The Sims Review

The Sims is new to console gaming, but if you're a PC gamer then you've probably heard of the game if you haven't played it yourself.  The Sims is the number one selling computer game franchise of all time, and has spawned a number of expansion games.  Now The Sims has landed on the PlayStation 2, giving console gamers an opportunity to experience the game phenomenon themselves 

The Sims on PC is kind of like Seinfeld in that it is very popular, but ultimately is a game about nothing.  The game doesn't have an ending and there's not really any way to win.  This is not the case with the game on the PS2.  Rather than simply porting the game to the console, Maxis tweaked the gameplay as well.  You can still play the game the same open-ended way as the PC version, but in addition to this the PS2 version includes goal-based levels in its Get a Life mode and even some multiplayer games as well.

Before we get into that, though, it would be better to let you in on some of the game's basics.  You control one or more simulated people, or sims, and must guide them through their daily lives and keep them happy.  You begin by creating a sim by selecting from a variety of heads, hair styles, body types, and clothing, all of which come in many different colors.  You then set your sim's traits by allocating a limited number of points between different personality traits which will affect your sim's nature and how he or she reacts to the other sims in the game.  Your sim can be playful or serious, neat or messy, or shy or outgoing, among other things, and be anywhere in between.  You can play with a single sim or create an entire family complete with children.

Once you have your sim you can begin the game either in the Live or Get a Life modes.  The Live Mode supports the same open-ended gameplay as the PC version, where there are no goals other than advancing your sim's career, expanding his or her home, and, most importantly, keeping your sim happy.

Sims are driven by a set of statistics called motives.  These motives determine your sim's overall happiness, so keeping the motives satisfied is the main focus of the game.  The motives include hunger, hygiene, bladder, energy, fun, social, room, and comfort.  These motives naturally degrade over time and you'll need to instruct your sim to partake in activities that will replenish them.  For example, when your sim is hungry you can instruct her to go to the kitchen and make dinner.  When your sim's bladder is full you need to direct him to the bathroom and instruct him to wash afterwards, lest your sim's hygiene motive suffer in the process.  Failing to satisfy these motives is a recipe for disaster as your sim's happiness will plummet and embarrassing results such as wet pants or passing out in the middle of the floor might result.  Chronic neglect of your sim's motives can even lead to his or her death (Poe fans can place a sim-Fortunato in a small room with no doors ala The Cask of Amontillado with similar dire results).

In order to help you keep your sims' motives satisfied, the game comes with a number of interactive objects.  Some objects provide the obvious functionality, a fridge for your sim's food, a bed to replenish energy, a shower to keep clean, etc.  Others have dual functionality, such as mirrors that allow your sim to brush her teeth as well as practice speeches.  Some are just there to look nice and improve the quality of your sim's home, which has a good effect on the room motive.  There are a lot of objects available in the game, so you can easily customize your sim's home to your and his liking.

Some objects are special skill objects.  Using these objects will increase your sim's rating in one of the six skill areas.  For example, using a weight bench will increase your sim's body skill, while the aforementioned speech practicing will improve charisma.  Skills are important because they are used to determine how well your sim performs at such tasks as cooking and repairing broken objects.  Probably more importantly they are used to determine how quickly your sim advances in her career.

Unfortunately, just as in real life money does not grow on trees in The Sims.  In order to buy all of the objects you want to deck out your sim's home, you're going to have to bring home some money.  You can have your sim find a job through a newspaper or a career, and when you see a career track that you are interested in you can select the job (there are no interviews to go through).  Your sim will then spend eight hours out of the day at work and return with a daily paycheck.  The size of the check will depend on your chosen career and how far you have advanced in it.  You have no control over your sim at work, he or she will simply be absent from the game while away at work.  Your sim's success at work is instead a function of how happy he is when he leaves for his job and the level of skill in the areas needed by the job.  For example, entertainers need high charisma scores while athletes would be wise to work on their body score.

None of the sims exist in a bubble, and neighbors and friends will often come for a visit.  This is important as a way to satisfy your sim's social motive, but it also is one of the more fascinating aspects of the game.  Each sim has a relationship score with every other sim in the game that is affected by many factors such as mood, compatibility of traits, interests, and past interactions.  When you first meet another sim, you'll have only a few basic interactions available such as "greet" or "talk".  As you establish a relationship with the other sim, many more interactions will become available.  Flirting, joking, back rubs are a few of the things you can do - your sims can even fall in love and propose marriage.

Watching sims interact and converse in little thought balloons and a strange language known as "Simlish" is a big part of the game's appeal.  The longer you play, the more sims you'll meet, and you'll eventually be able to throw large parties filled with fights, polite conversations, and even some hanky-panky.  Many players probably play the game as if they were a real world slacker, working just enough to buy the right things to throw the next killer party.

The game starts you off with a basic bankroll, and you can use this and the money you earn from work to buy new objects and expand your home.  This is accomplished through the game's Buy and Build modes, both of which pause the game to allow you to do a little building and decorating.  In Build Mode you can place walls, doors, and windows, and cover your place with wallpaper, paint, and floor tiles.  The Build Mode is essentially the same as that of the PC version of the game, so it was designed for use with a mouse and it can be tricky to use at times with a PS2 controller.  The wall painting tool seems to have the most issues and often paints both sides or the wrong side of a wall.  The Buy Mode allows you to browse through all of the many objects available in the game, purchase new objects, and place and move objects in your sim's home.  You can also sell objects if you would like to buy better versions, such as an expensive bed to help your sim sleep better.  However, you'll also need to play through the Get a Life mode if you want to unlock all of the objects available in the game.  If all this building and designing is too much for you, don't worry because the Get a Life mode starts you off in pre-built homes.