The Sims Bustin’ Out

Pack Your Bags!

NA release: 16th December 2003
EU release: 19th December 2003
JP release: N/A
Developer: Maxis
Publisher: EA Games
NGC Magazine Score: 82%
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

The sequel to the console version of The Sims, and this feels more like what the first one should have been, making the needs of your character much more manageable so you can actually spend time actually doing stuff. It’s such a small change that makes the game much more playable.

The big new feature is that you can visit other places. This isn’t quite up to the level as later Sims games where there are specific places for visiting (cafes, shops, nightclubs), but it’s still nice to take a break for the one location. One nice thing is that the loading screens are hidden as your Sim drives their vehicle to the next location. Even moving house in the campaign has your Sim driving down the road until the next place.

The campaign itself is also more freeform. The only requirement for reaching the next area is getting two promotions in your chosen job, the other objectives you can do later on if you return to the place. These include things like solving mysteries and are a bit more involved than just a long tutorial for what you can do in The Sims. There’s also an overall plot of the landlord stealing items from people, which you need to recover with these missions.

This version isn’t without its problems, though. The biggest being getting the “propose” prompt to even appear as an option you can pick. It’s bad enough that there are even multiple guides to give suggestions on a series of steps you can do to make it happen, but even these aren’t reliable methods. It’s an odd thing to make extremely difficult as it cuts off a lot of the game.

Fun

Okay, so the game is hardly going to set your GameCube alight, but its a significantly different experience from anything else available right now (well, apart from The Sims) and it’s enough of a significant improvement over its predecessor to warrant checking out.
Geraint Evans, NGC Magazine #89

Remake or remaster?

A re-release of console Sims games would be good.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get the console version of The Sims: Bustin’ Out