Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Can't tear my girlfriend away
Okay, please realize that there will be a transition period from the computer game. Those of you who have every single expansion pack and play The Sims 16 hours a day, this isn't THE SAME game.I'll address some of the earlier reviews first. 1. There is fast foward/pause in the form of L1 / R1 on the Dual Shock controller. 2. There aren't as many options - no pets, no downtown, no 2nd floor, no vacation. (another reviewer referred to this as "the best of" the original) 3. It's not slower than the PC version. Depending on your computer, it could be considerably faster. 4. The controls do take some getting used to, but become intuitive once you get them. Took me a half hour to an hour, and my girlfriend about the same. 5. It's Just As Addictive As The Original. 6. Characters are more customizable than ever - everything down to the face shape & eye color. On the down side, you can't download outfits from the Internet. We brought it home last night and I was able to play a bit. At first I thought "gawd these controls are awkward... building this house is sooo tedious," but I played for a long time after that. Then this morning I woke up and my girlfriend was playing. She's been playing for 8 hours. I wanted to turn on the TV and I paused the game and turned on the TV... followed by her screams. Luckily I was able to hook up the PS2 to the PS1 LCD screen (use an 1/8" stereo male to dual RCA female jack (tell them that at radio shack). Plug the yellow out from the PS2 into the white plug, and the white out from the PS2 into the red plug). We did some of the two player challenge games that get unlocked in "Get a Life" mode. I'm going to have to learn fast about the other two player modes or I might lose my girlfriend to this game forever. In short, this game as just as addictive as the original, plus it has two player & goal oriented play. Maxis did it again!
Rating: - Great on PS2
I HATE THIS GAME! It keeps me up all night and destroys my life! There should be laws against games being this FUN! Ok, I've been playing 'The Sims' on PC for a few years now so I pretty much knew what I was doing as soon as I started my PS2. I did expect a bit more from it. First of all there is the Sim's skins. You can make them look more individual by changing the shape of their faces but you can't change their body weight very much. The fattest a person can get still looks like a super model. And you can't make them look really old either besides giving them grey or bald heads. Also, I was hoping for more clothes. The game itself is almost identical to the PC version. The only difference is graphics and control. The Sims talk and move exactly the same as in the PC version too. You also have less options of what to do with your Sim than on the PC. 'Hot Date' and other expansion packs have not been included on this game. So it's basically the first installation of the PC game. There is the mission mode and 2 player but I think most people play the classic way. With all the Sims has for PS2 and all it is lacking of the PC versions it is still an extremely addicting game.Graphics: 4.0 It's 100 times better than the PC version but also 100 times worse than the great PS2 games out there.
Sound: 4.0 Most of the sounds have been directly copied from the PC to the PS2. I was hoping for something a bit different.
Control: 4.5 The PS2 controller works great for this game but it's still a lot easier using a mouse.
Fun Factor: 5.0 If you start playing you wont stop.
Rating: - Much better than the PC verison
I've never been a large fan of The Sims on PC, though it's hard not to respect what Maxis acomplished with the original game, both in terms of a life simulation and in terms of universal appeal. But I always had some issues, that and the game had a chain of very slick, very logical expansions.However, for me, the game moved way too quickly and often because an act of tedium rather than a fun experience. I purchased the PS2 game for a number of reasons, the tweaked progression scales, a mixture of items from all of the expansions (I never got any of the expansions myself), a host of neat original PS2 items, a fun mission mode, competitive mini-games, and open ended co-op. Plus I had bought way too many PC games as of late, and needed something for the ol' consoles to play into the wee hours if I became entranced...again. I had some worries and doubts, and while I disagree with some things Maxis and EoR did with the conversion, I have to say this is a heck of a good game, is faithful to the PC version, adds a ton of goodies, and the game isn't nearly as tedious to play, oddly enough controls like a dream and most importantly: The co-op is INCREDIBLY well pulled off. Simply great co-op, since I grabbed the game, I've sunk about 10-12 hours with a pal into it in crazy night long plays. Establishing house by house a dual-neighborhood full of neat characters is too much fun and offers so much play time it's scary, and I've just scratched the surface. The co-op neghborhood set-up takes from the insanely miniscule ammount of things that Animal Crossing did right (I'm not comparing the two titles, however, it can't be done) it allowing the importing and exporting of characters and even houses. But really, the co-op in The Sims is just hard to explain why it's so darn fun, ..., it's like miniscule Sims online without the massive lameness OF the Sims Online, or even the original PC game faults. It just clicks, working together to accomplish goals, dividing out tasks, establishing relationships and throwing parties, great fun. The Get a Life mode is pretty darn slick as well, hosting 8 missions (the later ones being QUITE long and offering good challenge) and offers a nice levy of unlockable features (mini-games, items, the neighborhood mode itself) it's been pulled off a lot better than I expected. The classic free play is just as good. Building houses with the PS2 controller also works really well (I cannot stress how sweet the controls are on this compared to the PC, they just work so well) The 3D visuals are pretty good, it's fun to see all the old 2D PC game objects in 3D. The game is decently detailed, can fit a lot of characters on screen and has a good sense of charm to it. It runs smooth and the camera panning is SUCH a nice feature comparied to the...fixed rotations of the PC title. The music...well, The Sims never really relied on music, The Sims probably has by far the greatest sound effects and voice acting ever, but if you snag a stereo there is some entertaining stuff, all sung in Simish of course. Nothing beats Sim rap, hilarious stuff. In the end, a lot may like it more than the PC edition, others may not, I love it myself, and to say the least it's a fun value packed version of The Sims that erases a lot of the tedium and flaws presented in the original. I love my co-op.
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