GameZone’s preview of MySims Kingdom was intriguing. This game appeared to be similar in concept to Animal Crossing, a fantastic simulation game. In contrast to the Sims series, which features sexual overtones, MySims looked tame enough and fun enough for everyone in the family. I didn’t expect my husband to like it, as he hates Animal Crossing, and really, most of the “virtual world” simulation games. But surprise, surprise, he has been having a good time with MySims. Must be all the construction.

The story is that King Roland is looking for a new Wandolier. This person will be able to use a special wand to accomplish good throughout the lands and make everyone happy and satisfied. In order to become the next Wandolier, the player will need to win a contest by proving his or her ability to learn new skills speedily. Of course, it is impossible to lose this contest, so just know that you will be the new Wandolier.

This contest, and the events immediately before and behind, is the tutorial section of the game. Here is where players will learn all the necessary skills and controls to be successful in the MySims world. Both the Nunchuk and the Wii-mote are used to access the menu and accomplish motion-specific tasks.

It took awhile to get used to the control interface, because of having to switch fingers and thoughts from buttons on the controls to cursors on the screen. Some menu items are accessed by buttons; some are accessed by pointing the Wii-mote to move the cursor on the screen, then pressing the “A” button on the Wii-mote. However, no one else around here had a problem adjusting to the controls, just me.

The best use of the Wii-mote in MySims Kingdom is with the physical tasks like shaking a tree, pulling up plants, digging for treasure, chopping wood, and mining stone. These things are made more fun by the interactive quality of the Wii-mote.

When starting, players can customize their Sim. Choices include facial characteristics, hair, clothes and voices. Options for gameplay include mostly options for construction.

Players will learn how to access the menus, construct buildings, make people happy, and how to mine, dig, and chop wood to gather resources. Once this tutorial level is done, it’s on to the real meat of the game, carrying out quests for everyone on the islands. These quests are simple in scope, but somehow very satisfying to undertake. Most involve some type of construction, such as building or decorating a house, landscaping, or adding parts to machines. Some quests involve finding things for people.

The construction mode is the main component of this game. It’s wonderful how many things one can put in a little house; it’s like a Harry Potter house, tiny on the outside, huge on the inside. Players can place all sorts of objects around. These objects can be rotated before placement. As the game advances, more and more items will be available, usually from completing quests or by being nice to the game characters. Besides constructing houses and landscapes, players will also be building increasingly complex machines. This lends almost a puzzle aspect to the game, as players will need to figure out the placement of parts to make things work. These mechanical puzzles can be brain teasers toward the end of the game.

Treating others kindly is also a large part of the game. Players can “socialize” with others around the islands by talking to them and being nice or unkind. This will earn players social points, and may garner some needed information for a quest.

Once the initial tutorial section is finished, other areas of the game, in the form of islands, will open. These islands are themed and feature characters such as Stone Age people, zombies, and cowboys, with island themes of tikis, volcanoes and robots. Each island is different, and is really fun to explore. The quests are similar in concept and mostly involve collecting items, but the different islands feature different things to collect.

The people in the game all speak “Simlish,” which is a nonsense language. It’s amazing how close it sounds to a real language; it’s funny the things they are saying! The English text will appear for reading while they speak. The humor in this game is subtle and lighthearted.

Many of the comments the characters make are very amusing. Some locations are hilarious, too, as in the diner on the robot island. The quest involves building lots of “fun” things for the diner, at the request of the owner. Each new thing added, though, is very noisy, and immediately begins doing its own thing. Soon, there is a cacophony of sound. And yet the owner wants more, more, more fun things…

Visually, this game is attractive and cheerful. The colors are all bright and cartoonish, as are the environments and characters. The people are short and blocky, and look like Lego people. The costumes are varied in style and there are a lot to choose, especially as the game advances. The music and sound effects are exactly right for the game’s theme.

The camera has a short range of view and it is difficult to see very far ahead. For instance, it’s hard to see what’s coming up next as the player’s character is running around, it’s hard to see how to place a roof on a tall building, and it’s hard to not run into corners. One nice feature of the camera is that buildings will become transparent if the player’s character is behind them.

The gameplay is designed around fulfilling quests for each island. This is a finite goal, unlike Animal Crossing, which is much more open-ended. This leads to the question of how much replay value is present after all the quests are finished. However, supposedly there is a secondary set of goals to reach once the main quests have been resolved. We haven’t finished the game, so I don’t know how much more gameplay this adds to the game.

MySims Kingdom is just the type of game I enjoy, with plenty of tasks and lots of places to explore. The characters are too cute, and their comments humorous. There are loads of things to collect, and the construction element is especially fun. Being able to decorate the inside of the house is cool. There are some things that could be added to make this an even better game, like more open-ended activities, some drawing or artistic activities, or some way to earn money. The camera view could also be zoomed out for a larger view of the screen, and it would be good to be able to tilt the viewpoint more. And, the price is a bit steep at $49, which is high for a game that could conceivably be played all the way through in a few weeks. Oh, and it needs some Christmas decorations, too (just had to throw that in, I think every game that lets you decorate should have Christmas decos).

However, this is an excellent family game and one that many ages can enjoy. For parents that may hesitate to buy their kids a Sims game, be assured that MySims Kingdom is a great game for all ages and one that doesn’t have any inappropriate content. And, the adults will love it, too. I wish you could see my Animal Crossing hater playing this cutesy game every night this week.

Gameplay: 8.0
A great simulation game for the family and one that has lots of things to do initially. It’s fun and entertaining, and surprisingly involving. The only real drawback is the shortness of the main core of the game, which is set up similar to an adventure. There are supposed to be more things to do after the main story is finished, but we haven’t finished the adventure as of yet. Of course, players can still build and decorate to their hearts’ content. However, for $50 there should be more in terms of longevity.

Graphics: 8.0
The game is vividly colored. Everything is bright and cartoonish, and is sure to appeal to most, especially kids. The characters are drawn with a lot of detail, and the various items like houses and furniture are also drawn well. The backgrounds and landscapes could use a bit more detail, though.

Sound: 8.0
Great music and sound effects!

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The level of play is not very difficult, once the controls are mastered. Some of the mechanical puzzles get a little hard later in the game, but they are never overly difficult.

Concept: 7.0
Well, most of this has been done with other simulation games like Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon and River King, but there are some new twists. The construction element is the best I’ve seen and beats the building feature in Animal Crossing in terms of fun. The overall execution is good.

Overall: 8.0
A great game! We’re having a blast with it. It looks good, and plays great. There are a few things I would like added or changed, mainly to have a more zoomed out camera view, and to have more things to do that involve creativity like painting, drawing or designing. However, these are mostly minor quibbles. The price is the biggest potential drawback. But for a family with multiple members, this is a great choice, and would make a splendid Christmas gift.