MySims

"Five Stars!"

There's a new Sim in town. And it's you!

Story: 8/10

Your character moves to a town that was once a great resort area. A while ago, people stopped coming, businesses came to a halt, and the town became rather boring. But maybe you, the new Sim, can lend a hand and turn things around. With your help, this place can become the exciting and fun vacation spot it once was.

Gameplay: 10/10

After customizing your appearance and the town's name, you're thrown right into the game, which has a nice, fun tutorial. You get your own place and some furniture, and then the real fun begins.

Most of the time, you'll be talking to visiting Sims. The Sims you talk to are either angry, sad, or okay. Your goal is to make them extremely happy, or they'll become very mad and refuse to talk to you for a while. You fill up the happiness meter by selecting different actions based on the other Sim's mood (for instance, conversing with an angry Sim lets him get his feelings off his chest, and encouragement makes a calm Sim very happy, while getting angry at a calm Sim will upset him). When the Sim is completely happy, you get some money.

There are some great, helpful minigames that you can unlock over time. In these games, the higher you score, the more money you get. This money helps you buy more things to help the local businesses, and sometimes you get a bonus item that you can put in your home or give to another Sim.

A big part of the game is customization. You can buy all sorts of furniture and decorations and arrange them almost any way you want in your home. You can visit your closet to change your hair style and color, and put on new clothes, some of which you design yourself. And to make the area more appealing to tourists, you can go to a few areas to plant flowers and trees, and add statues and birdhouses.

What you can and can't do in the game depends on the time of the day, which is determined by a clock in the game, not on the DS. Some shops are only open in the morning, and some don't open until noon. After some progress in the game, at night, you can pick up shiny, hidden items on the ground. Each time of the day lasts for a certain amount of time, and your Sim can make that time go faster by playing games or sleeping.

As you make the island more interesting for tourists and help the businesses, you can unlock new areas to explore. This is a game sure to keep you busy for a long time.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics are awesome. The Sims are cute, and the world looks great! As the time of day changes, so does the amount of light, but it's never hard to see what's what. Even the text is very easy to read.

Sound: 10/10

The music changes with the time of day and while you play minigames, so it takes some time for the music to get old. And in a house with a radio, you have the option of playing a different track. Very nice!

Controls: 10/10

You can use the buttons or the touchscreen, most of the time, and the controls are all very easy to get used to. Exploring with these controls is a breeze.

Playtime and Replayability: 10/10

You can keep playing this game for hours, and you won't fully complete everything. Getting all the gold medals and cheering up the residents completely is quite a challenge, but it's all loads of fun. And if you ever get bored, you can start a second save and do everything all over again.

Conclusion

With so much to see, do, and explore, this is one DS game that'll never get old. It'll keep you entertained for hours in waiting rooms, on planes, or in the backseat of a car. This is a must buy!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/08/07

Game Release: MySims (US, 09/18/07)