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Platform: Xbox Genre: Simulation Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Maxis ESRB: T (Teen) Released: Q1 2003 Support AE! Buy Games Here:
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The Sims
Score: 8.7 / 10 |
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Pros: -
New two-player games -
Good conversion of mouse-and-keyboard controls to Xbox controller -
Improved and finally true 3D graphics
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Cons: -
Missing almost all of the PC expansion pack elements - While graphics are improved, could have been better
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Related Links: Review: The Sims - Hot Date (PC)
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"The Sims successfully enters the console realm..."
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When
I first heard that The Sims, the best-selling PC game of all-time, was
making the leap from the PC to the three home consoles (PS2, followed by
the Xbox and the GameCube), I’ll admit that I was skeptical as a Greek
philosopher. How could a game so perfectly suited for PC gameplay with
its mouse-and-keyboard control setup, transform into a good-playing home
console game, minus the mouse-and-keyboard controls that make playing
the PC version so easy to navigate, whether you’re designing and
building a dream Sim home or just simply interacting with other Sims?
After
playing the Xbox version of The Sims, however, my skepticism quickly
evaporated. The Sims successfully enters the console realm by wisely
incorporating new console-friendly controls and more importantly new
game modes that even the most hardcore PC Sims fans will enjoy. The
staple gameplay of The Sims remains the same: you live out a virtual
life through your Sims. Build a place to live, go to work, deal with
relationships, eat, sleep; if you do it in your real everyday life, you
will do it in your Sim everyday life. That signature gameplay is present
in the open-ended single-player Play The Sims mode. But new to the
console versions is a goal-oriented Get a Life mode (either
single-player or multiplayer challenge) and the two-player Play The Sims
mode.
For
the first time, you can play with or against another human Sim player on
the same gaming system. Including two-player modes was a smart move by
Maxis, who recognized that console gameplayers are big on multiplayer
gaming. And the two-player modes are definitely a lot of fun. The
unlocked bonus two-player games square you off against another player in
all kinds of competitive hijinks. In the Frat House level, the goal is
to gain more new friendships in the college frat house than your
opponent before the time runs out. And to aid you in your quest for new
beer-swilling chums, you can use the “spread a rumor” interaction to
ruin your opponent’s Sim reputation and be victorious. The grand prize
for being a popular gossiper is a wild hot tub party that only a frat
house crowd could throw. All the two-player games have similar original
(and often-times devious) goals and options to accomplish winning. The
Get a Life mode throws you in a single-player goal-oriented Sim game.
You start out broke and STILL living at home with mom, no job or money
lining your pockets to move out. After you borrow enough cash from mom
to move out and meet a few other criteria, you’ll progress through
more scenarios like this. Of course, if you are a fan of the original
Sims, then you can play that way too, building a house in a neighborhood
and then going completely open-ended Sims adventuring from there. As in
the PC version, the choice of what to do when is left up to you. Missing
from the game however, is most of the gameplay elements that are
contained in the PC Sims expansion packs. So don’t expect to be taking
a Vacation with the new love interest you met on a Hot Date while
throwing a House Party for all your Unleashed pet-loving Sim friends who
are Living Large in your Xbox Sims game. But there are still plenty of
unique items, clothing, and characters throughout The Sims and the
two-player and goal-oriented gameplay more than makes up for your
unexpanded Sims options. By
far the biggest hurdle in getting The Sims onto the Xbox was coming up
with controls using an Xbox controller to maneuver in a game designed to
work with a mouse and keyboard. Maxis did a great job of mapping all the
PC commands to the Xbox controller. The one area where this game could
have really suffered was in the controls, but instead you have
easy-to-learn and quite responsive Sims command literally at your
fingertips. Helping out is a light “beam” that more than suffices
for the absence of a clicking mouse in selecting items and choosing your
Sims and your desired interactions in the Sim world. The
game is given a much-needed graphical upgrade. While the look of The
Sims is essentially the same as it is on the PC, there’s more detailed
visuals and they are in a real 3D environment. Unlike the 2D isometric
PC graphics, which are only quasi-3D, The Sims on the Xbox is in a fully
3D realm. The new Sims look will be appreciated by Sims fans and was
definitely needed in a game that hasn’t seen a major visual overhaul
since its inception 3½ years ago, even though its obvious that Maxis
didn’t push the visual envelope when developing on the Xbox, which is
definitely capable of better rendering than this.
And
what would a Sims game be without the amazing music and sounds that
pervade throughout your gameplaying, which has always been one of the
strongest assets in a Sims game. Whether it’s the amusing conversation
babble between characters known as Simlish to the varied unique musical
tunes from the Sims musical acts that float through your Sim radios,
TV’s and dance floors, as always, expect to get an audio stimulation
out of this simulation title. While
The Sims isn’t a totally radical departure from its PC origins, the
Xbox version scores just a tad higher than on the other console version
I’ve played, the GameCube, because of its slightly better graphics,
more comfortable controller, and easier game save system on the built-in
Xbox hard drive. But whatever console you play The Sims on, its new and
improved 3D graphical presentation, console-friendly controls, and new
single-player and two-player modes make The Sims a sim-sationally fun
game that is a splendid addition to The Sims universe. -
Lee Cieniawa (April 12, 2003)
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