The Sims 2 (DS)

Another area where this DS release is different to the usual Sims fare is it has a plot. This rumbles along as you undertake specific missions, such as building a vault so that mafia boss Frankie Fusilli can stash his cash. There are also sub-missions, which often appear on your in-game phone as messages or direct calls. In fact, once you’re a couple of hours into the game, there are more than enough tasks to be getting on with.

Even if The Sims 2 on DS isn’t as innovative and downright enjoyable as the traditional Sims’ experience, there is plenty of fun on offer. Though you might well never get the hoovering bug.

Pocket Gamer – The Sims 2 DS review

Like the console and handheld versions, The Sims 2 on the DS takes a different path from the PC versions by giving you control of a single Sim (instead of managing all Sims and watch them perform tasks you told them to do). You can choose the appearance and sex of your Sim, though the variety is a little small.

The Sims 2 on the DS works off the real time clock of your system instead of the blazing “Sim-Time” of past titles. But while other games using this kind of clock are more open-ended, The Sims 2 is structured in chapters, so you might find yourself tempted to advance the clock to finish a quest. The majority of your playtime will be devoted to your customers, but you’ll also have the Sims mainstays of making sure your hunger, sleep, and hygiene are in check in the form of a sanity meter. When it gets low, it’s time to do something about your Sim.

The DS strengths come into play here in various ways, but the most pronounced is the touch screen interactivity, which plays into the game a lot. You can, for example, vacuum on the top screen while sifting through the stuff for valuables that may have been sucked up on the bottom screen. Even though some of these tasks might sound meaningless, they’re definitely fun and much of it is entirely optional anyway.

Game Chronicles – The Sims 2 DS review

The Sims 2 has a pretty focused story mode divided into a number of chapters. In the game, you’ll manage a hotel in the town of Strangeville. During the game, you’ll control a specific sim and will be able to control their appearance. Your goal is to get money by building up the hotel, including saving the town, performing odd jobs, and gambling. You’ll have to work with and for a number of characters in the game to get this money. You need to meet their requirements and make them happy before moving on to the next person, with their own set of requirements. The Sims 2 for Nintendo DS doesn’t use the same time system as other versions of the game, instead choosing to work around the real time based on the Nintendo DS’s internal clock. This games the game a bit more dynamic since the developers were able to play around with the time element now. However, it also adds some unnecessary waiting time which is a bit of a downside since the story mode is pretty structured.

As expected, the game still lets you decorate the various rooms in the hotel to your liking. This is especially neat since you can use the touch screen on the Nintendo DS to create paintings that you can then use to decorate the hotel. The paint program is pretty in-depth allowing for truly unique creations. You can also use the touch screen to create in-game music via the included application. You can also use the touch screen to do things like vacuum and metal detect.

PGNx Media – The Sims 2 DS review

Your Sim’s life proceeds according to real time as measured by your DS’ internal clock. That means that when you go to Town Hall for a permit to build your hotel’s Asian Emporium and the clerk tells you it’s going to take handyman Tristan Legend eight hours to build it, you’ve got some real-world time to kill before you find out what you can do in your hotel’s new addition. You can tinker with the clock to try to get around the harshness of time, but don’t be shocked when your concierge deems you a time-traveling cheat and you find yourself having to repel a full-scale alien invasion to atone for your temporal hijinx.

The visuals of The Sims 2 push the limits of your tolerance for blocky, pixelated environments more than the graphical limits of the DS. A shimmering heat effect glosses up the daytime desert, but that’s one of only a few graphical flourishes that adorn the flat, detail-deprived desert town. The Sims themselves fare better, with thoroughly differentiating facial features that complement the broad comic writing that defines their personalities. The animations don’t impress with smoothness, but they are stylized in unique ways that make it entertaining to watch Tank Grunt gesture wildly and Misty Waters slink around. The ability to create your own music and play it in several spots around town helps maintain interest in the audio presentation, and while Strangetown rarely feels ready to burst with interesting characters, enough of them roam the streets and haunt your hotel’s hallways to consistently fill your headphones with Sim chatter.

WorthPlaying – The Sims 2 DS review

Sims DS was not what I was expecting at all. The title’s main mode is basically a story divided into a number of chapters. This mode offers very little open-ended options for gamers as it tells you what you must do and guides you through it every step of the way. You will only control one Sim over the course of the game. Thankfully you can create and name this Sim but the customizable options and sets of clothes leave much to be desired.

