"A disappointment for die-hard Sim fans"

For gamers familiar with the original Sims and expecting to get the same treat brought to the GBA, they would be hugely disappointed. Why? Firstly and most evidently, the game sways completely from the original concept. Secondly, you get only one character to pick - and you stick with one throughout the game. Last but not least, there's hardly any replay value.

Gameplay - 6 Sadly, I would only see Bustin' Out as an ambitious failure to port the original Sims to the GBA as an RPG-cum-Sim game. Satisfying your Sim's needs would only play second fiddle to the straightforward missions and goals. The goals are set in such a way that you must accomplish them to move on, or get stuck with limited places and mini-games, completely moving away from the traditional Sim idea of freedom to choose. There said, the ''need meters'' would only seem as obligatory tasks for you to keep up with your goals.

Story - 7 The storyline here, though not thoroughly engaging, is not downright disappointing either. The plot twists as you progress, but the only letdown is that for the plot to progress you have to search for characters to ''unlock them''. So many a time you would find yourself combing the city to find characters to initiate a new chapter in the story, which I find rather absurd.

Sound - 8 Thankfully (or not), most of the soundtrack from here is taken from the original Sims. Old time gamers would be taken a walk down memory lane as the familiar tunes of the original plays on. The new music is a good attempt to create a new ambience too, but might get a tad too repetitive after awhile.

Graphics - 7 Good character designs and animation are one of the better aspects of the game. The characters look realistic enough, and I was impressed with the amount of effort put in for the graphics for a GBA game.

Replay value - 4 Unfortunately, no matter how pretty the game looked or sounded, there is no replay value. At all. The goals are so planned out for you that once you know how to complete them, you would probably be glad to be over and done with.

Overall - 6 The game, crudely speaking, would only serve as eye-candy for gamers looking for substance in a game. However, the impressive graphics and awesome soundtrack fails to salvage this ambitious flop for Maxis to bring its popular game series out of the PC with an entirely new concept.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/03