I have never had the
pleasure of enjoying a Sims game on the DS. In fact, I have never even been
sucked into the world of Sims, where the player dictates the miniscule
character’s every want and need. To me, the entire premise seems undesirable in
a video game. Personally, I have enough trouble managing my own life, let alone
a small Sim who I am plagued with taking complete care of.
That being said, The Sims 2
Apartment Pets did a fair enough job of maintaining my attention, at least, for
an hour or so. Initially I was instructed to conjure up a Sim character using
the slightly limited customization options. I first had to choose the gender.
The top screen displayed sketchy renders of both a male and female Sim. After
choosing, I proceeded to choose a face, hair, and clothing. Ok, so maybe more
emphasis was placed on the actual environments within Apartment Pets. I booted
up the game.
The story begins by
explaining that your character’s uncle has left town for a while and is allowing
you to reside there without charge, but only as long as you manage his pet spa
below the humble abode. This information is delivered to your Sim by way of a
PDA, which will also be a central hub of important data throughout the entire
game. After closing the PDA with a stylus tap, I attempted to roam the apartment
a bit. Before I could move, I found myself viewing a simple cut scene of the
elevator arriving with a maintenance man on board. The man handed me a stray dog
he happened to pick up on his way over, and left before performing a single bit
of maintenance.
After a short moment, I
realized why maintenance man bolted. I approached the dog, and my Sim indicated
that the puppy was emitting a putrid stench. The PDA appeared once more with
instructions on how to interact with the small beast. I tapped the dog with my
stylus, selected “pet” (after a few mishaps with correct pointer placement), and
proceeded to guess at what each icon might do.
Each icon in the up close
and personal puppy window is allows the user to play a mini-game. Unfortunately,
each mini game is nearly identical to each other. Generally, you’ll find
yourself drawing multiple circles, streaking lines, or holding the “L” or “R”
buttons to spray perfume on different locations of the animal’s body After only
playing through a few of them, I conceded and hoped that I’d washed away the
smell. As the game progresses and you gain access to a wider range of animals,
the mini-games will change some, but the overall idea is always the same.
After a while, you will
start to earn Simoleans thanks to the pet spa your uncle left you in charge of.
If you want to earn extra funds, you can head down to the spa on the elevator
and deal with customers yourself. But, if your experience goes the same way that
mine did, you won’t feel inclined to help anyone but yourself, by turning the
game off.
The controls are basic in
terms of stylus play. You simply double tap anywhere you want your Sim to go.
The directional pad allows the player to scroll through the house so that the
Sim can be sent anywhere at any time. Occasionally the game had trouble
recognizing my stylus taps and would neglect to perform any action at all. This
actually seemed to happen more often that desired or expected.
When interacting with the
animals, the controls play very similarly to those used in Nintendogs. In fact,
the entire concept of animals included in this Sims game seems to be pulled
straight from Nintendo’s uber popular dog training simulator and placed into
Will Wright’s world. Except, this version is slightly less involved, and
slightly less refined.
One feature pursued more
heavily in Apartment Pets is the ability to dress up your pets with outfits that
would torture any real-life animal. As the Simoleans are earned, the player is
able to purchase toys and articles of doggy clothing, as well as accessories to
place on the poor, helpless creature.
Apartment Pets still forces
the player to perform basic routine function that an average human being must
participate in daily. To add another level of annoyance, the animals roaming
throughout your apartment must also receive certain interactions in order to
remain healthy and happy.
In terms of sound, Apartment
Pets is on par with any other Sims game ever created … ever. The Sims characters
still talk with that quirky strange dialect, and looping audio feeds pour
through the speakers that re-enact the ambiance of a busy city outside of the
apartment. The loop is so short that I actually began to get annoyed at simply
hearing the game.
All in all, if you’re a Sims
fan, find yourself easily addicted to simulation games, or just enjoy dressing
up puppies, you might want to investigate Sims 2 Apartment Pets further.
Otherwise, I’d say that interaction in a real world with real people and real
animals is enough entertainment enough for any average human being.
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Gameplay: 6.0
While Apartment Pets
utilizes the DS’s many unique abilities, the execution, such as touch-screen
accuracy, does not always perform well. The story is moderate in terms of
entertainment, and the actual gameplay becomes mundane and tedious at times.
Graphics: 5.0
The game did not
start strong, with the poorly executed character designs and customization
options. The top-down view from far away makes the game easier on the eyes, but
it is still no graphic DS powerhouse.
Sound: 4.0
Looping audio
samples were bound to drive me crazy eventually. If you love the traditional Sim
spoken dialogue that never makes sense, then you might enjoy listening to
Apartment Pets.
Difficulty: Easy
The only times this
game could be considered remotely difficult were during attempts to get 100% on
some mini-games. This was only an issue because of the poorly executed stylus
accuracy.
Concept: 5.0-
If you love the way
The Sims games have always played, then Apartment Pets won’t disappoint. The
animal aspect is taken directly from Nintendogs, with a few added animals to
play with.
Overall: 5.5
While Will Wright’s
most recent iteration for the Nintendo DS is average at best, the concept
definitely stays true to The Sims gameplay code. The addition of animals and a
spa to manage might be a welcome addition, or a much desired subtraction for
fans of the franchise.
