and dogs rule this domain – there is even a pet show where your animal

can display its good breeding – but there are other, less demanding pets available.

Iguanas and birds make an appearance here in addition to the hamsters and fish

of yore.

Despite its name, The Sims: Unleashed isn’t only about beasts. This

expansion adds multiple new lots to your existing neighborhood. Instead of a

measly 10 lots on which to build, you now have 41. If you’ve been keeping up

with the expansions, you could have as many as 410 lots on which to build and

upwards of 3,000 individual Sims to control! This is an amazing number of potential

simulated lives depending on your micromanagement skills. Of course, only an

insane, reclusive shut-in with no friends, job or family could possibly explore

this game on that level. Wait, did I just insult myself?

Neighborhood

lots can now be zoned for either Residential or Commercial use. Sims from all

over the neighborhood will congregate on a Commercial lot, which can contain

bars, pet stores, internet cafes, espresso stands and shops selling everything

from skimpy lingerie to voodoo masks. In fact, just about everything available

downtown other than a fully-functioning restaurant can be placed in the section

of the Neighborhood called Old Town.

Although this lends a bit of variety to the Neighborhood, anyone who bought

Hot Date will find it hard to be impressed by these uptown venues. First

of all, there is nothing you can do in Old Town that you can’t do Downtown –

with the exception of a few item limitations. Secondly, you can never overestimate

your Sims’ desire to be around large quantities of nourishing edibles. And,

frankly, a croissant and a hot dog is not going to do the trick.

Old Town is also plagued by a rogue saxophonist whose raison d’être

has yet to be determined. I suppose he’s meant to be noodling some notes for

the éclair-noshing patrons of a New Orleans style espresso joint, but he seems

more cut out for being in the way and following your Sims around, even bursting

into restrooms to serenade them with “When the Saints Go Marching In” when he

feels particularly funky.

Perhaps the most lunatic aspect of Old Town is the fact that everyone in your

Sims’ household must assemble for the journey there. Not even pets will be able

to escape the gaping jaws of the Old Town Shuttle. Even sleeping Sims will pull

themselves out of bed to traipse around Old Town in their skivvies. There’s

nothing you can do about it, either. Oddly, there are no means of overriding

everyone’s suddenly urgent desire to go to Old Town. All in all, it is awkwardly

implemented and isn’t a highlight of the game (although it should be), though

it makes a fine consolation prize to anyone who didn’t pick up Hot Date.

The Sims: Unleashed is another solid expansion which relies on adding

depth and fun rather than tons of goodies, although there are new walls, floors

and objects, too. The available number of lots alone puts this expansion on

the wish list of any hardcore Sims fan and adds a good deal of incentive to

keep on playing.