The Sims Bustin' Out

"A game better than the original"

This game is brilliant in every single way and the next time you ever come close to a games shop buy it. Everything has been improved on from the original sims on the PC and the sims on the PS2.

Graphics 9/10

Brilliant, everything is extremely detailed and there is more a sense of that it is your own character as you create it from the body size down to the shape of the eyes, something missing from the original sims. You can actually see this detail in the game. However when you drop litter it looks exactly the same as the other games so no real improvement here. So much time has gone into making each object in the game, I think there is about 250 maybe more, they follow themes so if you want your house to look like an army barracks you can buy empty boxes and some camoflauged things. There is a wide range of themes in the game and all the objects have been created from scratch. The food on your plate no longer looks like a mess it actually looks like something edible now. Graphics gets 9/10 as although they are not the best graphics in a game they are still pretty good.

Story 10/10

Remember the old sims when you lead your life without aim, well this game has that and a story mode called ''Busting out'' It is level based. When you have gained 2 promotions inside the place where you are currently living you can choose to move out, where you will be in a totally different enviroment and a lot more objectives to complete. Such as ''Make a friend'' or ''Repair all items'' Naturally as you progress the game increases in difficulty but you should get through the first few levels in a breeze. Then you will have to spend a lot of time on the final levels. YOu however will not be able to complete all objectives while you are living in the house as to do this you will need to get more jobs. So you can move back into houses when you feel like it. So these improvements give the story 10/10.

Sound 9/10

The sound is brilliant. The music is jazzy and when you have bought a CD player for your house you have the option to change music and dance to it. The sims talking has not been improved though all you here are a few noises. That is all it is. The music however is brilliant, it sounds as though as much time has been put into the game as the music. The music also changes depending what location you are in, if you are in a more care-free enviroment the music will change to suit that location. However the Sims interaction is a letdown so sound gets 9/10.

Gameplay 10/10

This series of games has to be the most original idea ever. You control your sims in their life. They get a job, make friends and get promotions everything you would find in your normal life in this game. There are also a few bonus challenges that you would not encounter in life such as exorcising a haunted house. This all add to the fun again. The sims is no longer a aimless game it is now level based and you can buy cars to move location and visit people rather than them just visiting you. Moving locations does however make it hard to keep friends as you have your job. The aim in this game is to keep everything balanced. If one thing is flawed then you get a negative attitude to life. This game has been crafted extremely well and has easy controls it is a must buy. Gameplay gets 10/10.

Replay Value 10/10

The game will take you a long time to get through unlocking everything and then you have the option to do what most people love about the original sims and that is to live your life without an aim. There is also the online mode where you create a sim and take them into an online world full of options such as making friends. Even if the online mode was not there this game would still be great. The final score is 10/10. It is a must buy game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/03