| The Sims 2 Apartment Pets | |
|---|---|
| |
| Box art for The Sims 2 Apartment Pets | |
| Development | |
| Developer(s) | Full Fat |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Distributor(s) | EA Distribution Nintendo |
| Ratings | ELSPA: 3+ ESRB: E ACB: G PEGI: 7+ |
| Series | The Sims |
| Release date(s) | NA August 26, 2008 PAL August 29, 2008 |
| Technical information | |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Game features | |
| Genres | Life simulation |
The Sims 2 Apartment Pets is a video game for the Nintendo DS video game console. EA has described it as a follow-up to The Sims 2 Pets for the Nintendo DS. It also contains elements from The Sims 2: Apartment Life. As in the original, it allows a diverse amount of customization, allowing pets to be created in a variety of colors and sizes.
Story[]
The player guides their Sim through a story that requires them to take care of pets at their uncle's pet spa as well as taking care of their own pets. They receive mail from "Uncle Bill," stating he has left the player his apartment and pet spa to look after. Throughout the story, Sims will drop their pets off at the spa for the player to take care of, as well as cats and dogs to the player's apartment to look after for a short time.
Gameplay[]
The Sims 2: Apartment Pets is a combination of The Sims 2: Apartment Life and The Sims 2: Pets. Before beginning the game the player must create a Sim in Create a Sim, but with very limited options compared to other games in the series, with the only options being choosing a hairstyle, face, and clothing. The player's Sim only has 4 motives: hunger, bladder, social, and energy. The player cannot build walls or change the layout of furniture in their apartment or pet spa, only swap out furniture they buy from the catalogue. Social interactions between Sims are extremely limited, with only a few choices and no possibility to build relationships with others.
The apartment comes with several minor pets such as a rabbit, parrot, snake and hamster. The player can play a rhythm minigame with the parrot and snake. Cats and dogs can be looked after by the player, but cannot be adopted.
Spa[]
Customers will arrive at the spa with their pets from 9AM to 5PM every day (regardless if the player is in their apartment or at the spa) and is the main way to earn Simoleons. Customers will be treated automatically if the player does not want to attend them personally, but the amount of Simoleons earned will be much lower. To get the full payment, the player is tasked with dressing up and treating any ailments the customer's pets may have. Personally treating customer's pets successfully will result in an increase in the spa's fame, which dictates what kind of clients visit the spa, and how many Simoleons are earned. If a customer arrives at the spa and is not attended to in some time, they will leave.
Treating Pets[]
The player is in charge of diagnosing a pet's ailments through the use of several touch screen gestures. Each ailment the pet has to be treated with the correct tool, such as spraying perfume, bathing the pet, brushing it, etc. If the player makes too many errors, the pet will become agitated and run off, upsetting the customer.
Reception[]
The Sims 2 Apartment Pets got generally negative reviews, with critics calling it "monotonous" and "completely shallow", criticizing the uninteresting pets and bland storyline.[1][2]
Trivia[]
- The Sims 2: Apartment Pets is the only game in the series which was not originally a PC game to be available on only one platform.
- Although the game mentions specific times (like for the spa hours), there is no in-game clock and it's replaced with a graphic depicting the position of the sun instead.
- The player's Sim cannot die in any way. If their hunger need depletes, it is instantly refilled to half by an unknown cause.
- All pets in the game cannot die in any way. They also do not need to be fed.
- Even though a shower is in the apartment, there is no hygiene motive so taking a shower in the game is unnecessary.
- Similarly, there is a television and stereo, but there is no fun motive.
References[]
Other languages[]
| Language | Title | Translated etymology |
|---|---|---|
| English | The Sims 2: Apartment Pets | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | ||
| Dutch | ||
| European Portuguese | ||
| French | ||
| German | Die Sims 2: Apartment Tiere | |
| Italian | ||
| Japanese | ||
| Korean | ||
| Polish | ||
| Spanish |
External links[]