When you start you are placed in an almost abandoned hotel in the town of Strangeville of which you become manager of. Then the game sets you the goal of reviving the hotel from its rundown state. From this moment on you begin on a relatively boring adventure doing certain tasks that the game sets you to advance the story, get some more money and make the hotel better. That’s it! That’s all the DS version of Sims 2 offer the gamer! I don’t know how to express my anger other than using expletives so rather than this review containing a few dozen words starting with “f” and “s” and featuring lots of “***” I will continue on to some of the other features the game offers.

Boomtown – The Sims 2 DS review

Unlike its PC and console counterparts, Sims 2 for the DS doesn’t have separate meters for things like hunger, hygiene, and comfort. Instead, there is only a single sanity meter. Before anyone asks, no, nothing crazy happens when your sanity meter is low. However, if you run out of sanity completely you’ll be returned to your own room in the hotel and you will literally become gimped for a short period of time. To keep up your sanity, though, you need to keep up with the daily routine of life with such mundane tasks as: taking a shower, getting something to eat, going to the bathroom, and going to sleep.

Most of the tunes used in the game are catchy enough, but none of them stood out above the rest. The good thing is that even if you hated the entire soundtrack, you can record and keep three songs of your own. Each room has a small box on its wall to change its music, so you could have your music playing in them all.

Nintendo World Report – The Sims 2 DS reviewed

The Nintendo DS version of The Sims 2 is a great original title that revolves around running a decrepit hotel in the middle of creepy Strangeville. At the start, you’ll have barely enough money to scrape by, but by checking in clients, doing odd jobs, gambling, and saving Strangeville from the frequent alien attacks, the Simoleans will start raking in and enable you to build your hotel up and outwards. Like the Game Boy Advance and console versions of the games in the Sims series, the Nintendo DS design gives you direct control over a specific Sim character, with customization over sex and appearance both in and out of clothing. The DS sequel is also now in true 3D, which, even with its more limited visuals, brings the game in line to the appearance of the console games and looks great…at least for Nintendo DS standards.

The Sims 2 for the DS is heavily structured in chapters, starting with a Godfather-inspired citizen moving into the hotel. After performing strange and suspicious tasks for this guy, he’ll move out and a new character will move in with her own requirements. These tasks will build up the hotel’s size and revenue and enable you to do other Sims tasks — keeping your patrons happy is Job Number One most of the time, so you’ll need to cheer them up when they’re down, calm them down when they’re furious, or sober them up when they’re feeling a bit tipsy. But The Sims roots aren’t forgotten, as players will have to eat, sleep, and pee when their sanity levels get too low.

IGN – The Sims 2 DS review

From dolls and toy soldiers to David Brentian managers tormenting their office underlings, human beings love meddling in the lives of others. Hence the popularity of The Sims, the series that puts the daily activities of little computer people onto your screen, and under your thumb. Or, here, your stylus.

For the DS version of The Sims 2, the focus is on a hotel – that classic goldfish bowl of human interaction – which you’ll customise and manage in the Sim city of Strangetown. We’re not just talking choosing curtains and wallpaper here: you’ll indulge your artistic side designing paintings for the art gallery, and record your own music (or Muzak?) in the hotel’s soundstage. You can then swap your tracks with other Sims 2 owners via the DS’ wireless link.

Pocket Gamer – The Sims 2 DS preview

The Nintendo DS version of the game takes place in “Strangetown,” one of the three startup cities available in Sims 2 and the one with the crazy UFO X-Files-esque subplot. In the game, you create a Sim who wanders into town and can start his or her own hotel. The object? Keep your guests in Strangetown happy, no matter how weird they get.

The Sim creation screen was very detailed. Aside from choosing gender, basic body type, and clothes, you could manipulate facial features with sliders and totally tweak your appearance.

In fact, ‘customization’ is really what the DS version is all about. We saw a picture gallery where you could call up a blank canvas and draw whatever you wanted, then frame your masterpiece and hang it on the wall of your house. EA promises at least 10 mini-games and creativity tools as part of the game, so you’ll have a lot of freedom creating your own environment. For instance, we checked out a music editor where you could bring in samples (including ones you blurt into the microphone) and mix them with a backbeat to make your own tunes.

