The Sims: Bustin' Out
Penelope Weasleton takes centre-stage today...
To say that The Sims is partly to be thanked for EA's current dominance of the gaming business would be something of an understatement. The brand has proved a reliable cash cow now since 1999, spurning several console versions and a whopping nine add-ons to the original PC hit, whilst also defying the traditional videogame demographic and appealing to, well, pretty much everyone really. Of course, to say that some of us are a tad sick of the series would also be an understatement - four years of bi-annual cash-ins have sapped any pleasure we once took from omnisciently controlling the lives of our charges, but I'm simultaneously aware that loyalty is still as strong as ever among the 'Sims community'.
This particular title is being released on consoles, and is mercifully only the second Sims title grace living-room boxes since the original was first ported early last year. So, The Sims: Bustin' Out it is then; lets find out what reasons Maxis and EA are offering us to part with our cash this time around.
For starters, EA have pulled their usual wee stunt of including features in this pseudo-sequel that less financially devious firms might have included in the original - thusly a new multiplayer mode is sported allowing us to play with or against our friends - and your highly evolved Sim can now be committed to memory card too and be integrated into other games in other places.
The biggest evolution from the original console Sims is the ability to leave the house, however, a scary prospect indeed for a gamer who has previously struggled to make his Sims observe in the basics of home making - Nigella Lawson my creations were not. Now however I have to get to grips with careers, workplaces, socialising and all manner of activities more complex than mere personal hygiene and the art of bread toasting.
Yes, an array of exciting locations are now yours to explore and master, from the unseemly Club Rubb (which is uncannily like my idea of the worst nightclub venue imaginable), to restaurants, art galleries, gyms, and other such diversions - where you'll find yourself making and losing friends, attempting to fall in love - and generally wishing you were back at home attempting to lure your same sex housemate into bed. Ahem. Alright, so they wouldn't actually get into bed together, but a few hurried games of strip-poker and a passionate tongue sarnie still counts as a success in my book, even if that was my only success of the entire game. Poor Penelope Weasleton not only went to work in a bad mood every day after I, in my role as virtual pimp, had cruelly forced her to stay up all night trying to chat up members of the armed forces and guys sporting multi-coloured afros with minimal success; as a result she floundered in her career as a lingerie model, lost touch with her dear old mum and had to sell most of the furniture to pay the bills. But hey, we kept the strip-poker table, so that's what really counts.
Other career paths such as 'mad' Scientist, Athlete and Mobster are also open to your prodigal son or daughter, and you'll find a vastly expanded array of objects to purchase, such as DJ booths, and new 'social' moves such as the moonwalk and an array of 'extreme' piercings are also now accessible too. Indeed, it's quite unnerving how Maxis have managed to boil the varying elements of an individual's life down to a series of well-defined categories and points-building opportunities.
In addendum to all of the above, your Sim is much more customisable in Bustin' Out, with a huge selection of hair-styles, clothes, shoes, et al available to model on your chosen avatar. You can even dress up as Splinter Cell's own Sam Fisher - although fans of the super-slick agent Fisher may wish to pause for a moment before rushing out into the world of the Sims in the likeness of their hero to consider this: are you really going to have as much respect for the super-macho government assassin once you've seen him wet himself because you forgot to tell him to take a trip to the loo?
The graphics have enjoyed the expected improvements - and whilst the interface has been tweaked along with the addition of a number of new effects, the general Sims 'look' still remains and this could be a good or bad thing depending upon your standpoint. A good effort none the less, with the shadows looking rather slick and the locales by and large feeling a lot 'richer' too.
So does The Sims: Bustin' Out warrant the expenditure of your hard-earned cash? Well, this should of course form the crux of the review - but sadly I'm going to have to make my conclusion plural and sit on the fence. On the one side, my enjoyment was certainly coloured for the worst by years of too-much-Sims, and this certainly isn't sufficiently different or original to make it anything refreshing in that respect. On the flip-side, you console gamers may not have seen quite as much of the series as your PC gaming counterparts, and with this in mind you may find Bustin' Out a pleasant diversion - and certainly a much more diverse and well-made title than the original console port. Indeed, this is probably what it all boils down to: have you had your fill of the Sims yet - yes or no. Personally, I believe EA are going to have to introduce some major innovations with The Sims 2 if they're to imitate the successes of the first iteration - but then again I'm also aware that there are enough fans still lapping-up games such as this to position my view firmly in the minority. In finale, if you do love the Sims, you'll certainly find many happy hours in this, but if you don't, then this game won't be changing your mind, hence a decidedly inconclusive,
73%
Comments
You can polish a turd, you can put a pretty bow on it, you can even wrap it up in shinny paper, but the smell will never go.
