Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: The Sims

Written by Matt Partington on August 13, 2002

First Impressions: Killing Sims for sport is better than ever!

Love it or not, The Sims is a phenomenon. Never has a video game spanned through so many different types of people, all different ages and sorts. Hardcore gamers, amateur gamers, and people who never played a video game in their life were experiencing Will Wright's (creator of Sim City) masterpiece. The result is the top-selling PC game of all time, and one of the greatest to boot. But for those few gamers who haven't got to experience this virtual cocaine, you may be in luck, because your PlayStation 2 is being Sim-ified come Fall.

If you don't know what The Sims is (are you from Earth?), or need a memory refresher, then I'll explain it to you. The Sims is a God game and a life simulator. Whether it's one individual, or a full family of eight, your job is to control them and keep them satisfied. The ultimate goal: pure happiness and luxury with a batch of friends. The ultimate failure: death. But it's not as easy as it seems. Here's a chart for you to gawk at and attempt to understand (it makes sense to me):

Happiness >> Friends >> Happiness >> Luxury >> Money >> Income >> Job >> Unhappy>>

This is about the time you go into a seizure and foam from the mouth, because it goes in a complete and inevitable circle. At your pinnacle, you'll be handling a family easily with all of them pleased. At worst, you won't be able to handle one potentially suicidal Sim with no friends and a horrid smell. And believe me, there's tastes of both. Hygiene, comfort, social life, space, energy, and so forth come into play and affect everyday living. You'll usually end up working on your own type of time schedule, repeating routine activities over and over again, hoping for a drastic change in life. Maybe you'll become a Broadway star, or a military Lieutenant. Or possibly a neighbor will visit you and your Sim will fall in love and marry them, then have children. You control your Sim's life, but fate still comes into play, and you can't command that. Who knows, a fire might start from a simple barbeque and put your entire house into an inferno, with your Sim's burned carcass in the remains, or your spouse might be cheating on you with that person down the street who you hate. This factor of surprise and uncertainty will keep you playing until your head explodes.

Friends are the building blocks of your Sim's life. Much of the game is unprogressable until a you become pals with a certain number of neighbors. You have a relationship level with each person you meet. Some people you might click with, and you two will become best friends. Others will be rude and dislike you for whatever reason, or play Уhard to get.Ф The Sims for PC used a point system. У+100" relationship with say, Susie, would mean that you could probably wed and live a happy life. У-100" probably means that your foe wants to slit your throat with a butter knife. Don't let them get the best of you! Merely take out the pool ladder while they're swimming and let them drowned in a painful and miserable death (hey, it worked every time on the PC!). Maybe I find too much fun in Simicide...nah. We're not absolutely positive whether or not PS2 Sims will use this method of relationship, but information points to yes.

There are many, many expansion packs for The Sims PC. Livin' Large, House Party, Hot Date, and Sims Vacation are still the same essential game, but deal you different ambitions and extend upon the very idea of controlling virtual humans. The Sims for PS2 will hopefully combine many elements from these games and squash them into one nice neat package. Unlike the original Sims, which never gave you УrealФ challenges other than being promoted at your job, gaining more friends (this is the biggest aim) and buying a better house, Sims for the PS2 will provide Уlevel-basedФ objectives. This level-based gameplay will give you the opportunity to keep making your Sim's life bigger and better when the game is played properly. Mainly, it means going from trailer park trash to an elegant mansion, and you're rewarded with objects such as appliances and furniture on the way. You don't have to complete these objectives, but they are good for those gamers who want more structure, something that The Sims originally has nothing of.

The graphics should suggest to you that this game isn't a port. Even though the visuals aren't all that much of an improvement, they're still considerably better, since the layers are no longer 2D, but full 3D. Zooming will hold more of a purpose--now you can rotate the camera 360 degrees in full motion, unlike the PC versions which only supply four angles and three zoom viewpoints. Free roaming cameras will be a certain plus in this edition.

Same game? Sort of, but there's still many things that keep the title fresh and interesting. The most considerable act would have to be the multi-player mode. Now you can compete with your buddies on a split screen, which is surprisingly cut diagonally (supposedly better according to the creators). The target is simple, live a better life than the other person. A happy Sim is a healthy Sim, so keep them satisfied! Then you can save your game to your memory card, and load it up at other friends' houses (is this Sony's solution to Nintendo's Animal Crossing?). Mini-games are also featured, such as trying to get the girl in the hot tub first.

The original didn't allow much room for character customization: personality statistics, gender, skin color, and a few outfits is as far as customizing went. This led to a spur of Sims-based Web sites, where you could download skins for your characters and dwelling. From Ancient Roman outfits, to futuristic Jetson-like furniture, you could find a great many things. No need to worry about downloading for this version though, because Edge of Reality has gone to far lengths letting you customize your Sim till exhaustion. Everything from eye color to hair style is changeable. But Sims aren't the only thing you can mix-and-match. Now changing the color of the furniture is an option, allowing you to harmonize each room.