It had been at least a year since last I played The Sims. After I upgrading my machine, I just didn't get around to reloading that particular title. However, as I browsed the shelves of my local computer store, I came across Unleashed. At long last, Maxis gave Sims fans something they'd been wanting since the release of the first title: pets! Budgies, love birds, iguanas, turtles, goldfish, and, of course, cats and dogs, are all now available for Sims to welcome into their homes.

The Sims: Unleashed is the fifth expansion for the incredibly popular title, and Electronic Arts/Maxis could likely have just added pets and a few new items and still had a profitable title. Instead, they made this expansion one of the most content-rich yet. I have Livin' Large (link to review - http://www.womengamers.com/revprev/sim/livinlarge.html ), House Party, and Hot Date (http://www.womengamers.com/revprev/sim/hotdate.html) in addition to Unleashed, and if I could choose only one to install, it would be this one.

In addition to the pets and new items, the expansion adds an entire new area, Old Town, which is a New Orleans-themed shopping district complete with musicians, entertainers, and mysterious curio shops for those Sim voodoo practitioners. Even better, Unleashed adds the ability for players to zone and rezone: lots can now be designated as residential or commercial, and bulldozed at will. Unlike Hot Date, there's no fee for the Old Town trolley to come and fetch your Sims for some time out and about. Even the Neighborhood screen has been polished a bit, with new options on the toolbar, and what appears to be Nessie swimming along in the river.

There are also five new career tracks for Sims to pursue: Animal Care, Culinary, Circus, Fashion, and Education. Furthermore, while not technically a career track, farming can provide an income for Sim families.

Of course, the Sims can encourage their pets as well, by petting them, praising them, scolding them, and giving them treats that are purchased in Old Town. Indeed, there's plenty of conspicuous consumerism where Sim pets are involved: there are pet accessories like ribbons, collars, chew toys, and pet gyms, in addition to necessities like food bowls, scratching posts, bathing tables, and pet beds.

Supposedly, it's possible to breed pets in the game: the animal trainer in Old Town says that cats can have kittens and dogs can produce puppies, but I never had any luck with this.

Unleashed's cats and dogs are smart enough to learn, and can be trained in Obedience, Tricks, and Hunting (Note: Hunting changes to Housebreaking for dogs). Teach them well, and Sim owners can enter their pets in Old Town shows. If Fifi or Spot is impressive enough, the judge will issue a trophy that can be displayed in a special case for the purpose. Breed doesn't matter here, only talent: if the Sim hasn't invested enough time in training, the judge will send pet owner and pet home in shame. However, speaking of breeds, Sims do have a selection: there are Persians, Siamese, tabbies, and more for cat lovers, as well as Dalmatians, terriers, and pugs for dog fanciers. If a player dislikes the breeds available with the basic installation, there are several web sites with pet skins available for download.

The aforementioned Hunting skill for cats becomes quite important for players who decide to pursue the new gardening options in The Sims: Unleashed. My Sim, Farmer Bob, is a hardworking man who labored from sunrise to sunset, watering and weeding his crops. Despite his best efforts, the help of his sister, Sally, and the diligence of two scarecrows, his fields were terrorized by gophers and bunnies. Undaunted, he got an orange tabby, and, although it took days of patient training, Toby the tabby finally started chasing away the pests. The average player won't think bunnies are so cute after losing several squares' worth of lettuce and carrots to their voracious appetites. Gardening gets a bit tedious after a while, but it is not without rewards: harvested produce can be stored for Sim food in a special pantry, or sold at the market for profit. From time to time, giant vegetables will appear, and Sims can take them to the gardener at Custer's market for additional revenue.

Strays can get annoying, but Maxis has created a special download (http://thesims.ea.com/us/getcool/index.html) for players who want to get rid of them. Other minor quibbles include not being able to shoo bunnies and gophers away with a human Sim character. Sims can stomp on those pesky roaches, so why can't they swat the garden pests if they're present on the scene? It was frustrating to watch Farmer Bob stand by helplessly as square after square got devoured. Additionally, it makes no sense that the entire family has to go to Old Town. If one goes, they all go. This gets rather hard in larger families, with multiple Sim work schedules. Farmer Bob couldn't just harvest and go to the market: he had to wait on Sally to get home from teaching junior high. Nevertheless, these are minor peeves. The charming new pet interactions and other elements more than make up for the shortcomings, once one gets past the irksome installation.