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I've been eyeing the MySims games since they first started appearing in Nintendo Power .... with trepidation. I've always thought that the Sims games looked vaguely interesting, but The Sims didn't really play to the kind of game I wanted. I already had a cool life simulation -- Creatures -- in which the "living beings" were much more functional than the Sims (digital DNA ftw!).

But MySims was a) much cuter than The Sims, and b) seemed to star a particular character that was your avatar. Also, the Sims involved didn't seem to need the level of attention that I found so ludicrous about the original game. (Sim-people that can't use the bathroom on their own? Puh-leeze.)

The general concept behind MySims DS is that your character moves to a run-down resort town, and helps built it back up to a successful, thriving village. You do this by assisting neighbors, decorating the town, and being friendly to tourists who visit.

Assisting the neighbors generally falls under playing minigames. I'll talk about that more below.

Decorating the town has been pretty straightforward. I've planted flowers downtown and added flowerbeds and picnic tables to the Highlands area. You also have a house of your own to decorate, similar to Animal Crossing.

The tourists are a different question. Some will come in complaining, and you need to cheer them up. Others just want to talk. You choose your reaction based on a limited number of options that they give you, and attempt to fill their "happy meter". You can also give them gifts, like leis and cakes.

The town has some spiffy features you can unlock; the trolley has started running in my town recently, so I can visit areas more quickly. I can also take a ferry to an island offshore to visit the casino and other activities. Supposedly there's a house there I can buy, but I can't afford it yet.

MySims is much more reminiscent of Harvest Moon than The Sims. I say Harvest Moon because while people compare it to Animal Crossing, the gameplay is much more like Harvest Moon. Days run by quickly (a day is ... about a half-hour?) and are full of activity, as opposed to one day = one day of real life. Shopping is similar to Harvest Moon; if you don't get that really-keen item one day, it'll still be there the next day.

It doesn't require the attention that Animal Crossing does, in that if you leave it alone for a few days, I don't think anything bad will happen. However, there is no calendar, and there are no seasons (I think -- but it's a tropical town, the seasons wouldn't be too obvious anyway) and no festival days, unlike AC/HM. Perhaps this is something they'll include in MySims 2.

Mini-games are fun and well-integrated into the game. I'm lousy at minigames most of the time, so they may be too easy for some people. So far, I've unlocked a lei-making game (match cards to flowers), a racquetball game (I suck at racquetball sweatdrop ) and a paragliding game, which I'm not very good at, but is *really* fun. I haven't had a chance to play at the casino or go scuba-diving yet.

I actually like this better than Animal Crossing, I think. I am sure there will be a point when I "finish" the game -- I'll have caught all the fish (whoops, didn't mention there was fishing, did I?), made friends with all the regulars to 100%, and have a five-star town and all the furniture I can possibly want. Doing that doesn't seem to be as hard as it is for Animal Crossing, and it might actually be easier than Harvest Moon as well.

I'm OK with that. mrgreen It's pretty hard to "win" those other games, and I tend to get bored with them before I accomplish enough.

Also, I find it very satisfying to wander around and make friends with the tourists. Making them happy makes me happy. (:

Overall, I wouldn't say this game is for everyone. But it is a GREAT game for me, and I'm very glad I have it.

I played Non PC sims games they're all kind of iffy.... But this one looks better than all of those.