Some earlier screenshots of Sims 2 Pets on Next Gen N-Gage looked really awful, very low resolution and pixellated, but thankfully the latest shots look far better, and make full use of the Next Gen's QVGA screen resolution.

Well, this is difficult to judge from the screens alone but it does indeed seem like yet another Nintendogs clone. Yes, there's the Sims brand on it, and in theory "Pets" should cover all kinds of animals, but as far as I can tell the game only lets you keep a puppy.

While the Next Gen N-Gage's other doggie game Dogz has lots of mini-games, Sims 2 Pets seems to go in the other direction and puts the emphasis on taking care of the dog rather than entering competitions. As you would expect from a Sims game there's a lot of maintenance to do and unlockable items are the indirect rewards for this maintenance. A twist on the concept in Sims 2 Pets is that you also get to choose and maintain the owner as well as the puppy, and their two fates are intertwined as you progress through the game.

One thing Sims 2 Pets and Dogz marketing departments need to learn though: tell us what the breeds are. Dog fanatics are usually very keen on particular breeds, just like car fanatics are keen on particular makes of car, and it would be great to see a list of all the breeds available in both these games.