Review #205: The Sims

 Back to the past!

 Who hasn't played The Sims? No, really, there's few games with such a wide audience as The Sims. It's been over 15 years since the release of the very first version of The Sims, and we are up to the fourth iteration of the series. After all this time, is it worth it to go back the game that started it all? And a console port at that? Nope, it's not.

 The premise of The Sims is to create a family of 1 to eight Sims and... play god. You can build them a house, and expand it at any time, then buy furniture, toys, electronics or decorations to make an abode that suits your fancy. You can let your Sims have free will, but you're always allowed to order them around, and they themselves can study, train or practice different activities such as cooking in order to better themselves, or even get promotions in their jobs! I really don't need to explain what is The Sims, but the point I wanted get at, is that there's no 'goal' in The Sims, there's no 'end' to the game, no objective... unless you play the PS2 version.

 Exclusive to this port is the Get a Life mode. It's a sort of goal-based story-mode, in which you start as a slob that lives at home with his mother, eventually moving into his Dream House. It's a great idea, and I appreciate having the mode, really, I like having objectives in my games! However... back in the Sims 2, keeping your Sim happy was kinda tedious, and keeping your Sim happy is a necessity if you plan on finishing this mode, as he or she will refuse to study or train if they aren't happy, and taking into account that they have to eat, sleep, socialize, have clean rooms, go to the bathroom and have fun.... it's pretty tedious, and you'll be doing progress every few minutes during hours of game time. It's not much fun, and sadly, it's a requirement to finish this mode in order to unlock the classic The Sims mode... or you could use a cheat. Definitely use the cheat and keep this mode as a curiosity or novelty for a rainy day. Or something.

 As far as the port goes, it's pretty decent. The interface is pretty clean and easy to navigate, even if finding objects to buy is a bit cumbersome. This version also lacks everything The Sims would eventually have through expansions, although it does have some content from House Party, it lacks a ton of furniture and other items. Another thing to keep in mind, is that the framerate can chug a bit from time to time, I found it better to simply hide all walls(By pressing circle, you can also make it so that they disappear if the cursor is over them, but this is what makes the framerate dip the most). So far, it sounds like a very inferior port, and it kinda is, if only it didn't have the two player mode.

 There's two ways to play in Multiplayer, either the Minigames or Classic. The Mini-games are unlocked as you advance through Get a Life, and they are pretty dull. For instance, there's one in which you compete with another player to socialize the most and then get money donations from them, the one with the most money when the time runs out wins. Yeah, they are pretty bland. But you can also play the classic mode with another player, and that's awesome. The screen gets divided diagonally, with each player having their own cursor. Sure, going into Buy Mode pauses the game for both players, but it's a small concession to make in order to play with another player! For some it might be just a novelty, but I thought it was genius. And it's pretty fun too!

 The graphics are certainly... not the best. Character models are simple, and the textures look pretty muddy. The music and sounds are... they exist, and they are there, but I didn't care much for them, although the Sims theme is pretty good Still, the presentation isn't The Sims best feature, and it never was, and for what the game is intended to be, the presentation is more than acceptable. The Joystick controls are fairly good, it's no mouse, but it gets the job done, and I'm pretty sure they did the best they could.

 So, is it worth it to go back? No, I don't think so. Yes, the Multiplayer Mode is a huge selling point for me, but the other day I found out that the PS2 port of The Sims 2 also features this Mode! Which makes it even harder to recommend to come back to this version of The Sims. It's still a good game, but sadly it has been outclassed by every other iteration of the series, so... skip this one.
 5.0 out of 10.