The Sims
Score: 90% ESRB: Teen Publisher: EA Games Developer: Maxis Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Simulation
Graphics & Sound: Although The Sims for the PC has been a best seller for several years now, its 3D characters overlaid onto 2D backgrounds look quite dated by today's standards. The Xbox version of the beloved people simulator sports much nicer 3D characters AND backgrounds, faster scrolling, and its camera even allows one to zoom in and out! The 3D engine that propels The Sims' graphics won't win any awards, but it does have reasonable amounts of detail, it runs at a consistent frame rate, and it looks good. It would have been great if the zoom feature allowed one to zoom in closer than it does, but you can zoom all the way out until you can view almost the entire lot your house sits on, and the camera scrolls quickly. Sound is basically identical to the PC version, but that's not a bad thing. Sound and music have always been consistently high quality in The Sims, and the Xbox version is no exception. Spoken Simlish, the simulated language of the computerized people, as well as the sound effects and music, are all of excellent quality and really add to the game.
Gameplay: Gameplay in The Sims basically consists of creating one or more people, building (or buying) a house for them, and then attempting to keep the people happy. When a new game is started, one crafts the personality of each person, allocating points to five attributes: Neat, Outgoing, Active, Playful, and Nice. These in turn govern how the Sim will interact with their environment and others. Happiness in The Sims, like in real-life, is complex, and consists of eight variables called Motives. They are Hunger, Social, Comfort, Fun, Hygiene, Bladder, Room, and Energy. These Motives are satisfied by having The Sims eat, socialize, rest, enjoy entertainment, bathe, use the restroom, gain a more spacious abode, and by sleeping, respectively. Depending on a given Sim's personality, some of these Motives are taken care of automatically, and others require direct intervention. For instance, one Sim may go to the restroom by himself, whereas another would require direction to use the facilities. And this is the crux of gameplay in The Sims, as it is really an experiment of sorts, where you get to create, control, and watch these people, and it proves quite fascinating. Whereas the gameplay doesn't really differ from that offered on the PC. The new 'Get A Life' Mode is task oriented, and it serves as both tutorial and mini-game. It presents a given scenario, a set of tasks, a person to routinely remind you of those tasks, and then all of the tools to complete it. This console specific mode must be completed before one can play the free form 'Play The Sims' Mode. 'Get A Life' Mode will take someone five to ten hours to complete, but given the number of options available, the wide open nature of the game, and its addictive nature, it could take much longer. It is really a welcome change of pace from 'Play The Sims'.
Difficulty: Although The Sims does not offer an adjustable difficulty level, it is easy to pick up and begin playing. It will take some time to master, but unlike the PC version, the controls are so tight and responsive that most will feel comfortable with it within and hour or two.
Game Mechanics: A major problem with the PC version of The Sims, in this reviewer's opinion, is its user interface. As already mentioned, scrolling was slow, but the mouse and keyboard was also quite cumbersome to use. The PC game is popular, so its clear that most people could just pick up the game and play it, but all the same, the Xbox version's interface is much simpler and easier to use. The interesting thing is that in translating the game to console, it hasn't been dumbed down at all. All of the gameplay from the original game, as well as some of the additional content and gameplay available from some of the PC's expansion packs, is intact. Some aspects of the game, such as the customizable nature of each Sim's appearance, is even more feature laden that the PC game. While some may feel that EA is just cashing in by porting The Sims to the Xbox and other consoles, the game they've created is quite enjoyable. The graphics, while not state of the art, are crisp and fluid, the sound and music is very well done, and the gameplay is incredibly accessible. The game is just as addictive as ever, but it doesn't suffer from the installation and loading headaches of the PC version, where expansion packs have to be installed in certain order, and one must wait minutes for the game to load. On top of this, add the new 'Get A Life' Mode, as well as support for two-player, split-screen play, and you have the best version of The Sims to grace any platform.
-Gordy, GameVortex Communications AKA Gary Lucero
Test Drive V-Rally 3