MySims Critic Reviews

It's better than "Animal Crossing" and "Harvest Moon" in almost every way, whle also being a completely different kind of game...Barring a few options we'd have liked to see, it's a perfect second life experience.

We can't figure out how on earth we've spent so much time in the game, or what we've actually accomplished, but doing next to nothing has never been so much fun.

It's "Lego Animal Crossing." A brilliant idea that deserves to be a monster hit.

While somewhat shallow, My Sims will spark your imagination and awaken the inventor in you with its ingenious art-driven gameplay.

MySims, with its focus on finding Essence, building furniture (and friendships) and decorating homes ends up feeling more like Animal Crossing than a true Sims game. With that said, MySims is an incredibly charming game that will please more than a few fans looking for lighthearted fare.

At once accessible and complex, kid-friendly and adult-pleasing, and full of personality, MySims is an excellent and original idea that's well-suited to the console, even if it won't be an essential purchase for everybody.

Much like the ocean, MySims is unfathomably deep in some areas, yet relatively shallow in others.

The controls highlight just how diverse and easy to play the Wii can be when it comes to gaming and the little tykes will love decorating their houses with furniture they've crafted with relative ease.

It’s not exactly The Sims, being toned down to appeal to a much younger audience. In fact, it’s hard to believe anybody except females under the age of 14 will find the MySims’ pastel-colored universe and sugarcoated characters a charming gaming adventure.

The problem is that nearly all of the objectives revolve around the same two tasks: the collection of essences and the construction of houses, buildings and items. All of the Sim management and social interaction elements of the previous games – well, you're not going to find much of that in the streamlined Wii affair.

This game has no shortage of creative options, as players create their own dream town from scratch with imaginative building designs and all kinds of oddball characters. However, its easygoing nature leaves a bit to be desired as far as dangers and comical situations go.

Something completely new in The Sims series and on the Wii. This is not a game for players looking for complex social interactions; it seems more of a tribute to Lego fans who want to exercise their creativity.

My final analysis is this: if you love creating things and have lots of patience, MySims is worth a look, but if you're hoping for a cute virtual neighborhood to inhabit, "Animal Crossing: Wild World" is a better place to settle.

When compared to the Sims titles we're used to, MySims contains only a fraction of what made the franchise great. Then again, the Sims formula obviously hasn't been doing so hot on consoles... Maybe more emphasis on creating items and less emphasis on social micromanagement is just what the casual console gamers needed to join the multitude of Simians.

Really, the biggest enemy of the MySims is its pacing; the open-ended nature of the game allows for hours and hours of busy work, but at the cost of any real excitement.

Beyond building, however, the game doesn’t have much to keep your interest. There are enough tasks to keep you amused for some time, but if you find this becoming boring, there’s nothing else in the game to keep you playing.

There’s plenty to do here and a lot of reward for doing it, which means that MySims is far more than a kids’ game – even if it is exactly the sort of release that children will enjoy.

MySims is not a great game, but it does enough right to earn a good rating. I would say this is the type of game that if you're bored one weekend looking for a game for your Wii, then MySims is a game that can take up a lot of your time and make for an enjoyable experience.

Overall, My Sims is a great start to what could be a fantastic series. If they'd flesh the game out a bit, EA would have a game that would easily rival Animal Crossing, offering players the chance to fully realize their town from the ground up instead of simply trading shirts with stupid animals that will just as soon steal from you.

MySims lacks some polish and depth, but the sheer amount of customization will definitely busy any would-be virtual impresario looking for a town to call their own.