Publisher: Electronic Arts
Ages: ten and up.
Parental
Advisory:
Mature themes
Players who want a bit more variety in their Sims worlds can look to Electronic Arts' The Sims Bustin' Out. This new version lets players take their Sims out of the house and into new locations to play and work and interact with new characters. Along with more freedom and new venues, the game offers more customization features over the Sims themselves and is a vast improvement over the first version of The Sims that offers lots of entertainment.
Sims can now get out of the house and travel to 16 new locations to socialize with 25 characters. Players may choose from different careers such as gangster, paramilitary or mad scientist. Depending on the career players choose, there are several different ways to play the game.
The "bust out" mode offers objectives and rewards players with unlockable items. Another mode lets players pretty much do what they wish with their Sims-interact with neighbors and more, and resembles the gameplay in the original PC version. As before, players have to take care of a Sims basic needs-socialization, sleeping and eating, as well as pursue careers and jobs. Gamers can also play with a friend in a two-player mode.
The Sim characters have distinct and noticeable personalities that affect the gameplay. For example, a shy Sim will act like a wall-flower at a dance club, but an outgoing Sim will rock the dance floor. Players may drive a scooter or a variety of unlockable vehicles to visit locations such as the "shiny things" lab where they can invent a rocket gnome, or "casa caliente" where they may try out love potions.
Players can also unlock and collect hundreds of objects and social moves as they progress through the game. This includes such notables as the "booty spank" and "french kiss," and a climbing wall and mutant plant.
The game links with The Sims Bustin' Out for Game Boy Advance. When connected, GBA players can unlock a hidden game that allows them to use their GameCube Sims to play mini-games on the Game Boy Advance and earn Simoleons. Players can also download and play their Nintendo GameCube Sim in the Game Boy Advance world and obtain Simoleons, improve motives, and build skills to bring back to the GameCube version.
The graphics are an improvement over those in the prior version and the characters have a more life-like look. Players may customize their Sims with a variety of new facial feature options, as well as alter clothing, accessories and hairstyles. As you can see from the "booty spank" move mentioned earlier, the title features some mature themes. But these elements are about what you would expect in a PG or PG-13 movie.
We've always been impressed with EA's The Sims games, and The Sims Bustin' Out is the best version yet for consoles. If you know players who like micro-managing the lives of tiny people, The Sims Bustin' Out is great fun.
1/12/04 Daytrum Editorial Staff
