GameVortex writes: "The Sims 2: Apartment Pets is like a hybrid of two other chapters in the universe of The Sims 2, Apartment Life and Pets. Filling your apartment with pets and decorating it isn't the only way to customize your Sim's life here, though. The apartment in question actually belongs to your uncle, who runs a pet spa downstairs. Spiffing the spa up is yet another option, with lots of accoutrements that wouldn't quite fit in an apartment, but work nicely in a small business. The graphics on DS are a nice fit for The Sims because everything is simple, colorful, and not terribly detailed. There aren't lots of cut-scenes or animation to display, and dialogue is limited to the weird babble that The Sims use each time they meet. The pets in the game are rendered extra cute, recalling at times what has appeared before in Nintendogs and other similar pet-care simulations".
GamersInfo writes: "If you're looking for that quintessential Sims experience, you won't find it here. If you want a pet simulator, keep looking. But if you want to spend a little time managing a shop, a little time caring for pets, a little time collecting items, and a little time playing mini-games then this is a very high quality title that will meet those requirements with ease".
"There are some things in my life that I'm proud of. I have wicked strong fingernails and make a pretty good grilled cheese sandwich. On the other hand, there are some things I'm not so proud of, like my affinity for Duran Duran hits and French fries dipped in soda. You'd call these Guilty Pleasures, and probably have a few of your own. So what makes a Guilty Pleasure game?
Arguably, gaming in general isn't something you always want to boast about. Out in the less virtual world, there are detractors who would call gamers geeky, isolated, and square. But in our hearts, we know we're hip-and the only thing Square about us is our appreciation of the Final Fantasy franchise. Still, not all games are created equally rad . . . in fact, some of the following treasures are frowned upon within our own community. So why are they so damn addictive?"
Ever since The Sims skyrocketed to popularity, the sandbox simulation title has seen expansion after expansion and spin-off after spin-off. While not every title in such a large franchise can be solid gold, The Sims has proven that it's a franchise that's here to stay. The Sims 2: Apartment Pets tries to downplay any Sims-like interactions in favor of providing a Nintendogs experience. You can pause the game time to mess around with virtual puppies, cats, hamsters and just about anything vaguely pet-like.
Unfortunately, there's just not a whole lot of Sims magic left in this tired rehashing of a long-loved series. Everything has been streamlined and downgraded to make it function on the DS, but while the system is technically capable of running this watered-down game, it's clear from the first 20 minutes that The Sims 2 was just not meant for Nintendo's handheld console.
