The Sims Pet Stories - new screens

Creativity, accessibility, and the sadistic pleasure of watching your Sim clutch his crotch for dear life - as you toy with the idea of letting him use the bathroom - have always been hallmarks of the Sims series, and they're all back in The Sims Pet Stories. But this time around, the franchise hopes to lure more Sim-virgins into the mix by adding a bit of direction - via lighthearted plotlines - to the otherwise freeform nature of previous iterations.

Pet Stories will throw you in the shoes of two new characters with their own sets of trials and tribulations to overcome. Alice is broke as a joke and her landlady is ready to give her the boot unless you can help her come up with some cash by winning best in show at the local dog show tournament. Apparently, getting a real job won't pay the rent, so you'll be busy training your pet prodigy to perform tricks over the course of the game's 12 chapters.

GamesRadarTylerNagata