Well, folks, it
was only a matter of time before the atomic-caliber sized franchise known as The
Sims would invade the handheld market. With The Sims Bustin’ Out making its way
to the GBA and every major console platform, any hope of salvaging a life from
what was left after the innumerable previous games has pretty much been lost at
this point. But, is that really such a bad thing? I mean, who needs a real
life when you can control the fate of fictitious little Sims that not only do
everything you already do every day – such as shower, go to the bathroom, eat,
etc – but do them considerably quicker and without that pesky “chaos factor”
that all too often rears its ugly head. But seriously, Bustin’ Out is one heck
of an addictive game. It isn’t quite the same experience as you’ll find on the
console versions, but what it lacks due to cartridge storage space it easily
makes up for in innovative simplicity.
If you enjoyed the scenario style proceedings of last year’s The Sims, then
you’ll be glad to know that Bustin’ Out is of the same ilk. You begin by
creating a Sim to represent your in-game character, though the level of
customization you’re allowed is quite limited; Bustin’ Out lets you change the
faces and clothing colors but not the clothing styles. After creating your Sim
and distributing the allotted personality points, you find yourself at Uncle
Hayseed’s farm in SimValley; a rundown barnyard with plenty of potential.
You’ll build your skills by helping your uncle with various tasks, such as
tuning up the old tractor or moving your used furniture out to the barn. Once
you’ve fulfilled enough objectives at your uncle’s farm you can move out into
the old Clock Tower, with a roommate and a pet, if you want.
Gone is the
point-and-click interface of past The Sims games, now you are able to freely
move your Sim about via the D-pad and engage in conversation with other Sims by
walking up to them and hitting the A button. This will bring up a dialogue box
where you are able to choose from a variety of text-based interactions. While
your Sim still speaks sim-lish (on rare occasions), you can specifically choose
the phrases you say to each Sim. Each choice has an affect, good or bad, on
your relationship score with that particular Sim.
In The Sims, on
the PC, you could choose to talk about sports, cats or whatever, and you never
really knew what the other Sim liked until you talked about it. Bustin’ Out has
more obvious "positive" and "negative" phrases to lower or raise your
relationship scores, it’s not cryptic, if you call someone a pig, it’s gonna
lower your score. Instead of finding out the detective doesn’t like tennis, and
lowering your score on accident by bringing the topic up, you can quicken the
process by yelling profanities at him out of the blue. Or, if you’re the
friendly type, you can offer him a hug. And, instead of waiting around the
homestead for people to show up at your door, you can explore the suburbs freely
and talk with whomever you choose. What this all adds up to is a handheld The
Sims that feels more like a free-roaming RPG than it does a homebound people
simulator.
Not surprisingly,
your Sims are required to fulfill certain tasks to succeed. But unlike the
previous games, you are no longer limited to the same old interactions we’ve
come to expect. Instead of conducting goal-based business strictly within the
confines of your home, you’ll be doing things like delivering gifts to neighbors
or mowing your uncle Hayseed’s lawn for cold, hard simoleans. Running around
town is a great way to meet new people and accept new challenges, but the
explorable area is big and quite time-consuming to navigate on foot. Luckily,
your Sim won’t have to foot around SimValley for long. Once you’ve acquired
enough cash and completed enough goals, you’ll be able to hit the pavement on
two wheels and zoom around on a motorized scooter.
While there is no
option to speed up game time as there was in every previous Sims game on the PC
and console platforms, this is also a feature that is not missed. In previous
games it came in handy to speed up the game while your Sim sat on the couch for
four hours to replenish his or her comfort levels, but Bustin’ Out has quicker
recovery rates than any games in the past. If it wasn’t for the family-friendly
themes, one would wonder, by the way the energy bar stays so high, if your Sim
didn’t discover Sim-crack. Regardless, the faster recovery rate is a welcome
addition.
An event worth
mentioning. At random, you’re Sim can get knocked out and be returned to either
your Uncle’s home or the hospital. Very Vice City-ish. One time I went to talk
to a boxer and he knocked my sim out. Another time I stumbled upon Veloci-rooster
and a genie came out of nowhere and hospitalized my sim.
Mini-games take up
a portion of the game, playing the part of a makeshift job system. Each game
has requirements (ie; two body points) to advance and your Sim gains simoleans
by completing the games. They aren’t presented as games but as actual,
legitimate errands. Mowing Uncle Hayseed’s lawn, for example, is your first
job, which your Sim can do once per day and receive money. Your Sims gain
levels in the “lawn mower” field and can get even more money. You’re given a
certain amount of time in which to zoom around on a riding lawn mower and mow
weeds while avoiding rocks and your uncle’s flowers. Mowing weeds will get you
simoleans, but watch out for the flowers or you’ll lose money, and the rocks do
nothing but slow you down. Another way to make money is to pick up the junk you
find around SimValley and sell it to the Chemical Lab.
Visually, The Sims
Bustin’ Out is a sharp looking game that features crisp character sprites and
lots of bouncy, flamboyant animations for every in-game action. The
environments are well detailed and the various access points that can be found
on certain buildings and structures are logically marked without being overly
obvious. Not being able to rotate your surroundings at will does prove to be
troublesome in a few areas where required items are obscured by other objects,
but the fixed vantage point in Bustin’ Out isn’t as big a problem as we
initially thought it would be. Plus, whenever an object gets between you and
your in-game character it will become translucent, which is a very helpful
feature indeed. The sound presentation in Bustin’ Out is good but not great.
There are a few musical tracks that can be heard via jukeboxes or stereos, as
well as a few different genres, but they pale in comparison to the console
version’s fully articulated sim-lish tracks. There are quite a lot of ambient
sound effects thrown in that help to immerse the player into the on-screen
action, and many will be thrilled at the inclusion of the few sim-lish samples
that can be heard when you initiate or conclude a conversation.
As easy as The
Sims Bustin’ Out on the GBA is, it’s surprising that the game offers so much
lasting appeal, clocking in at nearly 20 hours. Fans of the franchise will
immediately fall in love with this on-the-go port and thus should enjoy every
last minute of game play it offers, but those who weren’t interested in the
series to begin with will find that nothing much has changed here.
Nevertheless, the fluid and colorful visuals, addictive gameplay, and sheer
variety of things to do makes Bustin’ Out the hands down best
handheld-people-simulator you can currently get your handyman hands on.
Gameplay: 8.2
The
point-and-click interface that fans have grown accustom to is gone, instead an
even simpler control-your-character-directly method has been employed. Fun and
easy.
Graphics: 8.6
The character animations, backgrounds, and various personalities that you’ll run
into are all articulated quite well. Definitely one of the better looking GBA
games out there.
Sound: 7.7
The music is pretty sparse, and the tunes tend to
repeat, but the sound effects, instances of sim-lish, and other aural additions
more than get the job done.
Difficulty: Easy
Getting to the
credits of the game is essentially only a matter of talking to enough people,
saying the right things, and finding specific items hidden about the game area.
Nevertheless, expect to invest nearly 20 hours before the experience ends.
Concept: 8.9
This is The Sims on-the-go. I think most will agree that that is a fine idea
indeed.
Overall: 8.4
Needless to say,
if you’re a fan of The Sims, then you’ll want, no, need to get this game. Even
if you’re not, it’s still worth checking out.
