The Sims: Bustin' Out

Overview

The Sims Bustin' Out is a life simulation game that was developed by Maxis and published by EA. The second title in the console series of The Sims franchise, it was released on the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube and Game Boy Advance in 2003. A mobile version for the N-Gage was released in 2004.

The portable versions of the game are predictably a great deal more simplistic than the console versions. There are no furnishing objects to be unlocked, and in an important deviation from previous portable versions of The Sims games you now control your Sims directly utilising the directional pad (as opposed to the point and click method that was used previously).

The name Bustin' Out refers to the fact that other locations aside from The Sims' homes can now be visited, such as the Art Gallery, Gymnausium, Club Rubb, Shiny Things Lab and the Casa Caliente. This places are visited through the use of your Sim's scooter or car.

The PlayStation 2 version of the game supported online play via the PS2 network adapter, allowing players to meet up and swap items with the Sims of other players. There was also some limited connectivity between the Gamecube and Game Boy Advance versions of the game. This allowed players to transfer their Sims between the two formats, offering them the option of playing the minigames present in the portable version for extra cash in the console version of the game.

A two player co-operative mode was also available on the console versions of the game.

The game made a number of improvements on previous titles in the series, such as through the introduction of ten different career options (comprising such things as Athlete, Fashion Victim, Gangster and Mad Scientist). The game also made extensive graphical improvements on its predecessors, along with the return of revamped features such as the Create-a-Sim mode. Over 100 new social moves and objects were also added.

Story

The story of the game revolves around an evil character known as Malcolm Landgraab, who has been going around town stealing items from your neighbors as a result of outstanding rent. You are tasked with progressing into a well paid career path to be able to buy back everyone's items, with the eventual goal of becoming rich enough to evict Malcolm from his mansion and become its new owner.