Previews

Jonny Austin could do with a God-like hand guiding him through social situations now and then...

Considering that most games tap into our need to experience fantasy lives we could never hope to savour (racing driver, super-spy or crazed bandicoot), it's odd that the biggest gaming phenomenon of the last five years is The Sims - the series in which you can eat, sleep, go to work and do the dishes.

Released in 2000, the original PC game introduced the world to these little computer people, who were able to think for themselves to an extent but unable to survive without player guidance. Three years and a massive seven expansion packs later, The Sims is the gaming success story of the new millennium.

The basic premise of the game is simple. Provide a house for your Sim and watch him or her go about their daily routine, interjecting when necessary to make sure they keep themselves clean, have a social life, do the chores, and get to work on time. You can also use their salary to fill their houses up with hi-tech gadgets and lovely new items of furniture, and socialise with others in the neighbourhood in the hopes of finding a partner.

Earlier this year EA released The Sims on PS2, GameCube and Xbox - a relatively successful port of the PC game, it didn't feel quite right on console. For the sequel, The Sims Bustin' Out (on the same formats again), the developers have gone back to the drawing board and built a title specifically designed for console play.

Of course, the ultimate goal is, as always, to end up living in a dream house full of dreamy objects and a dream partner, but this time you'll go about it a little differently. As usual, you'll begin by creating and dressing your character in the most advanced version of a "Sim-creator" we've yet seen in any version of the game - the possibilities are endless! You can even choose a Zodiac sign and decide which attributes, such as shyness, you want to give your character.

The beginning of the game is quite amusing, as you find yourself in a nightclub indulging in highly enjoyable social interaction with other Sims. Unfortunately this is all just a dream, and you're brought back to earth with a bang, realising that your Sim is actually a loser with no friends living at home with mummy dear.

This leads nicely onto the difference between this and earlier versions of The Sims. It's time to get out into the world. No longer does the action take place exclusively in your Sim's home, but in 16 locations throughout the city, such as a nightclub and military installation which are unlocked as you play.

There are also a number of career paths available, and your success in your chosen occupation is down to the characteristics exhibited by your Sim. For example you're unlikely to make it as a big-time sporting star if your athletic abilities aren't up to scratch. Other options are Movie Star, Crime Lord (we're not sure about pop culture society's continuing insistence that it's ok to be a gangster, we have to say…) and Scientist (that's more like it!).

All in all, Bustin' Out looks like it will provide a console gaming experience quite unlike any other, and importantly, one which will appeal to women as much as it will to men. If you're looking for something more unorthodox for Mum's Christmas present than the usual (tub of Oil of Olay and Totes slipper socks?) then you could do much worse than a copy of the latest Sims game for whichever console you have in the house. And yes, we do get the irony of a videogame where the basic premise is getting up off your sofa and getting out into the real world...

Preview by: Jonny Austin