Boomtown has posted a new preview of The Sims Pet Stories for PC, the latest in the new Sims Stories series. Developed by Aspyr Media, Pet Stories introduces two new storylines which revolve around dealing with a new pet's impact on a household. Boomtown gave the game a score of 5 out of 10.

From the review:

Each plot line consists of twelve chapters in total, with fresh goals being delivered every day via the built-in aspiration system that’s been a part of the series since the initial release of The Sims 2. The goals themselves are fairly standard, with aspirations akin to any normal Sim on a career trajectory, and an emphasis on bonding with your chosen pet. Training up each animal can take a good amount of time, and managing to balance out all of the aspects in each Sims life can be as tricky as ever. In-engine cut-scenes serve to move the story forward at points, but unfortunately these look no better than even the most basic of fan-created efforts, and do little to enhance the atmosphere.

In fact that seems to be the biggest criticism of the new style of structural content as a whole. Previous versions of the Sims have relied on the player to create their own story; to invent scenarios and deal with situations that probably loosely tie in with their own lives. Cathartic pleasure has always been at the heart of the series’ success, and suddenly with somebody else’s vision thrown in front of you, it all crumbles away and leaves a distinctly amateurish feel to the whole package. It isn’t that the game has changed in any way, the basic mechanics are as dependable and well-implemented as ever, but forcing users down a stifling path just seems to be counter-active to the entire spirit that the Sim Empire is built upon.

Boomtown: Sims Pet Stories Review

The Sims Pet Stories

Aspyr Media

Electronic Arts

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