The Sims 2: Pets (Wii, 2007)

I have been a huge fan for The Sims 2 on the computer system, but do not have the ability to take it with me when I visit family or friends. I have tried many of the The Sims 2 games for hand held systems, but it just wasn't the same and all the things that I liked about the origional version were missing in the handheld games. I read the reviews about about The Sims 2 Pets for the Wii and from the sound of things it was similar to the origional version. I went ahead a bought a used game (that didn't include a manual) thinking that way if it didn't meet up with my expectations I wouldn't be out a lot of money.

I sent the game to be kept with my family whenever I visited. Soon after I received a phone call from my brothers saying how addicting the game is, but without having a manual it was confusing to figure out. He told me how frusterating it can be to watch helplessly when a robber came and stole everything his sim worked so hard to buy. The more he talked the more I knew this was similar to the computer version and I wanted to try it for myself.

I finally had my opportunity to play the game myself and my brother was right... without the manual it was very confusing, but with time and patience and the help of the game tutorial I managed to figure out how to control and opperate the game. The game itself is similar to the origional version including the part where you can build your sims houses (within budget). You can fill your house with furniture, find your Sim a job, obtain a pet (or pets) and even breed your pets. Unfortunatly you are not able to have Sim kids yourself. However it does appear, though I havn't been sucessful with this yet, your Sims can get married or have roommates.

The hard part about this game (and which will make it difficult for young kids) is knowing you have to keep everything within budget. My brother soon learned that money does not grow on trees in this game and found himself sleeping on a park bench because he couldn't afford a bed. :-) You also need to study in order to make it up in your career field so that you will be able to afford more things for your house. So learning how to juggle, cleaning house, maintaining a strong work ethic, and gaining friends can be quite challenging. However because it is a game you can control all of this...perhaps you want your Sim to be a bum, or have him/her make it to the top of his career field. Perhaps you would rather them live in a slum, or live in a mansion. It is all within your control.

Personally I still prefer the computer version of the game myself. However this game was well worth the money and nice to have when you are unable to take the computer with you.