GameSpy – The Sims 2 DS preview

Each console has a specific experience, to boot. The home consoles are pretty much what’s been described, so far, but with a couple extra features specific to the console. For example, the PS2 version features EyeToy support, so you can do some sort of weird “take a picture of yourself and then put it on a painting in your Sim’s house so that you can look at your Sim looking at you” kind of thing. The Xbox version will look the snazziest, due to its 720p support, and the GameCube will have extra snazzy items. The portables are also their own experience, with each of those taking place in Strangetown. The GBA will let you play the newest star in a hit TV show taking place in Strangetown, and chronicle your 20-episode journey. The DS puts you in the role of a hotel manager in Strangetown, so you’ll use the DS to design the hotel and its amenities within. Finally, the PSP version is sort of a micro-home console version, with the premise that your car breaks down in Strangetown, and while its getting fixed for the next few days, you can try to figure out what the heck is going on with Strangetown as you settle in.

1UP – The Sims 2 DS preview

Right from the start it’s clear that The Sims 2 was custom built for the Nintendo DS platform. Along with the brand new 3D engine, the first task alone shows some creative use of the dual-screen handheld’s unique feature. In this early-on chore, players will have to vacuum up the dirty floors of the hotel. The upperscreen keeps track of the standard action, with the lower screen showing all of the goodies that are getting sucked down the whirlwind; occasionally the bag will get a bit clogged, so players will have to blow on the system to clean the filter. Thank you, DS microphone. The microphone will also come in use to allow for custom music, where players can compose their own tunes using their own voice as one of the instrument samples. This custom music can be attached to the background Muzac of the hotel, which will either please or annoy the hotel inhabitants.

IGN – The Sims 2 DS hands-on

One aspect of gameplay that the DS version of The Sims 2 does share with its PC cousin is the character-creation system. You’ll choose all the standard variables–gender, hairstyle, clothing, and so on–to create your virtual avatar. Once your sim is made, you’ll be dropped into the 3D world of Strangetown, where your car has broken down. You’ll quickly find out that the previous proprietor of Strangetown’s lone hotel has fled the premises, and through a number of strange happenings, it’ll become clear that you’re the only one who can take over the hotel and restore prosperity to Strangetown’s once-thriving tourism industry.

GameSpot – hands on with The Sims 2 DS

We had a chance to see The Sims 2 for DS at a recent press event. The new game, which will be rendered in full 3D, will let you create your own character and explore the streets of Strangetown, the Roswell-like city from the PC version of The Sims 2. Your character will arrive on the outskirts of Strangetown only to find that you have been left the deed to the local hotel, which you’ll move into as its newest resident, owner, and manager. Over the course of the game, you’ll meet the town’s citizens and gain missions from three VIP characters, either by speaking to them face-to-face or receiving messages on your in-game cell phone.

Your overall goal will be to build out the biggest and best hotel you can by acquiring enough cash to unlock individual rooms and wings for your guests. You can earn cash and items by completing missions and by playing the game’s numerous minigames, all of which involve using the Nintendo DS’s stylus and touch pad, its built-in microphone, or both. For instance, there will be a soundstage room you can use to record your own voice as a sound sample to incorporate into your very own custom tune, piping in various synthetic instruments and actually recording the music to listen to later, trade to friends, or use as ringtone on your in-game cell phone. You’ll also use the microphone to operate a vacuum cleaner in another minigame, similar to the “blowing” minigame in the recent WarioWare DS game from Nintendo.

GameSpot – updated impressions on The Sims 2 DS

As mentioned earlier, the DS version of The Sims 2 will be very different from its GBA counterpart, not least because everything in the DS game will be 3D. You’ll play as the manager of a small Strangetown hotel (it has only two rooms at the start of the game), whose goal, predictably, is to keep all of the residents happy. To achieve this goal, not only will you have to expand your hotel with additional rooms, such as a lounge and an art gallery, but you’ll also have to customize those rooms with content that you’ve fashioned using some of the handheld’s unique features. The paintings in the art gallery can be created by drawing on the touch screen, while the music you play in the lounge (and pipe into the bedrooms, if you like) will be a tune you’ve composed using a combination of in-game sounds and stuff that you’ve recorded using the DS’s built-in microphone. The Sims 2 will also take advantage of the DS’s wireless connectivity support, so you can trade items and songs that you’ve created with other players.

GameSpot – The Sims 2 on DS: first look

IGN: What are some of the gameplay differences we can expect between last year’s and this year’s game?

EA Maxis: The Sims 2 for the NDS has returned closer to the roots of the popular PC title. For starters, the world is fully rendered 3D. In addition, the game is a truly open-ended Sims experience which focuses on customizable gameplay rather than a linear, story-based mission structure. The Sims 2 for NDS also features a bevy of touch-screen based activities scattered throughout the game that enable users to completely customize their world and gameplay experience.

IGN: How will wireless support come into play with The Sims 2?

