B_Campbell's Full Review: The Sims™ Unleashed (Expansion Pack) for Windows
Sims get lonely. Yes, it's sad but true, sometimes all a Sim wants is some companionship. What to do for that depressed, lonesome Sim who has no family members and nobody to call on the phone? Until now, nothing, but with Unleashed your Sims finally have the answer... pets!
Yes, EA added pets to the mix with the sixth of seven expansions for The Sims. Actually, there's lots more than just pets, but with a name like Unleashed it's pretty obvious that's the central focus. As usual, since Unleashed is an expansion and not a stand alone game, check out my review of The Sims for basic gameplay information. This review will deal with the major additions.
So you may have felt, even if you have the five previous expansions, that something is missing in your Sim's life. That something would be dog poop. Yes, including pets in the game includes the good and the bad; you may have a loyal companion, but make sure you take care of it. There are a variety of pets available, like iguanas and birds, but the stars of the show are the dogs and cats. These animals come into your life and are treated just like another Sim - they take up a slot in the family, and they have the same needs. The main difference is that you can't control them, so make sure you have everything they'll require readily available.
Pets aren't hard to take care of, which makes them good companions for your Sims. Interacting with a pet will raise the Social meter just like interacting with another Sim, and pets are cheap to feed and house. Just remember that your pet has its own social meter as well, so it can't be ignored! Pets have other benefits as well; they can be trained and brought to animal shows. Once in a while, a skunk or raccoon will become a nuisance by deciding to make your lot its home - if you don't have a faithful dog or cat to chase them away, you'll need to call Animal Control or suffer. And, of course, having a pet in the house is just more interesting.
And where do the pets come from? Well, there are strays that visit which you can take in, but there's also a method of adopting a pet. That means you need to go somewhere to get your pet, so we have a new area for your Sims to explore! It's called Old Town, and visiting is similar to visiting the new areas in Hot Date and Vacation, with one fairly major exception; the whole household goes to Old Town, not just one Sim. This can be pain when you have 8 people with 8 different jobs, since they all have to be home.
Of course, there are new objects (many of which relate to the pets), walls, floors, and building items. However, there is something else that I find even more significant, the expansion of the Sim neighborhoods. In Livin' Large, we were able to create additional 10-lot neighborhoods. Now, the neighborhood has been expanded with nearly two dozen additional lots. Many of these lots are part of Old Town, but a good number of them are empty lots which you can move Sims onto. For me, this is the most important new feature, as it greatly expands the social network of your Sims.
Old Town adds some more functionality as well. Your Sims can now be more self-sufficient, by buying vegetable seeds and planting them for later harvest. There are even pantries to buy where the food is stored. Old Town, then, is something of the rural centerpiece of the Sim neighborhood.
As usual, I suggest installing all of the previous expansions before installing Unleashed. This includes The Sims, Livin' Large, House Party, Hot Date, Vacation, and Superstar. Also note that The Sims Deluxe includes the first two, and the Sims Double Deluxe the first three, in the list above. As for system requirements, Unleashed doesn't demand much more than Superstar does, so the suggested system for the previous expansion should work just fine, but a slightly faster system will cut down on the lengthy loading time that Unleashed adds.
It's also advisable to download two files from the official The Sims website (http://thesims.ea.com/us/index.html). The first is a patch to Unleashed which corrects many bugs present in the game. It's possible to skip this patch by installing the next expansion, Makin' Magic, but if you don't do that, you really should get the patch. The second is among the many free extras offered, all of which are worthwhile to download but one in particular which can be helpful; the Stray-Away sign. This stops those sometimes annoying strays from visiting your house.
As with every other expansion, EA sticks to its guns and goes above and beyond the bare minimum. The new features are fully fleshed out and, once the patch is installed, it's a joy to play. The pets alone add a new dimension to the game, but by expanding the neighborhood and adding a new area, the game's possibilities are expanded as well. If you like The Sims, you'll like it more with Unleashed.
Go down to the neighborhood pet store and pick yourself up a pet -- make sure it's well-fed and treated right Expanded neighborhoods let you explore a...More at Amazon Marketplace
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