When I visited Maxis in December, Seasons was not the only thing they showed us, they also gave us a presentation on the new Life Stories line, and we were able to play it also.
Some of this news has been covered on the Maxis site already, and those parts I’ll summarize, because by now you’ve seen this news.
Life Stories is a line of stand-alone games (with different themes) in which you can play a sim through a storyline of life changing events. There is also a free play mode similar to the Sims 2 games you already know. The game is designed to run without a custom video card and on laptops and other systems, and might also work for those whose desktop computers aren’t quite up to running Sims 2. It runs in a window, so you can easily instant message or do other things while playing. What will be important to players here who are used to downloading - Sims Life Stories does not accept content from Sims 2 stuff packs or user-made content, it is a distinctly different game.
In the first release of this series you can guide Riley through her new adventures, she’s moved into her Aunt Sharon’s house while she gets back on her feet. But who will Riley end up with – Mickey or her old flame Dylan? There is a second story also, that of Vince – who is a technical whiz but well… he’s not a whiz when it comes to romance. Each story has 12 chapters, and with the successful completion of each chapter there is a reward. The sim has a goal which forwards the storyline and three wants at any given moment, and there is no rush to push through the goals – there’s plenty of general gameplay to be had while working through the storyline. Sims can skill, invite friends over, will go to work, and so on, in addition to the story goals.
The game is designed for easier play – some aspects of the interface have been simplified; for example, the sims have no fears to contribute to aspiration failure. Their short term wants and the added goal will all raise aspiration, so it is not very difficult to keep that score up. Needs are set to decay a bit more slowly, and even if needs go critical, the sims will not die. There are handy keyboard shortcuts for day to day needs, for example: hit a key and the sim will simply go use the nearest bathroom – without the player having to locate the bathroom and specifically click on the toilet.
While these games will not have expansion or stuff packs or user content, it’s not necessarily just your base Sims 2 game. Some aspects of the EPs are included – for instance, the sims can dine out and go bowling, incorporating at least some aspects of Nightlife. Sims can receive gifts, which I believe is included in the yet-to-be-released Seasons EP. There’s a Pets Stories planned, which obviously is going to have some aspects of what we associate with the Pets EP.
There is more: the game includes a new Family Journal to record events in. And for those who shudder remembering the base game wallpaper – some of it has been reworked into something much more versatile and visually pleasing. Life Stories has some custom special events footage for the new stories, as you might expect. Maxis may offer special additional content for these games from the new site that will exist specifically for Life Stories.
During our hands-on time, I played a chapter where Riley invites Mickey to go on a date. There were a handful of different tasks to accomplish, for instance, once they arrived at their destination, Riley’s goal became to play some chess with him. Eventually a meal was had… and then…. a kiss to end a most lovely evening. I must say, the keyboard shortcuts were great to use, I missed them the moment I went back to play with Seasons, and the graphics quality was excellent. I am impressed with how this lower system requirement game ran and looked, it seemed no different from my Sims 2 game with a graphics card.
Build mode is off during the storyline play – but in freeplay there is build mode and the CAS that we all know, for you to create new sims and dress them and get them ready for their adventures of your making. Users can start with freeplay or play Riley or Vincent’s stories. Completing Riley’s and Vincent’s stories will unlock all of the new reward objects, making them available in Free Play to purchase in the rewards bin. Also, once either story is completed, each becomes ‘Free Play’ allowing the player to continue playing Riley or Vincent as they want.
So who is this game for? Well, if you have the full game and EPs and they run well on your system, it’s unlikely this game will be of interest to you. On the other hand, if your built-in graphics card isn’t up to running the game and all the eps, you might find this version a way to get your sims fix. Some of your friends, moms, aunts, uncles, or cousins who find the original game a bit too complex might enjoy this somewhat easier to play game. And if you really have wanted Sims 2 on your laptop, but your laptop hasn’t cooperated, this might be the answer you’re looking for. Do check the system requirements posted on the EA Life Stories site.
When you think of Sims Life Stories, just remember that it is a separate game. While it’s also called “Sims” - it is part of the Sims product line, just as Sims games for various consoles are specialized games. Expected to ship Feb 2007.
Maxis has launched a new site for the games at http://thesimsstories.ea.com/
Want to discuss Sims Life Stories? Click here for the forum.
