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The Sims PS2

post #1 of 7
12/14/02 at 2:46pm
Thread Starter 
To prevent derailing the Getaway thread...

Quote:
Big Black:
Quote:
Dan Whitehead:
But if you want a PS2 game that will surprise you...The Sims is going to raise more than a few eyebrows.
I don't want to derail the thread, but please elaborate - ?
It's translated really well - and I don't think many people we're expecting it to. Anyone expecting it to be identical to the PC version is in for a surprise.

It's not just a straight port - they've made it more goal oriented, with objects unlocked for achieving certain aims, and the gameplay is sort of level-based. You start out living at home with Mom and have to perform certain tasks before you can move out into a rented house, do well in that one and you get invited to share with someone else, then you have to make friends with someone better and get them to become roomies with you. And so on.

The two player mode is tons of fun as well - you each load your favourite Sim and then take part in set challenges. The first one is set in a museum and you have to see who can scam the most money out of the patrons in the time limit. There's also one where you throw rival parties, and can send your guests to sabotage the other players shindig.

I quite enjoyed the PC version, but it got a bit pointless after a while. This version really tightens things up and it makes for a more addictive game. The only downside is that you can't customise the game with new skins and objects.
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post #2 of 7
12/15/02 at 2:15am
Not sure if I like the idea of turning it to a goal-based game. I'll reserve judgement till I've played it. Does it take away a lot of the freedom of the original game?

I would've liked it if the game was goal orientated to start with, then as you complete the game, you are given free roam to do what you like, as in the PC version. Or maybe even a choice between the two game styles from the start, it might've been hard to pull off though. Any plans for a straight port of the original for the X-Box?
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post #3 of 7
12/15/02 at 6:57am
Thread Starter 
To be honest though, unless you use the money cheat on the PC, it's always been a goal based game. There's not much freedom to experiment unless you've got the money to do it - and without cheating the only way to do that is to keep your Sims happy - by achieving goals. The only difference is that the PS2 makes the goals explicit, rather than leaving you to muddle through.

I'm sure I heard that the PS2 version had a free play mode, but to be honest I haven't looked for it yet. I suspect that without the cheats and downloads, it wouldn't be much fun.

I do miss the customisation from the PC version, that's for sure, but then I never played it "properly" on the PC. I just put the cheats in, downloaded a ton of Marvel superhero skins and had a laugh. The PS2 version is the first time I've enjoyed playing the game seriously.

There are no plans for an Xbox version as far as I know, but it wouldn't surprise me. My guess is that it would be a port of the PS2 version, not the PC, as it's been designed for console play.
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post #4 of 7
12/15/02 at 10:46am
I'm all for them trying something new, but I get the impression that by giving set goals it'll take away a lot of the replay value of the original. If they have kept a free play mode in there, I have no problem with the goal structure idea.

As I said, I'll reserve judgement until I play it, I just find it surprising that, considering the success of the original game, they didn't just bring out a straight port of the PC version with the add-on packs integrated into the game. Isn't that usually how PC-to-console versions are usually handled?
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post #5 of 7
12/15/02 at 10:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Quatermain:
As I said, I'll reserve judgement until I play it, I just find it surprising that, considering the success of the original game, they didn't just bring out a straight port of the PC version with the add-on packs integrated into the game. Isn't that usually how PC-to-console versions are usually handled?
But the PC version just wouldn't work for consoles, both technically (it's very much a mouse and keyboard game that requires a hard drive to save an entire neighbourhood of data) and culturally (it's open-ended and reliant on expansion packs and downloads). I think it's great that they've rethought the Sims concept for a new format. Most PC-to-console conversions are fucking lazy, and nowhere near as good as their originals (Half Life, for instance - amazing on PC, merely adequate on console). I'm all for having different versions for different formats.

This way, if you've got and enjoy the PC version, then you can also buy the PS2 version and know you're not being "double dipped".
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post #6 of 7
12/15/02 at 12:05pm
Quote:
Dan Whitehead:
Quote:
Quatermain:
As I said, I'll reserve judgement until I play it, I just find it surprising that, considering the success of the original game, they didn't just bring out a straight port of the PC version with the add-on packs integrated into the game. Isn't that usually how PC-to-console versions are usually handled?
I think it's great that they've rethought the Sims concept for a new format. Most PC-to-console conversions are fucking lazy, and nowhere near as good as their originals.
Yet they still get put on shelves, which is why I expected a straight port of the PC version, whether it worked well or not. After all the expansion packs, I'm sure that Maxis cottoned onto the fact that anything with The Sims name attached to it sells well, so it wouldn't have surprised me if they threw out a haphazard port of the PC version and still raked in a shit-load.

If it works, I'm all for it. It's just that the idea of it sounded a little constricted to me, with little replay value. If I'm going to shell out £45 for a game, I want something I can come back to.

I'm getting a little too critical of a game I haven't played. Hopefully I'll dig how it turns out, but it'll definitely be a rental-before-buy.
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post #7 of 7
12/15/02 at 3:17pm
Thank God they did re-think it, too. When it was first announced I was very psyched that it was coming to the PS2, but the more I thought about it the less sense it made. I mean, the PC version was really only fun for a certain amount of time, and it got frustrating because you only had so much time in the day to make sure you Sim was happy.

I'm glad that they've given it some thought when porting it to a console, and not just transplanting the original. The fact that someone that plays as many games as Dan does actually dug it is reason enough for me to look forward to it.
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