MySims is a spin-off of The Sims video game frachise. MySims was targeted at a much younger audience than the main-line Sims games, and it also lacks most of the life-sim elements. Instead, most of the games revolve around completing tasks for a host of adorable characters, usually through building things. So, MySims games usually end up having more in common with LEGO and Animal Crossing than The Sims itself.
Characters stay the same from game to game, but the gameplay loops and worldbuilding are always entirely different, so they can be played in any order.
I love The Sims so much. I've put untold hours into The Sims 3. I love the customisability, the storytelling opportunities. As a kid, I was mostly solitary, so I learned to make my own fun very well.
However, my love for the Sims soon extended far beyond my chunky hot pink HP laptop and into the wild west of console Sims games. I owned The Sims 2 Pets on Wii, PS2 and PSP and they were all acceptable ports. But the best Sims console releases were not the ports, but the fully original games. The Sims 2 Castaway is probably the best and most fondly remembered, and for good reason! The Urbz: Sims in the City (Featuring music and appearances by the Black Eyed Peas, no joke) was certainly memorable too. But the one that stuck with me the most was MySims.
I have played all the MySims games on Wii, and a few on DS (The DS versions are not really my thing). I won't say that MySims was a masterpiece (some of them are pretty bad), but it definitely had more love and heart put into it than many people first assume. I still play the games now as an adult, and still enjoy the writing, art direction and simplistic gameplay loops. They have great character customisation and some of the later games, looking at you MySims Agents, have pretty great storytelling.
The first MySims game sees you take on the role of an Essence Master, a sim with the ability to create objects using essences, which are basically items that you collect around the world (such as apples, or anger, or chess pieces).
Your goal is to restore a rundown town by moving in sims of your choosing and building items for them. Each sim has a unique personality and interests and the PC port adds even more sims to meet.
Review: Gameplay is repetitive and simple but the item building systems will appeal to creative types. It's also fun to expand the town! Loading screens are longggg on console, play the PC version for sure.
In this game, you take the role of a Royal Wandolier, sent to different islands across the world to solve people's problems, mostly through construction. Each island has a unique storyline to follow along with new items to gather and collect and new objects to build.
Review: Super fun! The gameplay is perhaps more simplistic than the original MySims, but the storytelling makes up for it. Having each island be its own story keeps things fresh and exciting. Best island is Rocket Reef, where you help a robot named TOBOR quit his job as a crash test dummy and open a grilled cheese diner, worst island is Renee's Nature Reserve, where you just.. look at some animals, basically.
This is a party game where you form a team of sims and compete in a variety of minigames. The minigames are grouped into themed festivals, hosted by a particular sim.
Review: IT'S BAD! The minigames aren't terrible, but they're hardly revolutionary. The real sticking point here is how slow the game is. There's a billion loading screens per festival and they're not short. Having character customisation in a party game is pretty cool, but even that is wayyyy laggier than other MySims games. Avoid.
You're a new racer in Speedville, a town that's been deserted following the disappearance of Sir Charles, the town's racing champion. Morcubus, CEO of MorcuCorp, is determined to take over the town. It's up to the player to stop him with the sheer power of go-kart racing.
Review: It's ok. A pretty standard Mario Kart clone, although it introduced kart customisation before Mario Kart did. Story is fun, but the racing is pretty slow.
In this game, the player is a rookie detective, newly recruited by the Sim Protection Agency. They're tasked with investigating shady activity from MorcuCorp. The CEO of which, Morcubus, is trying to track down a mysterious artifact that could grant him complete control over the world.
The game follows a number of investigations at locations all around the world, which all tie into the greater mystery. Sims that the player meet can be recruited for dispatch missions, which play out through text messages.
Review: THIS IS THE BEST ONE!! MySims Agents has the most linear gameplay by far, but it's all in aid of an excellent story. The characters are quirky and interesting, the locations are varied, and the writing is very fun.
After waking up with amnesia, the player is recruited by SkyForce, a group of fighter pilot rebels, who are determined to defeat the Chaos Pirates. The player flies around the world, engaging in dogfights and races, recruiting different rebel factions to their cause.
Review: Truthfully, haven't played enough of this one to have an opinion. The plane customisation is neat, but I think this type of gameplay isn't for me. The storyline is pretty good, though!
