- Console-style Bustin’ Out mode
gives players goals to achieve
- Two-player gameplay option
- Easy-to-navigate controls
- Why let Sims get in the driver’s
seat of vehicles without allowing the player the ability to
actually drive those vehicles wherever they want?
- “Sim” time moves a bit too frantic compared to “real” time
needed to do everyday Sim activities
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The
Sims Bustin' Out
Score: 8.4 / 10
The Sims, the best selling PC game ever,
successfully made the sometimes-difficult jump from the PC to the
console spectrum last year in the multiplatform The Sims. Even though
the game remained true to its PC roots of an everyday living simulation
with a twist, it converted well to the console market due to clever
conversion of the keyboard & mouse controls to the decidedly different
console controllers and adapting a more console-oriented 3-D visual
presentation.
The second Sims title for the console market, The Sims Bustin’ Out,
discussed here in its Xbox incarnation, traces the endearing path of the
first console version and achieves an even greater amount of
console-style flavor with the Bustin’ Out mode that gives console
players the goal-oriented story mode they’re more accustomed
to while still nodding toward fans of the
freestyle openness of the PC game that may even convert the most
hardened Sims naysayer.
What Bustin’ Out does extremely well is take the winning PC Sims
formula, add a dash of what the development team learned from the first
console title, and blend in enough new features and the usual Teen-rated
sexually-
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charged naughtiness to create another Will Wright recipe for tasty
gaming goodness. You can still play the old fashioned Sims way of Free
Play where you choose what to do in your Sims existence and when.
Hardcore Sims fanatics will enjoy the collection of items to build your
Sims domicile, outfit them in the latest Sims fashions, go to bizarrely
interesting jobs, and interact with plenty of Sims neighbors. And for
most Sims fans, this is the style of game that will have them playing
for hours.
But for the console gamer, the appeal of a goal-oriented game is what
will draw them to Bustin’ Out. There is even the return of two-player
gameplay for the most competitive of Sims players. After using the
Create-a-Sim mode to customize your Sim, it all begins in mom’s house,
where after completing some of the required goals (clean up house, learn
new skill points) you’re now able to move out into the Sims world on
your very own. There’s greed afoot, however, as your recently-divorced
mom’s ex-husband, Malcolm Landgrabb, a rich S.O.B. that is “reacquiring”
all the items he gave to your mom and his two kids, Mimi and the king of
Sim slackers, Dudley. It’s your goal to thwart Malcolm’s plans and
eventually take over Malcolm’s empire and his mansion.
Playing the Bustin’ Out mode requires meeting specific goals to advance.
And with the game paced by “Sim” time instead of “real” time, it can
become a frantically paced adventure that takes some of the fun out of
the game. You become so obsessed with doing certain Sim functions within
the quickly-moving time of a Sims day to unlock hidden items and move
closer to the mansion’s doorstep, you’ll miss out on the slower-paced
easygoing nature of the Free Play mode that allows you to play at your
own leisurely rate. Still, once you adjust to the speedy timeframe
required to meet your goals sufficiently, gamers will be able to
thoroughly appreciate Bustin’ Out’s gameplay.
The Sims world of Bustin’ Out doesn’t have the total number of goodies
and new environments that are available through the many, many expansion
packs for the PC Sims. But Maxis has done a respectable job making sure
the console Sims fans haven’t been shortchanged. There are 16 locations
that your Sims can explore and work in including a nudist colony, mad
scientist lab, a military base, night club, and movie studio, each with
their own distinctly Sims humor-filled touches. Getting from location to
location gives the Sims their first chance to “drive” the roads
connecting the Sims universe. But unfortunately it’s not as interactive
as it should be because by “drive” I mean sitting in a vehicle (such as
a motor scooter or dune buggy) and sit back for two minutes until you
arrive at your selected destination. At no time will you actually have
any control over the vehicle, so it’s puzzling why they even included it
in the game.
Controlling all the Sims proceedings is set up really nicely as it was
in the first console Sims title. Whether it’s zooming in for a closer
look, adding new décor to your house, or checking out your Sims
essential statistics (like hunger, friendship, and happiness)
on-the-fly, it’s an easy task with your Xbox controller. Along with the
solid control setup is a sensually colorful and well-rendered graphical
presentation (which seems to be closer in clarity and detail to the
upcoming Sims 2 PC game than the original Sims franchise) in tandem with
the wonderful music and patented Simlish language interaction between
Sims that creates a great overall gaming package.
While Bustin’ Out won’t give Maxis and Will Wright the same vice-grip on
the console marketplace as it does on the PC, the game does add another
successful chapter in the franchise’s history, especially with the
game’s story mode. Bustin’ Out adds nothing but positive reinforcement
to the Sims legacy.
