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Name: MySims
Genre: Simulation
System: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii (Reviewed on DS)

When the Nintendo Wii first came out developers were less then anxious to develop games for it. It is reminiscent of the first few months of the Nintendo DS, where because of its "gimmicky" touch screen not many people saw the possibilities that could be adapted to the gameplay. Several months later on both systems a renascence of sorts took place, where developers accepted the Nintendo platforms (partially due to amazing sales) with open arms and started to pump out third party games.

One of the first of the large companies to lend support to the Wii and DS was EA, announcing that both systems were to get their own iterations of My Sims, a spin-off of the Sims franchise that has become one of the best selling games of all time. They chose to follow an Animal Crossing style for the handheld version because it lent itself to portability much more than the time sapping PC version of the game.

It is well known that as of now all ports of the PC versions of the game to any handheld or console has been an utter abomination. Keeping some aspects of the game but limiting the overall replay value to nearly none, EA has securely castrated all of their versions out of the gates. Owning a hotel in the Sim engine that the other versions are based off of is nonsense and defeats the purpose.

The gameplay has been completely revamped into one that is better suited for quick, pick up and play sessions. The opening of the game puts you into a situation where you are able to create an avatar and name your town. The resemblance to Animal Crossing is uncanny and soon you are dropped off at the gates of a small town. While the character customization isn’t too varied it is enough to have enough differences to tell them apart successfully. The Nintendo DS isn’t as much of a gaming machine as some other systems, and pushing too much onto the stamp sized cart can’t be expected. The style is nice and fits the overall feel of the game. While it could be better, the Animal Crossing fans will not feel too out of place in this highly stylized game.

Once in the town you are introduced to other characters roaming the streets. Whatever your city was named (Overlook, in my case, hoping that an axe wielding man would move in) is the focal point of a town now nearly dead. You must reinvigorate it all on your own to make it again a hotspot for tourists.

The game takes some similarities from the series but strays away from the goals. Being built on its own game engine means all of the difference as the developers didn’t need to confine themselves to being too similar to the Sims 2. Instead they made a fun pick up and play game, perfect for train rides or just lounging around the house.

It isn’t perfect, as the plagiarism cops might force me to toss the game eventually for its blatant copying of certain Animal Crossing aspects, but seeing as we are most likely years in-between a new version of that it isn’t too big of a deal. This isn’t game of the year material, folks, and it certainly isn’t for everyone. Big Sims or Animal Crossing fans are bound to enjoy this much more then the average Madden gamer so I would recommend you: