MySims

When it comes to sim games, The Sims is most likely the first to come to mind, but My Sims is a complete change of style to the series. Even though from its beginnings it was mainly a game series intended for the PC, there have been a lot of console adaptations of these games. My Sims was originally released for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS, and it was after some time that it was released on PC.

EA was clearly looking at a different target for this game, so it's worth taking a look at it, and that's what we'll do here.

About the game

My Sims is a drastic change from the usual The Sims games. Not only is it an aesthetic change, but also a completely different game style. We'll start the game by customizing our Sim, but not with the usual deep-customization we're used to seeing in The Sims games. Here we'll find that all the characters are more childish and deformed to be smaller as if they were toys or more cartoony Sims.

After we've got our own Sim, we head into a town, where the Mayor will welcome us, and guide us through all the current problems in town. Our job is to renovate and redesign this place from the ground up to make it a better place for its inhabitants and make it a beautiful place.

The customization in this game is centered around the town itself, using modules and prebuilt items. It's a simplified version of other sims games like SimCity too, with some mechanics of a typical Sims game.

A more Nintendo game?

This game is clearly aiming at a much younger audience. Making the game more cartoonish and simple, it's perfect for the younger kids in the house. The overall looks and mechanics remind us of one of Nintendo's most popular franchises: Animal Crossing. In most Animal Crossing games you have to look after the town you live in and work to make it a better place. The cartoonish look of the characters in both games is pretty similar. Even though most characters in Animal Crossing are just talking animals.

Review

This game is an interesting new take on the franchise. It can't really be compared to any of the other The Sims games since it isn't even similar. It adapted perfectly into the PC, with better graphics, more comfortable controllers, and overall better quality. It's a far superior version of the Wii version.

Its mechanics are way too simple for the teen and adult audience to make it a challenge, but then again, that's not what this game is looking for.

• Graphics and visuals: The game looks great even though it's far more simple-looking than any other The Sims games. Its art style is pretty and solid, and it fits perfectly the more simplistic mechanics of the game.

• Gameplay: The controls were perfectly adapted for the PC version. Things you used to do shaking and moving your Wii Mote can now be done by simply clicking and moving the mouse. The UI is much better and there's a completely new Online mode. This game's gameplay is greatly improved in this PC version.

• Sound: The Sims games are usually great when it comes to soundtracks. This one has a nice, comfy, and cartoon-like soundtrack too. While you should not compare it to the other Sims games since it's a completely

When Homer Simpson uttered the immortal words "That wasn't part of our deal, Blackheart! That wasn't part!" he may have been talking about Bart apparently being kidnapped by an evil ivory dealer. However, he might also have been talking about me being forced to review MySims, with the part of the cruel ivory dealer being taken by the draconian Steve Hogarty. The Sims wasn't casual enough for a Wii/DS audience apparently, so EA have created a spin-off series that ramps up the cuteness levels and turns everyone's favourite wall-'em-up into a twee sandbox game, where you can build houses and objects using a Spore-esque creation utility, all with the goal of making your town 'the place to be'.

As a game aimed at children, it provides more than enough content to keep creative youngsters quietly occupied for hours, which will be pleasing news to beleaguered parents everywhere. Just plonk the sprogs in front of this at Christmas and you can enjoy getting lightly toasted while they attach flamingos to the front of their first house.

Adults will probably want to steer well clear, of course, unless supervising said youngsters when they venture online to meet other players, whereby they can share created objects and play games like Hide and Seek. This is probably one of the best child-only games we've seen - after all, it isn't just a badly disguised platform yawnfest with a superhero plastered on the box -this will genuinely engage the creative side of a child. Just knock 30 off the score if you aren't in primary school.