Sims fun makes its way to the Nintendo DS.
If you're looking for some classic Sims “action” (for lack of a better word) you might be slightly disappointed if you intend to pick up Sims 2 for the Nintendo DS. Instead of feeling detached from controlling your Sim, you'll be given direct control along with a behind-the-back 3rd-person view. In other words, if you’re a fan of the classic Sims games, then you’re in for a wild ride of wackiness.
One thing that does remain the same in this version is the creation of your Sim. First thing’s first – you need to name your Sim. You’ll be able to pick and choose from a variety of different hair, face, and skin types, and fit your Sim with an assortment of clothing. A minor disappointment with this part of the game is the fact that you can’t design your own clothes using the touch screen.
As shown with the intro of the game, you've just driven into a nearly-deserted desert village named Strangetown (sound familiar?). Unfortunately, you break down in this forsaken city and it looks like it's going to take the local mechanic quite a while to fix things. Lady luck smiles on you, though, because as soon as you step into the local hotel, you're given a note from the owner saying that the hotel is yours. This is your base of operations for the entire game.
Sims 2 is a very mission-driven game. These missions will come in the form of doing favors and whatnot for the residents of the Penthouse in your hotel. These characters are usually either very powerful (influentially), very wealthy, or a combination of both, so it is actually very beneficial for you to help them. Most of the missions force you to build a specific room in your hotel, or to buy a new item.
The three items you'll be using throughout the game are the vacuum cleaner, water gun, and metal detector. These items are relatively self-explanatory, save for the water gun; this helps you in stopping random alien invasions. The metal detector helps you find random objects in the ground, including alien mummies. Once you’ve gotten a specific room in your hotel you can play a mini-game in which you extract organs from these mummies for extra money. The vacuum cleaner lets you suck up random piles of dust scattered throughout the hotel. Some of the piles contain items you can pick up for some quick cash.
The extra rooms for your hotel not only allow you to keep more guests, but also gives them (and you) something to do as well. The extra rooms include a casino, a nightclub, a museum, and even a gym. The nightclub and museum represent the best use of the touch screen in the game. The nightclub is where you can create custom room music, or new ring tones for your cell phone using the keyboard in the room. You can even throw some background music into the mix. In the museum you can create up to five masterpieces (four smaller canvases along with a bigger one), which can then be bought by your guests.
Unlike its PC and console counterparts, Sims 2 for the DS doesn't have separate meters for things like hunger, hygiene, and comfort. Instead, there is only a single sanity meter. Before anyone asks, no, nothing crazy happens when your sanity meter is low. However, if you run out of sanity completely you'll be returned to your own room in the hotel and you will literally become gimped for a short period of time. To keep up your sanity, though, you need to keep up with the daily routine of life with such mundane tasks as: taking a shower, getting something to eat, going to the bathroom, and going to sleep.
Most of the tunes used in the game are catchy enough, but none of them stood out above the rest. The good thing is that even if you hated the entire soundtrack, you can record and keep three songs of your own. Each room has a small box on its wall to change its music, so you could have your music playing in them all.
Overall, Sims for the DS is something that will definitely keep you busy for at least a few weeks. There is enough micro-management (keeping your hotel clean, your guests happy, and your sanity intact) that when you get things accomplished you feel good about it, but the game never overwhelms you. If you were on the fence about this game before, you might want to give it a try. You never know, you might just enjoy yourself.