The Sims

Ahhhh, the dinner party. Just like real life. But not.

The Sims seems to have been around for a very long time. You, dear reader, might be surprised to hear, however, that the first iteration of the series was released as recently as 2000. From that first title, huge numbers of PC gamers were hooked, trading a pastime of alien blasting and car stealing for the pleasures of the utterly mundane. With expansion after expansion rolling into the shops, it seemed that the amount of people desperate to have access to a new type of toaster or extra-large llama skin was limitless. Not content with total domination of the PC market, Electronic Arts have focussed their baleful eye on the last bastion of the arcade blaster - the games consoles.

If you're one of the minority who have no idea what I'm talking about then you'd best check with your doctor to make sure you haven't been dead for the last three years.

The rest of you? This way please.

Reality TV

It's Elvis! Or Del Amitri! One of the two.

The Sims is, in essence, a simulation of real life. The game has two main modes of play - "Get A Life" is a mission-based structured approach to the game in which you begin play with a single character (who lives with his mother) and have to reach your destiny by completing set tasks. This mode has been specially created for console play, aimed at users who are more comfortable with goal-based play. The second mode, Sandbox mode, is the "traditional" approach to playing The Sims. You start with a fixed amount of money and simply play; guiding your character(s) down whichever path takes your fancy. I'll describe these two modes in parallel as they behave exactly the same way as far as gameplay is concerned.

You "control" one or more Sims. These cute little chaps are driven by a series of base needs - Comfort, Energy, Fun, and so on. In order to have a healthy Sim, he needs to be clean, well rested, well entertained, challenged in his job, surrounded by friends and family and well fed. Just like in real life. If left to his own devices, your Sim will endeavour to meet his own needs but in a very inefficient manner, usually resulting in tragedy. It is up to you, therefore, to make sure that he gets up, washes himself, has breakfast, gets to work on time, and performs all the other functions needed to keep him healthy.

Go to the toilet! Now! And remember to flush!

Two player boogying mayhem! No deathmatch here, folks.

You achieve this by giving a set of instructions to your Sim. The lack of mouse pointer on the GameCube and other consoles has led EA to provide a kind of floating column of command. Moving this column to, say, the toilet and holding the A button will pop up a little menu, from which available actions can be selected.

Your Sim can be encouraged to better himself by providing him with a bookshelf and directing him to study a subject. Studying cooking will make him less likely to burn his house down, studying mechanics will enable him to perform his own repairs and so on. Trouble is, learning isn't fun so you'll also have to provide him with some form of entertainment; a television, stereo or even a PC (running, would you believe, a shoot-em-up). In amongst all this, you'll also have to make sure the little blighter is fed. Given that it takes him two hours to make, eat, and wash up a bowl of cornflakes, it requires a fair amount of time management to make progress in the game.

By studying the newspaper, your Sim is able to get a job in one of several career paths. Being on time for work, well rested and fed, and generally well balanced emotionally can lead to promotion - better job, more money to spend on things you won't have time to play with in the evening.

Getting along with your Sim and his friends

See what happens if you flirt?

Central to the game is the concept of friendships and relationships. Your Sim needs company or he'll do badly at work and become emotionally unstable. Fortunately, the neighbourhood is stocked with a variety of friendly people, all of whom can be befriended, seduced, (bricked up behind quickly erected walls - I never said that), and even married. The Sims communicate in a kind of cute gibberish, with little icons above their heads indicating how well (or badly) they're getting along. Your Sim can be instructed to perform certain actions on any nearby Sims - hug, talk to, kiss, and so on. Careful reading of the target Sims' state is central to avoid being slapped in the face. And so it goes, pretty much indefinitely in sandbox mode.

Get a Life, being more structured, is built out of short episodes. The game begins with a simple task - raising enough money to move out of your mother's home. From there, the tasks grow gradually more complex. Sometimes you have to have a certain amount of money in the bank; sometimes you have to reach a certain level in your job. Each task you complete unlocks additional items in Sandbox mode.

While all this is going on you can, funds permitting, pause the action to decorate or even extend your house. The additional items unlocked in "Get A Life" mode are not mere cosmetic additions. Some are essential to success in Sandbox mode. To this end, even those interested in playing "Classic" Sims will be required to play through "Get A Life" at least once.

Getting a Life

I know, I know. Next time I'll call the electrician.

And there lies the immediate problem with this game. Each game save takes a massive 60 blocks on your memory card and, because you need to play both games, you need two saves. Factoring in the cost of a new memory card is worthwhile when thinking of buying the game. That's a minor gripe for what is essentially a good game, but a fair word of warning is also required about the gameplay.

The gaming world is clearly divided on the subject of the Sims. To some the endless rushing around trying to schedule meals, washing, showering, getting to work, speaking to friends so they don't sulk, is all just too close to the unpleasant side of real life. To others it's the videogame equivalent of crack.

I tend to fall into the former camp - not because The Sims isn't a good game, but because I kicked the habit three years ago on the PC. The GameCube version offers the bolted on "Get a Life" mode, much better graphics, and smoother gameplay but is still essentially a three year old game. Don't get me wrong - the original recipe for The Sims is flawless for those who like this type of game. If you like the idea of The Sims, you're going to adore the GameCube version. If you don't, you're probably not going to enjoy the game on any format. It really is that simple.

Art imitating Life

Enjoy the party while you can - you need to start cooking in five minutes.

This is probably the most technically competent version of The Sims that I've seen. Graphically, it's very similar to the PS2 version, but seems to run slightly faster and smoother. Being in full 3D rather than the PC's forced isometric perspective, the player has a lot more freedom with the camera, being able to zoom in and out, as well as rotating around any point. This makes mucking around with the furniture, decorating the walls, and just playing the game much more natural.

The sound is basic - other than the wonderfully cute Sim-ese babbling, sounds are restricted to straight samples of telephones, doorbells, and so on. The music is truly dreadful and I shall not utter any more thoughts on it here, save to say it can, mercifully, be switched off.

As far as gameplay goes, I can only reiterate what I said above - if the idea of micro-managing an entire family appeals to you then this is probably the only game you'll ever need to buy, and I'll reflect this in my rating. If, on the other hand, it all sounds too much like life with a toddler then I'd suggest renting the game first.