Believe it or not, this is the first Sims Pets on the Xbox. The mutant cash-cow monstrosity is usually meticulous in bloating like cash-absorbent foam into every crack in the market. The Sims 2 Pets came out on every platform and it's dad - including N-Gage, for God's sake. But it's only now that we lucky Xbox owners can know the pleasure of sending an Alsatian to work in the local factory.
It's the same old same old, really - The Sims 3 Pets is just what is sounds like. The Sims 3, with domesticated beasts. Pets aren't just creatures that need to be walked and watered, they're a full and equal part of the family.
Your job is to meet the needs, desires and wishes of your Sims and their companions, helping them progress in their lives careers and homelife. Torturing them, burning them, and testing their physical limits are inessential but amusing extras. It's a lovely pursuit, offering all members of the family a decent timesink, though it does require a patient, easily-absorbed brain.
You can use the character creator to build some ruddy adorable puppies and kittens. Thumbs mostly up, then. But if you've got The Sims 3, this might feel like little more than a loveable but only semi-substantial expansion pack. On it's own, it's yet another decent slice of wholemeal life-sim.