Ah, The Sims Pets - the one expansion pack I always want and will buy, ever since the original Sims Unleashed. In fact, in the case of The Sims 2, the Pets expansion was the reason I bought the whole game. My Sims' households never seem complete until they get that dopey dog, crazy cat or parrot that craps everywhere.
The Sims 3: Pets is also the second 'proper' iteration of The Sims 3 to reach consoles, coming to the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and 3DS. Noticeable by it's absence though is a Wii version, which is bound to be of concern to those of us who either play primarily, or only own a Nintendo console. In the name of journalistic integrity, we've just done a bit of digging, and we can't find a reference to it anywhere either - which seems strange, as we'd have thought The Sims 3 would have done quite well with the usual Wii audience...
If you pre-order the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 version of The Sims 3: Pets, you'll be able to nab yourself quite a few differently-designed pets, with unique markings you won't be able to see in the game otherwise, including:
Aztec-inspired Aztec Panthera cat
Panda Pom dog and Panda Chow dog
Skunk Birman cat
Tiger Chi dog and Tiger Husky dog
Bat-inspired Pouncer cat
Electronic LED-lit Cyber-tooth Tiger cat, Data Pup dog, and Data Pointer dog
Robot-influenced Mecha Neko cat, Iron Terrier dog and Robo Dane dog
Skeleton-themed Skeleton Crew Cat, Bone Mastif dog and Bones dog
Dead Space-inspired Ishimura Bobtail cat
Dragon Age-inspired Mabari War Terrier dog and Mabari War Hound dog
Personally, I quite like the panda dog and the skunk Birman cat - most of the others look a little bit odd, but as a pre-order incentive it's probably okay. The Sims 3: Pets launches on the 21st October this year across Xbox 360, Playstation 3, 3DS and of course PC - make sure you keep checking back, as we're sure to have more information before then, including a preview from when we had a little play in Cologne at Gamescom.