EA Maxis: Since the custom music and paintings are key to the player’s success in The Sims 2 NDS, trading unique creations and head-to-head mini-games are the wireless focus of the The Sims 2 for the NDS. The user can create original artwork for the gallery and music that will play in the lounge and hotel rooms that you will want to trade with other players. These items can then be utilized throughout the game world as the patrons of the lounge and the hotel will have opinions about your creations.

IGN: Any potential of having online support in the Nintendo DS version?

EA Maxis: We are in discussions for this.

IGN – Interview with developers from The Sims 2 DS team

That’s right, among all the war-mongering and fighting games released today, Electronic Arts has announced that The Sims 2 has shipped to stores for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and DS. PlayStation Portable and mobile phone versions are also scheduled for release within the next few weeks. The game is based on the 2004 PC version, which was the best-selling PC game of that year.

Like its predecessor, The Sims 2 is part doll house, part ant farm. Gamers can create characters and build houses for their pixelated people, then push them toward financial and social success or let them toil in their own filth by neglecting the little guys and gals.

Console and handheld versions will differ slightly. The landlocked systems will feature an open-ended scenario to let sims run free, as well as a single-player story mode. The PlayStation 2 version also lets EyeToy owners import images into the game. The GBA version includes the One Time in Strangetown mode, a series of playable vignettes. On the DS, sims will be able to run their own hotel in Strangetown and design everything from the paintings to the lounge’s music.

GameSpot – The Sims 2 releases for DS and other platforms

The Sims has always been golden for Electronic Arts, and that’s even truer today as word arrived that The Sims 2 for consoles and handhelds has entered duplication. The PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance versions of the game have finished development and are set to arrive on retail shelves October 24. A PSP version will follow shortly thereafter.

While the basic goal of stepping into a sim’s life and guiding that sim to health and happiness remains the same in every game, some versions have been changed to suit the abilities of its host console. For instance, while the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube editions all feature the series’ open-ended gameplay, plus the ability for players to assume direct control of their sims for the first time in the series, the PS2 edition also makes use of the Eye Toy camera to import images into the game.

On the portable side, DS users can record music into the game with the system’s microphone and use the touch screen to design their own paintings or play one of seven different touch screen activities. The Game Boy Advance version of the game challenges players to guide their sims through 20 episodes as the lead role in a hit TV show called “One Time in Strangetown,” where the goal is to uncover the secrets of Strangetown while keeping your show’s ratings high.

GameSpot – The Sims 2 for DS goes gold!

The Sims 2 comes to the PSP handheld entertainment system, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance bringing with it all the addictive, open-ended gameplay of the fastest-selling PC game of all time. Featuring a unique storyline for each platform, The Sims 2 lets you create, customize, and control different neighborhoods as you delve into the mysteries of Stangetown and strive to uncover its secrets. Mind your Sim’s Sanity Meter to save them from a nervous breakdown and connect with other players to trade secrets and play head-to-head mini-games. With The Sims 2 for handheld, now you can take it with you everywhere.

Nintendo DS Features

• Exclusive story – Explore the wide-open world of The Sims 2 as you become the rich and powerful owner of your own hotel in Strangetown. Your ultimate goal is to uncover Strangetown’s secrets while keeping the VIP’s in your hotel happy.
• All in a 3D World – Open-ended gameplay allows for endless fun in a completely 3D
• world. Play over 10 new Touch Screen minigames and creativity tools to help make money, collect worksof art, and customize your world.
• Become a DJ – Use the built-in DS microphone to make your own music in the lounge and use the Touch Screen to create your own paintings in the gallery. Be sure to trade your masterpieces with other players via the Nintendo DS wireless link.

GameSpot – The Sims 2 comes to the Nintendo DS

Guides for The Sims 2 for DS from GameFAQS

• The Sims 2 FAQ/Walkthrough by Humanvegetableonline
• The Sims 2 FAQ/Walkthrough by toby_lover
• The Sims 2 FAQ/Walkthrough by Mistress_Kari

Unlockable: Mongoo Monkey
Insert The Sims 2 GBA into the DS.

Hint: Hidden Skill Points
Once every week, you can find hidden Skill Points somewhere in the game. This Skill Points only exist for eight consecutive hours per week, and are of the following type: Business, Body, Creativity, Charisma, or Mechanical. Look in the following places to find the Skill Points, keeping in mind that they’ll move around randomly each week: Casino, Furnace Room, the Gym, Lobby, Manager’s Office, Police Station, Sax Lounge, the Spa, The Hogg’s Room, and the Well.

Unlock new Songs
3 songs are unlockable in the game. The first two can be used in the Music Mixer, and the last one is only availible on the stereos.