Never ,ever, ever go away.
The sims are like the proverbial on the shoe, except we know it's there but still can't make it go away.
NEED SIM BUSTIN OUT CHEATS WRITE A MEASSEGE 2 ME
Amazing, that 'rational' people who oviously have bigger and better than to worry about the supposedly 'stupid' new sim of the year, or less would even spend time writing down their oppinions on a Sim review page. Very intresting indeed. Maybe even a bit of closet admiration? Regardless, I don't know about this one, myself, but then again, I'm not much for that kind. PCs are enough to try to tackle. Forgive my venting.
how do you play multiplayer on the one for gamecube
cheats: All locations visited-Black, Down, R, L, Down, Y
All Objects Unlocked-Black , Up, Y, Down, R
All socials unlocked-L, R , A , Down, Black
Cheat Gnome (Must be used before any other codes)-R, L, Down, Black, Left(recommend using when at work.)
Full Motives-R, left, B, down, white
is there a fill al motives cheat on the gamecube
i love the sim iam 12 going on13 seand me a free copy
can i driver to place
how do yuo get multiplayer on xbox
None of the cheats work for me. What am I doing wrong??
how do i get promoted from hair stylist when im at club rubb with the fashion victim career?!?!?!?
This game is really good, but you should not make it so hard, and long
I agree with Marie Clair and dj, why won't the cheat codes work.
i luv the sims it is the best game i have eva played soon i will get sims2 and i will play it day and night without going 2 sleep! thanx 2 people who made all the sims games for changing my life.
how u get knome on it
how do i egt 2 playa on sims busy=tin out for gc
hey um.....on sims bustin out I keep on trying to put in cheat codes and stuff but it isnt workin! and I know you need some kind of cheat gnome or something but I cant even get that!! help =(
i luv the game but the cheats I TRY to put in wont work and i dont know whats wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!! i need some help
The money cheat wont work for me for nintendo gamecube!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The same problem is happening to everyone witht the cheats. So far on the net I have three different cheats for the gnome. You have to pause the game before you type the cheat in. See if any of these work.
Cheat Gnome - down L Z R left right
Other Cheat Gnome - down Z up up R
Money cheat (click on the gnome and give money) - down L Z R left right
i need fill all motives for cheat for gc
please help me
does anyone know?
can someone tell mme whats a gnome and how does it look
this really sucks!! i realy want that cheat. some websites have the fill motives cheat for gc but when i put it in it never works!
hey k a gnome is a little blue man that comes when u put the gnome cheat in. oh yeah it also allows u to put and use cheats
try putting it in in less then 1 sec, if that dont work there is a cheat code that enables cheat codes
Does anyone know how to get multiplayer in this game??????
............????
KNOW ANY CHEATS FOR SIMS BUSTING OUT FOR GAMECUBE PLEASE TELL ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! :^)
to raise motive s later in the game move back to moms house the artificial love will make raising motives easier
to raise motive s later in the game move back to moms house the artificial love will make raising motives easier
to raise motive s later in the game move back to moms house the artificial love will make raising motives easier
i agree with tom
i also agree with tom
Yo, i tried to put in the codes that you said for gamecube...all three of them, to try to get more money...and none of them work for me. i can get the gnome to show up, but i cant get it to allow me to click on it and get more money...help me please...anyone...
im on sims bustin out on ps2 and im on goth manor, how do you find the stolen fern? did malcom steal it?????? please please help.
same problem as brad...no get money option...
the fern is at dudleys house next to the car
how can i find out what ghosths problems the goths are having
it's hard to put that gnome or what ever that word is in as a code
how can i delete the blur from the nudest colonie?
it is at the back of dud's tralor by the car
what is the black button? PLEASE HELP ME! Also how do you get married on here?
why arnt the chaets on any site usefull? why dont they work? is there a cheat to take off the blur
Baz can you get me cheats plz
this game sucks ass you cant type in cheats>(
HOW DO YUO GET MULTI PLAYER
HELP ME PLEASE!!!!
How can u get ur sim to get married. Ive gotten cheats from different webs but i can never propose. Like im getting really fusterated Lol!!! Can some1 freaken help me??????? :-)
WANT ANY CHEAT CODES FOR THE SIMS PLEASE!!?
for any cheats people try first pausing the game then unpausing it and typing in the cheat if the cheat dosnt work, then pause the game and try it as fast as you can but after on cheat you have to repeat the process.
