The Sims Bustin' Out (PS2)
The Sims is a god game which allows you to control your own made up person in a house in an urban town. Bustin’ Out is a sequel to the original ‘Sims’ game, but it adds more gameplay options.
Gameplay: 85%
In The Sims, you create a character or family, and put them in a house which
can be pre-made, or designed by you. You then control your character 24
hours a day… socializing with other characters, finding a job (which gives
you more money to buy things for your house), making and eating meals, wash
and shower.
Your
overall aims are to get your character promoted in his or her job, and to
make them happier in their life. Making them happy is similar to our
happiness in real life. Too much work (or school) lowers their happiness
rating, as does lack of sleep and socializing, while sitting down watching
TV, playing on the computer or seeing their friends, increases it. Being
clean actually improves your happiness, so don’t leave your Sim too long
waiting for a shower or they get rather grumpy (and smelly).
When you have earned some money working you can improve your house by buying new furniture and other bits for your house. This can be extra fun when you buy things like a dance floor and DJ booth for your front room. Then you can throw a party for your friends in the area. You can also interact with other characters by talking, telling jokes, doing magic tricks etc… just like real life.
As an additional feature, there is a multiplayer mode so two of you can create your own characters which live together.
Graphics:
82%
The graphics are fairly realistic. When you create your Sim, you can choose
their sex, skin colour, age, build and facial features. This can be fun as
at times your imagination can run wild so you create a wacky character.
Sound:
79%
The sounds are weird because the characters speak their own language, while
the background music is nothing special.
Value:
92%
The lifespan of the game is fantastic because there are plenty of places in
the game to live and visit. Although the game may sound repetitive, the
objectives of getting as far as you can in your career, starting a family
and helping your children grow up, make the game longer lasting.
Conclusion:
This game is one of the best god games ever. Ideally there could be more
places for your character to visit and things to buy, but on the whole the
strong open-ended and addictive gameplay makes this version of ‘The Sims’
better than the original.
Overall Score: 85%