Game play in
The Sims has always been pretty simple: Create a family, buy or build a house, and then nurture the family so that they will be happy and do interesting things you can watch and enjoy. In
Unleashed, game play is unchanged, although pets, gardening, and expanded neighborhoods enrich the experience substantially.
The biggest selling point of Unleashed are the pets. Everyone loves dogs, cats, and other little creatures, so this new expansion pack's Old Town area offers a number of pet shops where Sims can purchase them. Sim families can not only buy pets of the canine and feline variety, but can also purchase iguanas, fish, turtles and birds. Cats and dogs become part of the Sim family, and can be directed and have needs just like their human counterparts, whereas the other creatures are no different than previously available animals, namely the fish and guinea pigs from the original game (although the latter was only available as a free download).
Pets are not just a trivial aspect of game play though. Since the entire focus of The Sims is to get the simulated people happy, pets can greatly aid in this endeavor. So even though pets have their own needs, and must be taught in order to increase skills in such useful areas as Obedience and Tricks, they can also bring great joy to the Sims, and help keep them content.
Besides pets, there are community lots and gardening to busy players of Unleashed. Gardening can take place at home, and if so desired, the vegetables grown in the Sims gardens can be sold at markets in lots marked as belonging to the community. New objects support gardening, included the new Pantry object, which can be used to store the vegetables and keep them fresh.
There are also new Career Tracks, including Circus and Education, as well as new NPCs, like the animal control person, that can interact with your Sims. Community lots can also be used for such events as pet shows, and gardening seeds can be purchased there. Both the new Old Town area, as well as the community lots, can be modified using the existing building tools, and the many new objects included.
