The Sims 2: Pets

In an announcement that will likely send more than a few Nintendoggies to the pound, EA is letting several different breeds of The Sims 2: Pets off the leash in October.

The Sims 2: Pets will come as an expansion pack that adds pets to all of your sims' families. You can also create completely new sims - and make a crazy cat lady, for instance - but you'll need the full version of the game in order to play Pets.

Pets adds over 40 breeds of dogs and cats that you'll be able to customize, breed, train and dress up. Highly trained pets can even take jobs in the service, show business or security industries as seeing-eye dogs, circus acts or ferocious attack... kittens.

But before your new puppy or kitty is ready for the big time, you'll first need to train them not to dig up the lawn and poop on the bed. And just like your human sims, your pets have needs like chewing (for dogs) and scratching (for cats). However, the Pets expansion is integrated into the main game, so you'll still need to take care of your humans' needs, too.

This is easier than it might seem, because just like in real life, humans and their pets make each other happy, and they interact in cute and fun ways that promise to keep you clicking. To see some of these interactions for yourself, check out the Movies tab above.

Pet adoption starts on October 17, 2006, when The Sims 2: Pets comes to retail.

August 1, 2006