‘SimAnimals’ Review (Wii)

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‘SimAnimals’ Review (Wii)

Tue, Jan 27, 2009

simanimals_logo

EA's latest addition to the highly successful "Sims" franchise is "SimAnimals," a wildlife simulator recently released for the Nintendo Wii and DS promising you the ability to "touch, move, and play with a forest full of wild animals."

At first blush, "SimAnimals" appears to be a "Sims" interpretation of Rare Ltd.'s animal husbandry/gardening simulator "Viva Pinata" -- albeit a low-res, drab, reality-based version. An apt comparison, as cultivating an environment in order to attract and breed animals lies at the heart of both. However, "SimAnimals" differs in its greater emphasis on the environment as a whole.

In "Viva Pinata," each garden is separate and distinct, offering full control over what animals and plants come, stay or go; and even how they interact. Not so in "SimAnimals," for which a more accurate title would be "SimEcosystem." The game begins with access to one relatively closed habitat, but, as you progress through the game, unlocking additional habitats, you see each habitat's place in the greater ecosystem. New environments bring new animals, and predators happily wander into earlier habitats to prey upon the innocent herbivores you've bred in previous isolation. Pollution in one habitat poisons vegetation in areas further downstream, making them inhospitable to even the smallest links on the food chain and therefore unappealing to anything larger.

Playing "SimAnimals" is thus centered around achieving balance across the entire ecosystem. Success is measured in happiness. When the needs of plants and animals are met, they release happiness into the environment. The environment's ambient happiness is registered in an onscreen "Happy Bar." Fill the Happy Bar with enough good vibes and you'll unlock new habitats, creatures and abilities. Allow your plants and animals to experience distress, however, and you'll find your happiness meter and environment emptying. Unfortunately, managing a habitat's mood results in a sort of constant, "big picture" plate-spinning effect that often feels more like work than play.

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If "SimAnimals'" strength is the complexity and interconnectivity of its world, then its weakness is the mechanics of interacting with this world. The player (represented by a disembodied hand) moves, manipulates items and changes camera angles using the Wii Remote. Unfortunately, the game appears to have immense difficulty in registering where you're pointing or how you're moving. Since so much of your time is spent working with vegetation -- shaking berries, seeds or nuts from plants by waggling your Wii Remote -- the controls get very frustrating very quickly.

If you're a "Sims" fan, you'll likely enjoy "SimAnimals." It's a complex game that, like the rest of the "Sims," offers open-ended gameplay, interesting challenges and endless potential for micromanagement and busywork. If you're a "Viva Pinata" fan, you may find "SimAnimals'" animal interactions too shallow. There's no naming your animals, dressing them up or teaching them circus tricks. Though you can alter your animals' behavior through conditioning, they always remain wild animals and are never pets. Perhaps, though, this is one of the lessons behind "SimAnimals."

If only the game had fewer lessons and more fun.

EA Sims, Electronic Arts, rare ltd., SimAnimals, The Sims, Viva Pinata

This post was written by:

Marie Kare - who has written 152 posts on GameCyte.

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15 Comments For This Post

Zak Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Man, ducks sure are awesome.
janice Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 10:59 am
awww, that's a bummer the SIMS people couldn't step it up! looks like viva pinata is where it's at!!! are there ducks in that game??
Marie Kare Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:05 am
@Janice... oh yes... there are ducks in that game. they like sandwiches. and corn.
Zak Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I like sandwiches and corn, too! Everything's coming up Zak.
janice Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:12 am
@marie DUCKS! i am SO IN!

@zak if we give you sandwiches and corn, will it fill the "happy bar"??
Marie Kare Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:15 am
@janice In Viva Pinata, the ducks are called "Quackberries." In fact, all the animals are named after something delicious. If only they had a "Doritos-and-Diet-Coke Cat" that game would be made for you.
Zak Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I think calling me a "Quackberry" is the best way to fill my happy bar.
janice Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:25 am
@marie now i'm hungry!!!!!

@quackberry ...
Marie Kare Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:45 am
@Janice, @Zak: please see here: http://flickr.com/photos/the_sampler/3232289316/
Chris Maguire Says:
January 28th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Wii games live and die on their pointer controls. World of Goo does it pretty right!

Also now I want a sandwich.
Marie Kare Says:
January 28th, 2009 at 10:05 am
@Chris Maybe at the end of every review I should post a picture of a delicious sandwich. You guys really seem to respond to sandwiches.
Jason Says:
January 28th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I don't know if it is the people at Nintendo, or the developers of Wii games, but they same to be focusing heavily on environmental education. I think this is terrible. The Wii is good because it is fun to play and intuitive to use.

The Sims used to be fun, and this game should have been a blast, but instead they kill it by taking away from the game play. I wonder if EA will use a similar tactic in Madden...
Marie Kare Says:
January 28th, 2009 at 10:35 am
@Jason Do you think it might be because Nintendo and developers of Wii games are focusing on "family-friendly" titles? If so, "edutainment" probably has great appeal to parents, who may prefer for their children to indulge only in games with some redeeming educational value.

"Your kids won't realize they're learning! Joke's on them!"
Scott Says:
January 28th, 2009 at 11:39 am
I will probably still pick it up to try it out. Or maybe use my Gamefly account so if I don't like it I won't have wasted any money.
Kitty Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
What do you think about cesar millans ds game??

1 Trackbacks For This Post

Gamecyte Gives Simanimals a 3 out of 5 « Plumbobs’s Blog Says:
January 27th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
[...] Simanimals a 3 out of 5 Posted January 27, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized | (source: Article [...]

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