• “Combat Mode” —– Collest 12 license plates
• “Credits Theme” —– Beat the game
• “Razor Burn” —– Collect 24 license plates

Random Unlockables

• People on The Sims 2 DS’s Art —– Keep talking to them and romancing & impressing them and they’ll give you their art. (check settings for that)
• People on The Sims 2 DS’s Secrets —– Keep talking to them and romancing & impressing them and they’ll give you their secret. (check the friends settings for that)
• Big Foot —– Get Tristan Legend to build the Secret Warehouse. ($2 500)
• Fortune Teller —– Get Tristan Legend to build the Secret Warehouse. ($2 500)
• More aliens —– Get all the arts

Modified list of Skill Points
This is the Modified List of Skill Points. The times listed for each skill point event is good for about several game hours (i.e., before the next event), so you don’t have to commit to getting one immediately at that time, but will let you get a general idea of how to plan out your Sim’s schedule.

Sunday

• 12:00 AM On the Sun Deck: Creativity Skill point
• 12:00 AM Next to dance floor in Saloon: Business skill point
• 8:00 AM In blue corrugated carton in secret warehouse: Body Skill point
• 8:00 AM In bathroom of Asian Emporium: Charisma Skill Point
• 8:00 AM In central seating area of the Sax Lounge: Creativity Skill Point
• 4:01 PM In corner of Freezer: Body Skill Point
• 4:01 PM In corner of Hotel Lobby: Charisma Skill Point

Monday

• 12:00 AM in Casino, between Moogoo Monkey and Keelhaulin’ Cards: Creativity Skill Point
• 12:00 AM in centre of Art Gallery: Creativity Skill Point
• 12:00 AM behind Concierge’s Desk: Business Skill Point
• 12:00 AM in main room of Vault, eastern wall: Business Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in northwest corner of Government Laboratory: Mechanical Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in southeast corner of Strangetown, next to the outer wall of the cattle pen: Business Skill Point
• 4:01 PM at shrine dedicated to Auda Sherif in Mamma Hogg’s bedroom: Mechanical Skill Point

Tuesday

• 12:00 AM in blue corrugated carton in Secret Warehouse: Mechanical Skill Point
• 12:00 AM to the left of the main stairs in the Basement: Body Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in the 2nd Floor Lobby, in the corner with the potted plant between the Jungle Room and Deluxe Guest Room: Business Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in Gym and Spa: Body Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in northeast corner of Asian Emporium: Business Skill Point
• 4:01 PM next to the pallet in Furnace Room in Basement: Mechanical Skill Point

Wednesday

• 12:00 AM beside cattle shed in Town Square: Creativity Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in far left corner of Lion Lounge: Charisma Skill Point
• 8:00 AM over table between Moogoo Monkey and Keelhaulin’ Cards in Casino:Charisma Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in Bovine Shrine, to the east of the entrance: Creativity Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in Honest Jackson’s office in City Hall: Charisma Skill Point
• 4:01 PM opposite the pallet in the room with the pallet in the Vault:Mechanical Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in alcove in Manager’s Suite: Business Skill Point

Thursday

• 12:00 AM in Northeast corner of the Store: Business Skill
• 12:00 AM in front of abandoned space pod in the Desert: Business Skill Point
• 12:00 AM in locker room in Spa and Gym: Charisma Skill Point
• 8:00 AM above the pallet in the Furnace Room: Mechanical Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in alcove in the Atrium Centre: Creativity Point
• 4:01 PM next to the stairs in the Basement: Mechanical Skill Point

Friday

• 12:00 AM next to the shower in the Rat Cave: Creativity Skill Point
• 12:00 AM in the Freezer: Mechanical Skill Point
• 12:01 AM in the Sax Lounge: Charisma Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in the alcove in the Managerial Suite: Charisma Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in the corner of the Lion Lounge: Creativity Skill Point
• 4:01 PM next to the Dance Floor in the Saloon: Body Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in the Sheriff’s Office in the goal: Creativity Skill Point

Saturday

• 12:00 AM in alcove in Atrium Centre: Mechanical Skill Point
• 12:00 AM next to the Store: Body Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in Sheriff’s Office in the goal: Body Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in northwestern sunbathing corner of Sun Deck: Body Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in the Freezer: Business Skill Point
• 8:00 AM in the middle of the oasis in the Desert: Body Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in the centre of the Art Gallery: Charisma Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in Bovine Shrine: Body Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in Government Laboratory: Mechanical Skill Point
• 4:01 PM in Tanning Salon in the Spa and Gym: Charisma Skill Point