MySims Kingdom (Wii)

MySIMS KINGDOM

MySIMS Kingdom is the follow up of the 2007 game entitled MySIMS and its the same sort of game. The game was developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts. The game is also actually from The Sims franchise but its completely different in many ways. MySIMS Kingdom is an adventure game but has elements of platform and simulation. MySIMS Kingdom is a really good game and only has a couple of downsides. The game also features a slightly better storyline to that of the first MySIMS game. The game is aimed more at the younger gamers but I do feel many different types of gamers can enjoy the game because its a lot of fun and its also quite addictive when you start playing. MySIMS has its own franchise of games just like The Sims with many other MySIMS games out there available for purchase but I do feel this is one of the better ones. Most of the others offer different bits to this one and this one gives you the ability to build things again just like you did in the first MySIMS game.

STORY

The story is a fairly entertaining one and is quite funny like the story of the LEGO games. Its sort of childish but has jokes and silly things every so often. There was once a King that went by the name of King Roland who actually ruled the land and was a very kind and gentle King who was always willing to help out anybody that needed it. He would always put everybody before himself. Elsewhere there is a young character (you create a male or female character) who works as a pig farmer for an obnoxious woman. The young character finishes work day and meets his two friends who decide to enter the young character into a competition to become the Kings new Wandolier. Your character wins and becomes the Kings new Wandolier (someone who can create and move things with a scepter). Your character obviously wins and becomes the new Wandolier and now your adventure begins.

GAMEPLAY

The game is very similar to The Sims at first because you have to create your Sim and decide what they look like and what they will wear. This is really good about these types of games because there are so many options to pick from. Plus in this game the Sims are smaller than proper Sims almost like children. Also the characters look kinda like Lego characters. After creating your Sim your game automatically starts. You will meet many different Sims throughout your game and most of them will require your help. There will be many characters that will ask you to create them a house or shop and there will be many characters that may ask you to redecorate their home. They may even ask you to create some new furniture for them. One thing I am glad about this game is the fact they have scrapped where you had to put every little piece in each item and now all the items are already created and you only have to add a few bits or change the colour. To build items or house and everything else then you must find scrolls which tell you what you need to create the items. Scrolls are usually given by Sims or found in chest boxes.

To create the items you acquired from the scrolls you need to find the correct essences. Essences are basically objects that you use to create things. For example a house may require 20 pieces of wood and to get this you would have to use an axe to hack at trees and in turn it would give you your wood. There are hundreds of different essences on the game in many different places. You can go mining to find stone, ores or valuable materials to use for better houses when you find the best scrolls and so on. You can also go fishing, treasure hunting and much more and each thing you do can lead to essences being found. You can even shake trees with your Wii remote to collect apples or any other items to use as essences. Most essences are used for building in the game but you cant build without Mana. You can acquire Mana by doing missions or exchanging it for essences. There really is so much you can do with Mana and the essences you find.

The platform elements in the game are quite good but there isn't much new stuff from the previous MySIMS game except your character can now jump to reach those hard to reach places. Something else new in the game is other areas that require something such as a bridge or steps. There will be many places where you cant get to until you build a bridge or something to get there. This works fantastically well and is definitely one of the better things to come out of the game. On the first game there was only a couple of places you could visit but on MySIMS Kingdom there are 12 different island full of variety. You and your fellow friends use a boat to travel the Kingdom to the many different lands and you must help out Sims in need and recreate their land. You can pretty much free roam and go anywhere you like to help Sims out but there is a story to follow but there are lots of side quests like helping people. You can save your game at anytime by pausing and clicking save so its simple and easy to navigate as a game. The main story mode is the only available game mode to play but it rarely disappoints and kids will adore this game overall.

GRAPHICS & SOUND EFFECTS

We all know the graphics to Wii games isn't exactly the best ever and to be perfectly honest there not exactly great in this game but it is supposed to be slightly childish looking and it actually does work well. My younger cousin loves this game because of how it looks and it certainly looks a little like the Lego games do. The characters are fairly small but are detailed really well and there isn't many characters that look the same. The worlds are really well designed and there is actually a nice variety in the lands with a desert theme, forest theme and even a city like theme. Certain objects in the game look good but there are a few objects that look a little shallow in graphical terms. Trees look really good but other items like rocks or stairs look dreadful. The grass also looks a little plain whilst the sky looks really good most times. The house look okay but the best thing is that you can create different types so there is quite a bit of variety involved overall.

The sound effects are a little better than the graphics in my opinion. The Sims still have that weird voice where you cant exactly understand them unless your really fluent in gibberish. It does work well though because sometimes its really funny especially with the expressions they do as well. One of the better parts to the game is the brilliant music the game has to offer. Its quite catchy and very similar to that of the first game and it really stands out. Other sound effects are also quite effective such as when your hitting a tree with an axe or using your metal detector to discover treasure because it all sounds really good. There are a couple parts to the sound that are weak but its nothing major and overall it still gets a big thumbs up from me.

DIFFICULTY & LONGEVITY

The difficulty to the game is very simple. As expected the game is aimed more at the younger gamers and its quite easy to be fair and maybe too easy for some gamers. I found the game extremely easy all the way through it but I still enjoyed it. The controls are varied with a lot of different controls to the game but all of them are simple things and easily remembered. I would say the hardest part to the game is probably finding the essences you require to build something because if you don't have them then you cant build it. Other than that its a very simple game and any gamer should be able to do this no problem.

As stated there are 12 different lands on this game which is 11 more than the previous games. Okay there not exactly all as big as the first game but 12 different lands with variety and all a decent size makes the game slightly better overall. The game last pretty much the same length of the previous game. To fully complete the game your looking at about the 30 hour mark and for the price of the game that is brilliant. The best thing is they have cut out the time wasting rubbish of the previous game and its still as long so overall definitely better.

PROS

• The story to the game is actually interesting and at times funny.
• Collect lots of different items by digging, chopping, mining and much more.
• Help many Sims by creating new houses for them or by decorating their home.
• The younger gamers will absolutely love this and be able to do it.
• The game can be picked up really cheaply now.

CONS

• The graphics are a little weak overall and not very inspiring.
• The game is a little too easy for all gamers overall.
• It does get a little repetitive later on in the game and sometimes gets boring after playing for a while.
• Only the one game mode available to play with no multiplayer.
• The game is a little childish at times.

FINAL THOUGHT

MySIMS Kingdom is a very good game with lots of great bits for all types of gamers. I love the ability to create a lot of different things including buildings and objects the Sims ask for. There isn't a whole lot of difference from the previous game except for a couple of added bits but the game is also set somewhere else and its much bigger so overall I guess that's a good thing.

I would recommend the game especially if you have kids because its a really enjoyable game with plenty of things kids would love. I would also recommend the game if your a fan of any of The Sims games because it does have its similarities but its just a more childish version. Its a great game and I'm sure many people would also enjoy it. The game has an age rating of 3+ which is perfect for this game and the game manual is also quite good with all relevant information listed.

I do believe the game is value for money. I bought mine quite a while ago but I won it on eBay auction. I was lucky enough to get it for £3.50 which included the packaging. The game is selling on Amazon for roughly around the £4 mark which is a fantastic price and worth every penny.

Overall its a fun game and suitable for many. I would give MySIMS Kingdom a 7/10!

Review also on dooyoo under the username: simon020187!