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| Sims quietly interact at home. |
The controls in Bustin’ Out have been slightly refined from the last game. One
nice thing is the ability to choose what you want your Sim to interact with from
a menu of near by objects. This doesn’t sound all that neat, but trust me when I
say it can be very frustrating trying to get your Sim to turn on a lamp but
instead they keep talking to the person near the lamp. Problem solved. Another
tweak is that your Sims motive (hunger, fun, etc.) meters seem to take longer to
diminish and quicker to fill up than before. This is nice as it takes away from
of the more mundane tasks and allows you to do more things.
In addition to the improved controls there are also more things and more things
to do. One of my favorites is the old “pull my finger” gag! Actions, along with
the furniture, are unlocked the more you play the game. Part of the fun in any
Sims game is to see what all of the items do and try to collect as many as
possible. Well, that and electrocuting your Sim!
As far as the sound and graphics, both seemed to have been improved with the
graphics having the most marked upgrade. Now Bustin’ Out isn’t going to set a
new standard for PS2 graphics, but with all of the new locations, items and
animations from the last version you can tell that there was a little more
attention to detail. One aspect that I have always enjoyed in Sim games is the
sounds. Now Sims don’t ever talk using real words but they also never fail to
convey their feelings. Get a Sim upset and you’re likely to see a rant worthy of
Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm…without the dirty words.
There are only a few real weaknesses in the game. I wasn’t that happy with the way
the build controls worked. This is the part of the game where you can arrange
your furniture and build your house. It just seems a little too clunky for me.
And while the PS2 version does allow you to go online and meet with other Sims
and chat if you have the headphones, the normal two-player setup is kind of
lame. Finally, there are some very long load times happening here.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
86%. For those that have yet to experience
a Sims game on a console and want to then Bustin’ Out is the way to go. 
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