I have never had the pleasure of enjoying a Sims game on the DS. In fact, I have never even been sucked into the world of Sims, where the player dictates the miniscule character’s every want and need. To me, the entire premise seems undesirable in a video game. Personally, I have enough trouble managing my own life, let alone a small Sim who I am plagued with taking complete care of.

That being said, The Sims 2 Apartment Pets did a fair enough job of maintaining my attention, at least, for an hour or so. Initially I was instructed to conjure up a Sim character using the slightly limited customization options. I first had to choose the gender. The top screen displayed sketchy renders of both a male and female Sim. After choosing, I proceeded to choose a face, hair, and clothing. Ok, so maybe more emphasis was placed on the actual environments within Apartment Pets. I booted up the game.

The story begins by explaining that your character’s uncle has left town for a while and is allowing you to reside there without charge, but only as long as you manage his pet spa below the humble abode. This information is delivered to your Sim by way of a PDA, which will also be a central hub of important data throughout the entire game. After closing the PDA with a stylus tap, I attempted to roam the apartment a bit. Before I could move, I found myself viewing a simple cut scene of the elevator arriving with a maintenance man on board. The man handed me a stray dog he happened to pick up on his way over, and left before performing a single bit of maintenance.

After a short moment, I realized why maintenance man bolted. I approached the dog, and my Sim indicated that the puppy was emitting a putrid stench. The PDA appeared once more with instructions on how to interact with the small beast. I tapped the dog with my stylus, selected “pet” (after a few mishaps with correct pointer placement), and proceeded to guess at what each icon might do.

Each icon in the up close and personal puppy window is allows the user to play a mini-game. Unfortunately, each mini game is nearly identical to each other. Generally, you’ll find yourself drawing multiple circles, streaking lines, or holding the “L” or “R” buttons to spray perfume on different locations of the animal’s body After only playing through a few of them, I conceded and hoped that I’d washed away the smell. As the game progresses and you gain access to a wider range of animals, the mini-games will change some, but the overall idea is always the same.

After a while, you will start to earn Simoleans thanks to the pet spa your uncle left you in charge of. If you want to earn extra funds, you can head down to the spa on the elevator and deal with customers yourself. But, if your experience goes the same way that mine did, you won’t feel inclined to help anyone but yourself, by turning the game off.

The controls are basic in terms of stylus play. You simply double tap anywhere you want your Sim to go. The directional pad allows the player to scroll through the house so that the Sim can be sent anywhere at any time. Occasionally the game had trouble recognizing my stylus taps and would neglect to perform any action at all. This actually seemed to happen more often that desired or expected.

When interacting with the animals, the controls play very similarly to those used in Nintendogs. In fact, the entire concept of animals included in this Sims game seems to be pulled straight from Nintendo’s uber popular dog training simulator and placed into Will Wright’s world. Except, this version is slightly less involved, and slightly less refined.

One feature pursued more heavily in Apartment Pets is the ability to dress up your pets with outfits that would torture any real-life animal. As the Simoleans are earned, the player is able to purchase toys and articles of doggy clothing, as well as accessories to place on the poor, helpless creature.

Apartment Pets still forces the player to perform basic routine function that an average human being must participate in daily. To add another level of annoyance, the animals roaming throughout your apartment must also receive certain interactions in order to remain healthy and happy.

In terms of sound, Apartment Pets is on par with any other Sims game ever created … ever. The Sims characters still talk with that quirky strange dialect, and looping audio feeds pour through the speakers that re-enact the ambiance of a busy city outside of the apartment. The loop is so short that I actually began to get annoyed at simply hearing the game.

All in all, if you’re a Sims fan, find yourself easily addicted to simulation games, or just enjoy dressing up puppies, you might want to investigate Sims 2 Apartment Pets further. Otherwise, I’d say that interaction in a real world with real people and real animals is enough entertainment enough for any average human being.

Gameplay: 6.0
While Apartment Pets utilizes the DS’s many unique abilities, the execution, such as touch-screen accuracy, does not always perform well. The story is moderate in terms of entertainment, and the actual gameplay becomes mundane and tedious at times.  

Graphics: 5.0
The game did not start strong, with the poorly executed character designs and customization options. The top-down view from far away makes the game easier on the eyes, but it is still no graphic DS powerhouse.

Sound: 4.0
Looping audio samples were bound to drive me crazy eventually. If you love the traditional Sim spoken dialogue that never makes sense, then you might enjoy listening to Apartment Pets.

Difficulty: Easy
The only times this game could be considered remotely difficult were during attempts to get 100% on some mini-games. This was only an issue because of the poorly executed stylus accuracy.

Concept: 5.0-
If you love the way The Sims games have always played, then Apartment Pets won’t disappoint. The animal aspect is taken directly from Nintendogs, with a few added animals to play with. 

Overall: 5.5
While Will Wright’s most recent iteration for the Nintendo DS is average at best, the concept definitely stays true to The Sims gameplay code. The addition of animals and a spa to manage might be a welcome addition, or a much desired subtraction for fans of the franchise.