Game Review ( The Sims 2 - DS )

In The Sims 2, you play the roll of a lone Sim that takes control of a hotel in Strangetown and it's up to you to keep visitors coming to pile up some money, therefore meaning this Sims game is drastically different than others - you play as one Sim the whole game, and you don't even get to make your own house. However, the game still makes for a surprisingly fun experience.

Graphics: 4.25/5 This game came out in late '05, and it looks pretty good. The rain effects when outside look great, and the game runs great. The colors look nice, and the environments are fantastic. The game's main graphical flaws are in the lack of furniture you can buy, and the HUGE lack of customization on characters.

Sound: 4/5 Sounds alright, quite a bit of music, but you will definitely hear quite a bit of repetition in sounds - especially when chatting with Sims.

Control: 4/5 Above average. The game controls surprisingly well. The camera angles are controled using the shoulder buttons, and there aren't any problems. You can also zoom in and out of your character's perspective, too. Not much to complain about here. Very surprisingly good.

Fun: 3.5/5 The Sims 2 for the DS is a game that should be more rented than bought. There are A LOT of things you can do: play slot machines, play a card game at the casino, scratch lottery tickets, and of course, buy and sell furniture. The overall story is pretty stupid, not the part where you take over the hotel, but when the aliens come into the picture and periodically steal furniture from hotel vistor's rooms - it's just a stupid and useless idea. While this is a good game, it's drastically flawed. You will find yourself with little to do after you buy a new room at city hall - it takes REAL TIME eight hours until you can visit the room - not Sim time - and that is just aggrivating. Also, you will constantly be over playing cards, lottery tickets, slot machines, finding rods, and so on, just to get a few extra bucks in your pocket. You also have to take care of yourself so you don't meet Grim. You have to sleep, bathe, eat, and so on, just to keep "sane". ( There is a "sanity" meter on the bottom of your screen, and when it gets to zero, you respawn in your hotel room. ) The best part about The Sims 2 is its, this will sound stupid, atmosphere. The game's layout is really, really cool. Other than that, this game is just slightly above average. It's a nice step away from other Sims games, but it's only really worth a rental. Overall - good game, many things to do, just repetetive, and there's a lot of time to waste playing this.

3.5/5ish