E3 2011: We got a chance to check out the snuggly expansion to The Sims 3

The Sims 3 had continued the trend of previous The Sims games by offering numerous expansion packs, but for the most part, none of the expansions for the third game had the same impact as those released for The Sims 2.

Whilst The Sims 2 had such useful expansions like University and Pets, The Sims 3 gamers haven’t had anything truly substantial. World Adventures and Ambitions added some interesting content, and Generations and Late Night included some lifestyle additions, nothing really had the same impact as, say, University.

Pets can be as evil...

Finally, one of the expansions from The Sims 2 makes its way to The Sims 3: adding Pets. The Sims 3: Pets for the PC will be a hefty expansion to The Sims 3, while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Pets will be full games unto themselves.

Having had some hands-on time with the PC version of The Sims 3: Pets at E3 2011, fans can be assured that Pets gives them everything they expect. For one, players get to choose from cats, dogs and horses, and each of them are fully customizable. While there are preset breeds such as Siamese cats, players can go wild and make unearthly animals. Players may create “tiger dogs” by adding tiger skins onto the dog model, or make evil cats and horses with all-black skins and blood red eyes (including red sclera!) That’s right, make your own Ringwraith steed!

Pets act like any other Sim in this version, with their own needs and personality traits. They can even get their own jobs and even solve mysteries like a modern day Benji. Sims can also use their pets – especially horses – in their work, training them to do activities such as racing and hurdle jumping.

...or as friendly as you want.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games lack horses, but now pets become the stars of their own stories, with various scenarios. As a bonus, the Xbox 360 version is Kinect-enabled, with players able to use vocal commands on their pets.

The Sims 3 fans have been clamoring for this expansion, and regardless of the platform, they’ll be getting everything they could hope for in The Sims 3: Pets.