Others say...

"Excellent game!"
We just got our Wii and my 7 year old loves this game. Perfect starter to many more games I am sure.


"Much Improved"
I was a big fan of the first one so I didn't know what to expect from this sequel. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy the changes made and the new format. The gameplay seems faster and there is much more to explore and do. I am in my late 30s so I will say that this game is not just for young kids. If you enjoy Sims games, this won't disappoint. I find it easy to play and still a very enjoyable experience.

"I really love MySims"
I really love MySims. I bought MySims for the Wii and fell completely in love with it so also bought the sister game for the Nintendo DS before buying this game. I most likely will also buy the MySims Kingdom game for the DS as well but haven't yet. Having an avatar that I control directly really makes me feel more like I'm actually "in" the game. I kind of liked The Sims game franchise on the PC but I never really loved it like I do MySims. I always hated dealing with their needs all the time and I felt more like I was playing with an elaborate doll house then actually "in" the game. I also like the fact with MySims that you are trying to improve a run-down town or kingdom. It gave a more social/humanitarian feel to the game versus the more selfish/needy sims in The Sims games. Also the sims in MySims are just adorably cute.

As far as MySims versus MySims Kingdom, I did like the fact that there was more of a storyline in the MySims Kingdom game versus the MySims game. It was more of an adventure game versus a pure sim game and that was interesting. However, now that I have my kingdom up to 5 stars and finished all the tasks that the sims had for me, there doesn't seem to be as much to do as with the original MySims game. Of course I can still renovate and redecorate everyone's houses and find all the collectables but that holds only so much interest for me.

Since there were about 80 different sims to meet in the original MySims, I was able to spend quite a bit of time trying to meet all of them even after I got to 5 stars. After about 80 hours of game play I think I've finally met them all and now I can spend even more time making me their best friend (as well as building and decorating their houses). However, with MySims Kingdom I've spent only about 25 hours playing, gone to all the islands now and I believe I've met all the sims. Also, after doing all the tasks for the sims, most of them are already my best friend. With the original MySims, I usually had to do a little more work for the sims even after I did all their tasks in order to become their best friend.

In MySims Kingdom, how I become their best friend is also a little ambiguous. In the original MySims after you were nice to a sim or gave them stuff they got green ++ over their heads to let you know they were happy with you (and had red minus minus if they were unhappy with you). In MySims Kingdom I only noticed the ++ after I did a task for them. I'm not sure how to make the rest of the sims my best friends now that I finished all the tasks for them. Do I do the same as in MySims and be nice to them and give them stuff? Or is that it now that I've finished all their tasks?

The controls in general for MySims Kingdom are just as good as in the original MySims besides a very glaring exception noted below. Moving my avatar around with the nunchuck joystick and using the wii remote to interact makes a lot of sense and is very intuitive. I wish there were a few more button shortcuts but there is only so many buttons on the wii remote and nunchuck. Trying to select prospecting off the new drop down menu in the top right of the screen can just be a pain sometimes since the wii remote isn't as precise as a PC mouse is (maybe the wii motion plus will help?). I'm happy that the B button isn't used anymore while fishing with MySims Kingdom. Moving the bobber around with the nunchuck and then pulling up with the wii remote to "catch" the fish makes more sense then "grabbing" the fish with the B button and then pulling up. After a while of fishing in the original MySims game my hand would get tired from trying to hold the B button and pulling up at the same time. However, using the B button to "grab" trees and "shake" them still makes I lot of sense and works well.

Now, here is my biggest complaint about MySims Kingdom (and the controls for MySims Kingdom) -- building and decorating houses. I really, really don't like the fact that you are still "in" the world when trying to build and decorate versus going to a separate mode like the original MySims did. There were quite a few times where that just made building and decorating so much more frustrating then in the original MySims game for several reasons:

1) The sims themselves would get in the way. There were quite a few times I found myself actually yelling at my TV in frustration because my in-game companions Lindsay and Buddy were in the way AGAIN especially when I was building bridges or in other tight quarters. Also, my own avatar would sometime get in the way as well and I would have to move her first before placing a piece of furniture where I wanted it. In tight quarters, having at least 3 sims around cluttering up the place just made it harder. Also, sometimes a cliff or other piece of scenery would be in the way which would make it very hard to get exactly the right angle to place things where I wanted to.

