The Sims 2: Pets [PSP]

Fans of The Sims are used to an endless parade of expansions; The Sims 2 already has three, most of which add useful and worthwhile elements to the basic game. But the fourth, The Sims 2: Pets, is perhaps the first to really make a significant alteration to sim life as we know it. After expanding the genetic and career potential of your sim characters, Pets will now let a similar set of tools be used to create furry companions for in-game avatars.

Much as you can create custom sims to populate a household, dogs and cats can either be created from scratch, or generated randomly. The random generator will pick breed and gender, and you can keep hands off the finer details. Or there's the option to select each characteristic individually: hair color and pattern (with layered patterns if you choose) as well as physical features like size, tail bearing and facial features.

Creating your pet from scratch isn't the only option. There are adoption centers and pet sales lots, and it's possible to pick up a stray right off the street. Some of those strays likely come from the neighborhood, as other sims' pets might have litters which they need to assign to owners; your pet might come from a friend rather than the magic of the custom pet creation menu.

Just like sims, these pets have personalities. You can either dial up a zodiac sign to automatically assign a set of personality traits, or dive into the customization process to slide the animal's disposition between friendly and standoffish, sleepy or hyper and so forth.

While the most basic reason to own a pet is to have something to play with and provide happiness, don't think that sim pets ownership will simply be carefree. Any real-life dog or cat owner understands that properly caring for a pet takes loads of time and energy, and that's the case in-game, too. So a dog or cat is a family addition that should be considered only if your characters aren't so burdened that they can't spare some time each day to feed and play with their companion.

Amusingly enough, pets can have careers, too. Newspaper ads indicate what jobs are available; common gigs will be working in public service (think K-9) or showbiz, where cute and well-trained animals are always desirable. For sims with a busy schedule, being able to get Fido out of the house and into someone else's hands for a few hours can be a huge relief, not to mention a slight source of income.