The Sims series of games is one of the most successful franchises on any of the gaming platforms. The Sims: Bustin’ Out is only the second outing for The Sims in the PS2. The game will be very familiar to any owners of the original Sims game for PS2.
The premise is the very same – you must micro-manage every aspect of your Sims life down to the smallest detail. As with all The Sims games, a large part of your time will be spent ensuring that your Sim is well fed, rested, happy with his or her surroundings, entertained and isn’t in urgent need of a toilet visit. The big difference between this game and its predecessor is the ‘Bustin’ Out’ aspect of the game. This is the goal-based part of the game – free play is the other mode – and your Sim must perform certain tasks in order to advance in the game. These tasks can be quite simple, such as preparing dinner for your mother or be more demanding, such as attracting new members to your Gym.
As these goals are achieved, you will be presented with the opportunity of having your Sim ‘Bust Out’ to a new location. These locations are varied and are dependent on what career path you have chosen for your Sim. Both the careers and living arrangements available to your Sim are varied. The vocational options open to Sims are movie star, mad scientist, gangster, fashion victim, paramilitary, counter culture and jock. Sims will live in such bizarre locations as the laboratory, the gym, Pixelated Acres (a nudist colony) and for some unfortunate Sims, it’s a life at the trailer park.
Bustin’ Out works much better as a goal based game than the original Sims did. In order for your Sim to advance through its career and thereby improve its living location, it must be kept in the right condition for the job. Movie stars, for example, will need to keep themselves fit, while not ignoring tasks that will improve their creativity and charisma. Mad scientists need to have good logic and mechanical skills, while Jocks need to concentrate on improving their fitness and charisma skills.
Like life, this game can be a bit of a juggling act, keeping your Sim clean, rested and fed can take up quite a lot of time in the Sim universe. Your Sim will not advance along their chosen career path unless they are regularly attending work in the right frame of mind. In addition to making sure that your Sim has the right skills built up for the job, you must keep your Sim in a good mood for work. For a Sim to be in a good mood, he must be happy with his friends, be entertained and relaxed. All in all, this game is even more demanding than the original. At times, I found myself dizzy from just trying to get my Sim out the door to work without having to worry whether he’d spoken to his pals or had a good workout at the gym recently!
Bustin’ Out doesn’t just mean that your Sim can move from one home to another; he can also choose to visit his friends at home or socialise with them at Club Rubb, Pixelated Acres or even attend a wild party at the laboratory.
Interpersonal relationships are a major focus of this game, so the games designers have included extra social skills that are awarded to your Sim as he achieves his goals. Your Sim will find himself to be the life and soul of the party if he delivers his ‘pull my finger’ routine at the right moment, the same gag can backfire if delivered to the wrong audience. Other hilarious new social skills include ‘Burp in face’, ‘Serenade’ and ‘Kiss with tongues’.
The Sims: Bustin’ Out is definitely an improvement on what was already an excellent game. My only reservation about the game is that while it is better, it isn’t all that different to ‘The Sims’. If you don’t already own a copy of ‘The Sims’ it is definitely a game that we can recommend to you. If you are a Sims fan who just can’t get enough of managing the lives of the little fellas, well this game is probably for you too. On the other hand, if you already own a copy of the Sims and are expecting a much different experience from ‘Bustin Out’, prepare to be disappointed.
The Sims: Bustin’ Out
Requirements: PlayStation 2 console
Rating: 75%
Price: EUR53.99
Contact: GameStop 01-8724305
01/03/04
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