P.S. the cheats that either exit you on the pause menu or enter you to buy products etc... are for the normal game play NOT PAUSED
All the cheats suck and don't Work, but getting people nude is fun! You have to max out your creativity meter and get this guy to teach you the nude song and you play it on an instrument and everyone gets naked. you then have to take control of a naked sim and make them touch a bug zapper. oh but the person with the maxed out creativity has to play the song. This lets you see people without the blurr.
Wow, i cant do any cheats and i cant get married. it just doesnt work. what is this. Can anyone help me???
need the cheat for fill all motives
[b]HOW [B]DO [B]YOU [B]GET [B]YOUR [B]SIMS [B]TO [B]GET [B]MARRIED ;-)
dun complain about dis game!! i think the SIMS 2 PS2 is more suckish than dis 1!!
Thanks Tiktak for helping me find the fern and lilly 14 for the tip, but how in the hell do we get married!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can anybody give me the fill motives and money cheat for the sims bustin' out on gamecube! PLZ TELL ME!!!!
How do you get them to get married
Cause all the ones i propose to reject it
The cheat for extra money doesn't work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Neither does the fill all motives cheat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
why wont the cheat gnome work for me on Xbox :-(
I don't know how to enter in codes because your supose to hold "L" to pause the game and enter the code, but some of the codes have an "L" in it so I don't know what to do
can i play a good sims game
i canny click on eh gnome!! help!
you need 2 hold L1 then let go and do the cheat really fast!
HOW DO YOU PLAY MULTIPLAYER ON GAMECUBE!?!?!?!?!?! HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This game gets very complicated when you live with goths ! And what do they mean when they say buy improvemens i bought 2 pools and lots more it still does not work HELP
This game gets very complicated when you live with goths ! And what do they mean when they say buy improvemens i bought 2 pools and lots more it still does not work HELP
My game was all snaped.
i love your game but it just to hard to get in the rigth mood so can you gave me a few tips thank you
on nentendo gamecube the money cheat won't work 4 me y?? And can any1 help me?? :-(
help me find a money cheat for the sims busten out for game cube
hey
hey
When it means buy improvements it means to buy everythting the goths lost.
why wont any of the cheats work !!!!
I've tried to get the gnome first as your sopposed to,but that wont WORK ! Mines a PS2 game by the way. PLZ tell me,the goths are driving me crazy ¬!!!!!!
i need cheats for busten out
any cheats
for the sims bustin out for gamecube in free play mode can you get married
can any 1 tell me a cheat for extra money or how to select the cheat gnome plz
can sum 1 tell me the money cheat for sims bustin' out for gamecube
what it means by buy improvements for the gots it means old things like the $1000 fire place or more spooky lights
how come when i put the codes on for game cube it doesn't work on raise motive and extra money but everything else work for sims bustin out?
i hate youre web sit it sucks but its all advertisment
The cheat codes for the sims bustin' out has a little letter that we dont get. Like the cheat code is called unlock all clothing. And theres a letter t. we dont know what it means. HELP US WERE GETTING BORED!
tha game y lovet en sims 2 when the sequen part of sims 2 i likke to the sex
tha game y lovet en sims 2 when the sequen part of sims 2 i likke to the sex
i want to know how to play to plaayer free mode
gnome cheat: press start then quickly press l2,r1,left ,circle, up and then a sims voice will say something to confirm the cheat (this is the fill all motives cheat) the best cheat ever!
the 't' might mean triangle
can someone tell me how to get married in sims bustin out
Some people have put Z in there chears
!?!?WHATS THAT ALL ABOUT!?!?
Hey everyone its me again has anybody got any blue Gnome cheats for me the ones that i keep getting don't work.(Can anybody figre that out)PLEASE PLEASE PLEAESE Thanks PLEASE PLEASE PLEAESE
does n e one know how to get married on here?? one of my goals is to get married but everytime i ask i an turned down
how do i get the fern back and the cheats don't work i need help i like never play games and oh it on the xbox so how do i make those cheats work
in order to get married in sims bustin out on gamecube, if your are a female sim, make a male sim in freeplay mode. then if u live at club rubb, the male sim u made will come. fall in love with the sim and propose. make sure the sim u made eats and uses so they will be in a good mood. hope the answer is yes! here u go! hope i helped!
SORRY!! make sure the sim u made uses the bathroom! i left uses. u might be curious!
hey christine and melissa, my tip might help
my blue gnome cheat wont work ive tried so many codes but still no luck help
MR. Tee, I really need your help about the gnome cheat!......
(Please help me!)