The Sims Bustin' Out (PS2), 21 Years Later | Demise Reviews
14The Sims Bustin' Out is a video game that was released in 2003/2004 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance and N-Gage. It is the second title in The Sims console series and the first The Sims title not released on Windows PC. It's 21 years old now, is it any good? Let's find out!
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Chapters
0:00 - Intro
1:10 - Story Mode
5:21 - Free Mode
6:34 - Create A Sim
7:35 - Build Mode
8:24 - Buy Mode
9:49 - Overall
10:46 - Outro
*Produced 10/29/23 scheduled for 1/1/24
It featured the same 3D environment and engine the past game did, however adds several features from The Sims expansion packs: Livin' Large, House Party, Hot Date and Superstar. As the title suggests, Sims can get out of the house to visit other locations such as Shiny Things Lab or Casa Caliente. There are two modes: Bust Out Mode, which has mission-based gameplay and Freeplay Mode, which is open-ended gameplay very much like the original The Sims PC game. The PlayStation 2 version once featured the option to play online. However, it was shut down on August 1, 2008 (the same day The Sims Online shut down).
The Game Boy Advance and N-Gage version has its own storyline. The Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS version of The Urbz: Sims in the City, released in 2004, serves as a sequel to this version.
In the console version, Malcolm Landgraab is going around his neighborhood, stealing items in return for unpaid rent. The player's objective is to complete each career track, unlock and buy back everyone's many possessions, and become rich enough to evict Malcolm from his mansion and move their own Sim in. Furnishing items are unlocked through the completion of different objectives. Aside from the objectives, gameplay is similar to previous Sims titles.
The Game Boy Advance and N-Gage version puts the player's Sim in "SimValley" for a summer holiday. Like the console version, GBA/N-Gage version gameplay is objective-based – every time the player completes a series of tasks, the game progresses. In this game, there are no furnishing objects to unlock. Instead, the player must complete all tasks to unlock new houses. Deviating from the "point-and-click" selection process used in every previous Sims title, this version allows the user to control their Sim directly, using the GBA's directional pad. In these versions, new mini-games (jobs for the Sims) are unlocked progressively when certain tasks are done. The GBA and N-Gage versions are largely the same, but the N-Gage version has an exclusive feature that allows Sims to collect three cartridges from various locations and play classic games such as Snake on the Sims' mobile phone.
In both versions, there are various locations that Sims may visit throughout the course of the game. As Sims advance through the game, new areas become accessible.
Exclusive to the PlayStation 2 version was a free online play called "Online Weekend" which was very similar to The Sims Online. This mode allowed players to participate in both freeplay and storymode with each other and chat using the USB keyboard on the PlayStation 2. The server for the game shut down on August 1, 2008, the same day The Sims Online was shut down, rendering the game impossible to play online.