veryone knows that most problems can be fixed by throwing a few pets at them. Are your kids crying? Give them a puppy. Are you lonely? Buy dozens of cats. Sadly, the gameplay problems from the console version of The Sims 2 are not so easily mended, no matter how many furry companions you add to the mix.

After I chose my new dog from a huge selection of breeds (how do Labradoodles make the cut and Tibetan Terriers don’t?) and dressed him up in a bunch of crazy crap, I quickly came to realize that the game doesn’t offer much beyond that. You can teach your pet tricks and play with them, but there isn’t much of a payoff if you do. New items for your pet can only be purchased at a designated community lot, and to get them you need to spend Pet Points, a currency separate from your regular simoleans. This clumsy implementation feels like an awfully high price to pay for the privilege of scrubbing cat pee out of your carpet.

Apart from the animal stuff, the core game has also undergone some tweaks, like a greater sense of ownership of your surroundings. It doesn’t make Pets more fun, though; the lack of sufficient rewards and direction neuters the whole experience and makes it a chore to play.