 Malik
(4/21/04)
The Sims (PS2)
From EA
This review originally was
presented on lazy.GEEKS (5/28/03)
I still remember
as a child I saw a program for the Commodore 64 (it's a computer,
you of know knowledge) called Little Computer People. I saw it
in a store and it consisted of a little guy walking around a
side-view of a 2D house and he had a little dog. I never got
to see much more of LCP than that, but it was a nice memory.
Then quite a few
years later, I saw the first info on The Sims (for the PC) and we
were stoked. We waited patiently, week after week, month after
month, checking the games web site for any little tidbit of info.
When it finally came out, I was the first person I knew to get it (I
am Malik, after all) and was addicted. I ignored my job,
school, friends, family...just to play a little more. Well,
needless to say, I loved The Sims. However, I grew bored with
it after a while (by the time I got Hot Date). At that point,
I let the game collect dust and moved on to better things (like
beating Xenogears for the 25th time).
Fast forward to
this last Monday. I got a bunch of PS2 games from a friend,
and in the bundle was The Sims. I figured, if I liked the game
a couple years ago on the computer, and I've had some time to undo
the jaded feelings I got for The Sims...why not? I learned the
reason...I learned why not.
The Sims was a
great idea on the PC...by definition, it was the most open ended
non-linear game experience you could find. In fact, that is
the whole appeal of The Sims; you can do what you want, when you
want, and like in real life, be to lazy to do what you don't like.
So, how does this translate to PS2? The game becomes linear
with mission type stages consisting of a list of goals (1. Barrow
$800 from Mom + 2. Repeair the TV + 3. Find a job +4.
Fix a meal w/o starting a fire = Finish Level 1, move out and start
level 2...etc). This in itself is not too bad, except you
can't even start the game with more than one person under your
god-like control...true, those of you who have played can say you
control Mom on the first stage, but she wont do anything you tell
her to do.
As you play,
you're allowed to play in a free or sandbox mode, but you have to
unlock it. I wont claim to have played this game for a long
enough time to get this far, but that is because I can't bring
myself to play anymore. The linear missions suck...plain and
simple.
Next, there is an
important issue at hand that many PC ports have (and FPS) on
consoles. That being the controls. The Sims on PC played
like a work of art with the useful blend of keyboard and mouse
functions. This does not translate well to the dual analogue
of the PS2...and I hate to think of the controls of The Sims on any
other style of control. The game was made for mouse, and by
the mouse is how it should be played. It is hard to select
objects/people and it is tedious to cancel an action without having
the ability to click on the actions icon at the top (instead you can
cancel actions in order of when they were given to the character
with the triangle button). This is crappy when some stupid NPC
sim decides to be your best friend and you just want to use the
toilet. Here's how the shit went pear shaped; I was trying to
move the clunky analogue stick to select the toilet and then Mom
decided to visit and talk to Bruce (my sim). Then I clicked to
use toilet. He wouldn't go (and his bladder was ready to
explode like an over-cooked haggis) since Mom was yammering on.
Well, I clicked Triangle to cancel, and that just canceled his
toilet use. So I hit it again and get out of talking, but then
as I reselect the toilet, Mom starts again. I keep going
through this crap until poor Bruce exploded...I nearly wept for
him...all because EA wanted to simplify the cancel action into a
simple one button sequence, and because they made a character more
annoying than Mr. Goth (your default neighbor on the PC version of
The Sims).
So, do I have
nothing nice to say about this game. Well, believe it or not,
I have two nice things to say.
First, with the
poor control you'd expect I hate everything about it, but there is
one thing I found quite innovative for this type of game and would
like to see on the PC version. Let's say you click on
something that is right next to another object...on the PC it would
often select the wrong object; well, on the PS2, it will ask you
which object you really wanted. It's a small thing, but I like
that this was done considering the poor response of analogue
(compared to mouse).
Second, the
graphics. I know I keep saying that I don't give a crap about
eye-candy, and that is true. However, some people do care and
for them, let me say this. The 3D graphics are really smooth
and fun to look at when you consider the PC version and it's
graphics. Even character creation is fun since the game looks
nice enough that one can make the sims look like someone they know
(but not as well as the player creation on Winning Eleven...), not
just a close blocky representation.
Well, long story
short, the control and the linear game play is pretty lame on the
PS2 version of The Sims, but if you don't have a computer or the PC
version (which is hella cheap...so if you have a PS2 and a PC and
the money to get the PS2 game, you're an idiot if you get the
inferior PS2 version), this is a good facsimile. Anyways, if
you wanted a linear The Sims, go for this, and if you don't have a
PC, knock yourself out. As for me, I'll let The Sims craze
die; I spent too many years on this series already...I love the
game/series, but it is time to go the way of the Power Rangers,
Voltron, Pet Rocks, fondue, and all those other fads. Score,
you ask? 6/10.
Good day.
Malik
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