Reviewed: November 17, 2005
Reviewed by: Tyler Whitney
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Developer
Maxis
Released: October 24, 2005
Genre: Simulation
Players: 1-2
ESRB: Teen
7
7
8
9
7.5
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
The Sims 2 is the latest in the ginormous empire of games, from the ingenious mind of Will Wright. If I asked you what was the number one selling PC game of all time, would you venture a guess of Doom or Half-life perhaps? Or maybe Civilization? Well, try again because the Sim’s franchise owns that lofty title by a healthy margin. Hell, even my 80 year old Grandma bought a copy, and while she never played it, that’s still part of the record.
Of course this title hopes to expand on the PC versions, while also offering some console friendly tweaks, and it’s always been fun playing interior decorator, regardless of virtual jobs, families and so on. I just want that damn 60’’ plasma TV before I retire-is that so much to ask?
The bulk of The Sims 2 is Story mode, where you get a randomly selected Sim to cast out into the world. But there is also a “free-play” mode that is similar to the original Sim’s game. You start off with nothing, build a home, and make connections, while trying not to go insane in the process. Sound familiar to anyone out there?
The building features are pretty basic though, no fancy balconies or even upper stories, just flat, unattractive houses, filled with neurotic Sims and useless junk. If I sound overly negative…well, when is there going to be a “Sims: Tibetan Monk” game eh? Where we can meditate in hopes of reaching Nirvana, following “The Path”, and never harming another living creature, to name just a few examples of Buddhism Guess that won’t break any chart records huh?
The main focus of the game is the story mode though, and from here, you choose your personality and future goals, selecting from pre-set options, or you spend some time tinkering with your character. These factors will often dictate your general path in life, or predisposition for something, whether that is strengths, or faults, or such things as extroversion/introversion.
Once this is all complete, you are suddenly sharing a house with 2 others, and go about learning to live with them. Of course, this is a shopaholics dream. You can buy an unlimited amount of chairs, lamps, beds, appliances and so forth. Best of all, you won’t get your credit card destroyed either. Sometimes you will want to save your money for that fancy sofa or recliner, or better yet an expensive classical painting that would look just perfect over your German-style fireplace.
A console only feature is the ability to craft recipes as well, bringing a little Wolfgang Puck into this fantasy world. These dishes have certain effects too, and will grow more potent and exotic, in time.
Beyond the materialistic things, you will have to build up your sim in the areas of romance and career as well. Worthy of note is the fact that you can’t raise kids, or even age, a divergence from the PC version. I’m not sure the rational behind this, perhaps they went with the conventional wisdom of the console gamer being more “casual”, and they don’t want to bother their pea-sized brains with added chores-*shrugs, beats me.
Your counterparts you interact with won’t test you much either, their reactions start to become unsurprising. If you want to elicit love for instance, you hug, kiss, give gifts and so on, and they, 99.9% of the time, will respond in kind. I sure wish real-life interactions were so formulaic. It also helps that you have special x-ray vision of sorts, that helps to tip you off to who is upset, excited, in love and so on.
Like all Sims games, I absolutely hate it early on. You have no maid to pick up after you, or a gardener to mow your lawn, so your constantly micro-managing. Sure you can mess with time to skip past laborious sections of the day, and being able to grow and adapt is central here as well. Ironically enough, it does get a bit easier as you grow up, something we adults, especially young bucks like myself (23 woot woot!) know all too well isn’t entirely true…If I wanted a second job, I would go get one, not play The Sims 2.
Not a whole different from the PC incarnations, maybe a little less of that sexy high-definition, but the graphics still look nice. Lots of colorful, vibrant characters flitting around the screen, doing all manner of things, accompanied with fluid animations. There is supposedly around 50 different types of emotes and other body language responses, as you interact. Some of these look a bit goofy, or overly generic, but others seem almost motion captured.
The furniture and other objects are pretty varied, and fit in well with the scenery and themes. At times you have some clipping issues, and the load times are kinda brutal, but overall, you can’t really complain about the graphics here. After all, this isn’t an intensive First-person shooter…uh oh I think I just gave Will Wright a new expansion idea-“Sims: The Reckoning.”
You all probably remember Charlie Brown’s mother right? Of course you do. Well apparently, Mr. Wright was a big fan of the show because he took her dialect, and made it the official language of The Sims. It’s some kind of weird gibberish, almost akin to toddler babble. Yet, it somehow expresses the complex emotions of love, jealousy, hatred and even depression. And it’s hilarious too boot.
The music is steady as well, providing a nice backdrop as you explore your virtual life. Yet, there isn’t much during the actual gameplay itself, so you hear a lot of the environmental effects, like your tv, stereo, someone talking in the other room and so on. When it is playing, it’s composed of soft dance type music that doesn’t get too annoying, and I am pretty sure some of it is from the original PC game.
Well, inherently, the The Sims 2 can be replayed over and over again, with different results. You may find love early on, then break up, or craft a stylish home, and live a life of luxurious solitude. Or choose a combination of the two if you can swing it just right, getting the girl/boy, a successful career and the lovely abode.
And hey, if your bored of all this, you can always invite your roomie to be your virtual roommate. You both plunk down at the controls and do your thing, although one guy makes the major decisions, cutting down on the confusion.
It’s too bad this isn’t the PC version, home of the longest line of expansions on the planet, as you know could expect more content down the road. So…just how did that hard drive work out there Sony?
Let me just say this… The Sims 2 offers a chance to experience something most gamers never will-a girlfriend. I kid, I kid…:}. In all fairness, the dynamic gameplay, wealth of replay-value and solid presentation, make for a worthy experience. So if you want to become a master chef, own a multi-million dollar home, and be the envy of your virtual neighbors, go out and pick this title up pronto.