2) In order to see all sides most of the time I would have to have my avatar walk around the building AND rotate the building as well just to get the right angle. In the original MySims, I just rotated the building. In MySims Kingdom having your avatar walk around too just seems like a lot of double work for not much benefit.

3) The nunchuck joystick is being used for moving my avatar so isn't available for use when building. I really liked using the joystick for rotating the building/room and zooming in and out. In the original MySims I found the joystick worked very smoothly and most of the time I didn't even realize I was using it along with the wii remote to scroll the screen to view exactly what I wanted. I find using the D pad awkward to rotate the building and I tend to accidentally press more then one button at a time so when I try to zoom in I'll zoom in AND rotate to the right which is very frustrating. The nunchuck is more precise and I can get it to do what I want more easily then the D pad.

4) Viewing the top of a building is very hard. In the original MySims game I could zoom in and out and also use the wii remote to scroll the screen up so I could see all sides (including the top) of a building or a piece of furniture I was building. In MySims Kingdom, unless I build temporary scaffolding to allow my sim to climb higher, it's very hard to see the top of a building and takes more than a bit of fussing to get the right camera angle.

I'm sure some people would actually like this "in-game" building mode, but it would be nice if there was an option to use either "in-game" build or a separate building mode. I just found the "in-game" mode too frustrating. By the way, I did like the fact that the "copy the block your placing" button moved from the B button to the C button. That makes a lot more sense. In the original MySims I was constantly deleting the block I was holding since I would accidentally let go of the B button or I would actually reach over with my left hand to use the D pad to rotate the item since trying to reach up to the D pad with my right hand while still holding the B button was just too awkward.

I was very happy to see that all the slow downs/stutterings were fixed with MySims Kingdom (like after loading an area or going from day to night/night to day). I also liked the fact there is very few loading screens anymore like when going into houses and such. There is a little boat interlude when going from one island to the next, but it makes complete sense and didn't feel out of place. However, since most of the loading sections are gone with MySims Kingdom the places they still are just stand out more. The clothing is divided into several different categories (which kind of make sense), but every time I want to go to a different category I have to wait for it to load. It's not a long load, but it's just annoying since there really isn't any other loads besides the initial load of the game. When I'm looking at my clothing and costumes I want to see them all, I don't want to have to wait to view the next category.

Now don't get me wrong. Even with the complaints I have about MySims Kingdom I still love the game and really enjoyed playing it. Just like any other adventure game though once you get to the end there's just not as much to do (though MySims Kingdom does have more than any other adventure game since it is still mostly a simulation game). I just think that the original MySims will continue to keep my interest for a lot longer than MySims Kingdom. However, I do not regret buying it and I can't wait to see what's next for MySims.


"Faster, less tedious than the first MySims"
The most noticeable change is that Kingdom saves much faster than the first MySims game. There is no moving in/out of Sims. The game starts with all the Sims in place, it is the player's task to find them and help them renovate and decorate. The exterior building feature is much the same, but furniture building tasks are gone. Essences are easier find and tally up quickly. Sometimes it felt like Kingdom is actually a prequel to MySims. The graphics and tasks are more simplistic. This game will be easier for kids because the game tells you what you need to meet the task requirements. We are 45 and 32 and love the MySims games. If you like MySims, PLEASE TRY THE ANIMAL CROSSING GAMES, TOO.

"Not as good as first My Sims"
I loved the first My Sims game for the Gamecube. I found this one to be not as much fun. Fishing and prospecting are a little different because of the Wii controllers. I didn't like the constant need to go back and forth between the person I had to help and my friend to get the power to do the project. I felt it just dragged in that sense. With the first My Sims, I had a hard time putting away the game, with this one, I played twice and haven't bothered to pick it up again.