This new stand-alone Sims game lets players raise (and love) virtual pets in a story-driven simulation. Play as either Alice, a broke sim who enters her Dalmatian Sam into a local contest in order to pocket the cash prize and save her house; or Stephen, a cook whose predictable life runs amok when his friend's cat, Diva, comes for an extended stay. Each story contains 12 chapters with missions that, when completed, will move the plot forward. Players will be tasked with cleaning up after their animals and submitting pets' credentials to the show board.

In between all of that goal-accomplishing, players can take a break and fool around with the more traditional open-ended Sims gameplay -- fixing up their pad, playing with Fido and Scratch in a more casual environment or giving the sims a little "me" time. Thirty cat breeds and 100 dog breeds will be represented in the game, and in addition to furniture, decor, et al, players will be able to buy ramps, rings, see-saws and other objects to train their furry friends.

EA reps say Life Stories, released in February 2007, and now Pet Stories will appeal to the more casual gamer by providing a "directed" experience to players. Anyone intimidated by the whole free-for-all, do-whatever scenario The Sims is best known for, can learn the ropes in small, manageable increments.

Pets Stories will also cater to laptop users (casual gamers doesn't necessarily own a suped-up gaming rig) by including a battery meter, so players can keep an eye on their power reserves without leaving the game. Also, instead of taking up the entire screen like most PC games, Pet Stories will run in a separate window, which can be easily closed so players can multitask playing the game with IMing and using e-mail (or in our case, while sneaking in some play time during work hours).

Since Pet Stories is a stand-alone game, it won't require The Sims 2 or any other software to work. Just pop the disk out of the package, install the game and let 'er rip. No need to worry if you find these aw-shucks stories as addictive as a Desperate Housewives marathon, either -- EA reps says the company plans to roll out a third "Stories" game -- the very Lost-like Castaways Stories that will force sims to thrive while stranded on a deserted island -- in Winter 2008.