The Sims

The Sims brought a console version of the phenomenally successful PC life simulation to Xbox, in which the player controls the lives of virtual characters called Sims - building and furnishing their home, managing their careers, relationships and basic needs, and watching their lives unfold in real time. The console version adapted the controls for a gamepad and simplified some aspects of house building compared to the PC original, while also adding a light narrative framework with several neighborhoods and characters that the PC version lacked. The new neighborhoods also brought unique characters and small story threads that accompanied players as they built their own virtual lives.

The visuals were adapted compared to the PC version to work better on a TV screen and with a controller, featuring simpler but clearer menus for building and buying items. The soundtrack and the characteristic "Simlish" gibberish spoken by the Sims were kept, giving the game its unmistakable atmosphere of a lighthearted, humorous simulation of everyday life. The ability to play in two-player cooperative mode was among the features the console version added compared to the computer original.

The console version of The Sims was received as a successful transfer of the popular brand to game consoles and helped open up the life-simulation genre to players who didn't have access to a powerful computer. Critics praised the faithful transfer of key mechanics and the new story content, although purists missed the full building flexibility of the PC version. Today the game serves as an interesting reminder of how one of the most successful gaming concepts of all time was adapted for a console audience in the era of the original Xbox. The Xbox version sold alongside parallel releases for PlayStation 2 and GameCube, through which The Sims brand reached a wide audience of console players for the first time.

Why play it: For players without a powerful computer who wanted to experience the phenomenon of The Sims on a console with a faithful transfer of key mechanics, even though purists missed the full building flexibility of the PC version.