Sims 3 Pets – Preview and Pet Creator

The Sims 3 Pets has been in development for some time – I’ve played a bit of the character creator at E3 and gamescom and can confirm that yup, it feels a lot like The Sims. I’m a big fan of the Sims series, though I must admit that the fun kind of went out of it for me when they decided not to include the boom-chicka-wow cinematics for the sex scenes.

Due to the popularity of the original Sims Pets expansion, pets for The Sims 3 has been one of the most-requested features since the game launched in 2009. The pets that in this upcoming game are fully playable characters. You’ll be able to choose from a horse, cat or dog and, just like your human Sims, each pet will have three personality traits of their own. You have complete freedom to to play them as difficult and cruel or loving and helpful to their owners – give your human Sims a kicking with the horse when they’re looking the other way.

My favourite feature, however, is the customisation. Accessories for the pets include bridles, saddles and reins for the horses, while cats and dogs have all sorts of collars and bows to choose from. You can adjust hair length, hair cuts and dye their coats all manner of colours. Me? I’m planning on making a horse with skin using the rubber ducky pyjama texture. Or perhaps a nice cow print. It could go with my custom-made Wild West Cowpoke Kitchen Suite.

There will be several different versions of The Sims 3 Pets, depending on the format.

• The PS3 and 360 versions are a standalone game that will only include cats and dogs. You can choose from a range of predefined breeds or create your own custom creature. Once you get into the game, you’ll be able to mate with other breeds and create little mongrel babies. Should you want to pretend you have a real pet, you can use the Kinect voice control to give commands to your pets.
• The Nintendo 3DS version is another standalone game with over 60 predefined breeds of cats and dogs. You’ll be able to trade pets with other 3DS gamers over StreetPass and use the pedometer to collect Play Coins to spend on your Sims.
• The PC/Mac versions are an expansion pack, so you’ll need the original Sims 3 game to play. This version will have a much wider range of pets: Horses, cats, dogs, birds, lizards, rodents and snakes.

I wonder if we’ll get the boom-chicka-wow music when we breed our pets…

Soft-porn musings aside, EA have released a demo today for the PC and Mac that lets you create your own cats, dogs and horses. If you already have a copy of The Sims 3 you’ll be able to upload your creations to The Sims 3 Exchange. See you later, gamers. I’m off to make my rubber duckie horse.

Screenshots