MySims

Let's get it out of the way - MySims is not much like Sims. It's more Animal Crossing lite with an extremely detailed crafting and customization section. You won't get deep relationships and such out of this, what you will get is an amazingly adaptable game that can be compelling - if crafting is your cup of tea.

Essentially in this game you have the ability to use "essence", sort of spirits of various items, to customize furniture and objects. These add personality to said objects, and you use them to help Sims furnish their homes. However, you also get to design their homes, decide who moves in where, and even unlock new options for outfits, hairstyles, and more. Soon you're able to voyage to the far ends of the town in search of rare essences and new fronteirs.

The game is highly, highly crafting-centric, doing so with a surprisingly good engine that's overall pretty intuitive - and is like using building blocks. The level of freedom is amazing - you can take that simple Chair blueprint and turn it into a skull-bedecked throne, or give a Beat Box an Egyptian feel with some color choices. I myself even built an Interoceter from "This Island Earth."

This is all presented in a colorful, charming, cartoony manner with memorable characters and some amusing jokes (the band "Nothing But Drums" figures prominently). The Sims, which are pretty pre-programmed, are still endearing.

Frankly, this isn't a game for anyone who didn't enjoy building blocks, model building, and other crafts. Its not quite Sims really - but it is a lot of fun for people that do.

If you are looking for a game that is easy for kids around the ages of 8-10, then you should pick this game up. It's a pretty basic game to play and it will keep you occupied for long periods of time. Though it seems a little monotone, it's graphics are really good and the plot is pretty interesting. I like the ability to choose who you want in your little town and build it up based on their needs and wants.

I purchased this as a birthday gift for my daughter, she turned 10. She enjoyed playing the game for about a week then said, "It's boring". She hasn't played it since. Just thought I'd share with others who might want to purchase this game.

My Daughter pick this game out with her Birthday gift card...She loved it! She enjoys the SIMs line however I usually don't like her playing them as they are rated teen and she just turned 9, but MySims is rated E and it is very age appropriate.

If you're looking for a simple game for elementary school children, this might work. If you're older than that, do not bother. It is too easy, boring, and nothing like the Sims like the name suggests. Here's how the game goes: Talk to a character who tells you to build something, easily collect materials, and build it by matching shapes. Even the shape matching is no challenge because it lights up which pieces go where. I'm disappointed and glad I only rented it.