A full 2-paged article has appeared at PC.IGN.com about The Sims Unleashed. As stated earlier, the new expansion will mainly focus on pets, as well as community areas. The smaller addition is the gardening, which doesn't sound bad either. The Community areas contain areas where your whole family can go to at once - including the kids - with what will probably be a city bus in the final version. In those areas you'll find the neighbours of your sims walking around. There you have to decide: dog or cat?
The new expansion is mainly focused on the dogs and cats - there are "over a dozen breeds each for the dogs and cats". There are some other pets too though: you can get a parrot to give your charisma a boost, or just lovebirds, parkeets or even fish. Just like the Sims, pets won't grow up and so they'll stay small.The pet becomes a 'normal' family member too. However, you cannot control it directly (and so pets won't be able to get a job too, in case you didn't guess that). That doesn't take away that you can look how the pet's feeling, and satisfy his needs accordingly. As pets have relationships too, they will also help you getting friends (or enemies) more easily. And like Sims gossip about each other, Sims will now also be able to talk about pets. Pets can also interact with other pets, and so - for example - dogs can sniff each other's behinds when they get to meet each other. That brings us to relationships: the managing of these has been simplified a bit again.
"While you'll merely want to shower your pet with affection for the first few days, the trials of pet ownership will soon force you to take drastic measures. In other words, sooner or later you're going to have to keep them from pooping in the house. You could lead by example in this case, but since most of us can't seem to keep from peeing our pants at least once a day, we might need to take another tack."
Pets will also have three skills, which together make up the behaviour of the pet. Pets can do tricks, or just break the house depending on the tricks and housebreaking skills. The third skill is the "basic obedience skill" which simply determines the general behaviour of your pet. The busy sims can hire a pet trainer to train your pet. As in Black & White your pet needs to be praised or punished, and so you can decide the pet's character a bit.
The community area is going to be big too: "The neighborhood view has been expanded greatly to show 30 separate lots on a single screen.". There can be parks, shops and farmers' markets in these lots, and maybe more too. The community area is a bit of a mix of downtown and the vacation island: you cannot save games there, and the time is on hold in the house. You can go there with your whole family, but instead of meeting strangers you'll meet your neighbours.
With its 125 new items, your Sims will spend a whole day in the community areas easily. Most items are just for pets though, and not for Sims. Some of the new items can be purchased and placed in your home, like doghouses and pet baths. Some of the existing objects have also been enhanced: pets will drink out of the toilet if they get hungry or angry. They'll also dig in trashpiles looking for some last bits of foods. Fishbowls and birdcages can keep the cats busy, just like mice in your garden - where you'll be able to grow crops. Simply water some seeds you purchased at a local market and watch the seeds grow.
Last but not least, there will also be five new career tracks. There are tracks for the Animal World, Circus, Fashion, Education and Food/Culinary industries.
And that's just a summary of the article... You can read everything here and get to see 8 new screenshots too, which are on media page.
Written at 17:01 on Tuesday, 16 July 2002 by ChEeTaH.
