SimAnimals Review

BY Rabie Hassoun | POSTED: 11 July 2009

A mini DS Viva Piñata?



To save you sometime, this is a game aimed at the young DS owners.  SimAnimals is yet another Sims title released for the DS by EA that is not as bad as you might have expected. The developers actually took a page or two out of a console hit in Viva Piñata to make this game a decent experience for the young gamers out there.

In SimAnimals you are given a certain area in a forest with some plants and animals to takecare of. Based on how well you do your job, more animals in different forest locations will unlock over time. Being a game made for the kids, all you have to do is basically scroll around feeding the hungry animals until the hunger meter is full to unlock the next area.  Even some eight year old kids might consider that to be a bit too easy. But the ease of scrolling around different areas in the forest so fast keeps the game fresh and the younger gamers engaged for some time.

The game offers a good variety of animals, with up to 17 animals available all over the forest. With a simple click you can pick which animal you want to interact with. Interactions vary from feeding to finding them a romantic mate. While breeding is an important part of any well built animal kingdom, we still do not understand why such games insist on that element so much. Don’t think for a second that we forgot about those disturbing romantic dances in Viva Piñata!

Other then the simple gameplay elements, SimAnimals features some decent enough graphics and sound effects. The graphics could have been better, but get the job done well enough. The view is a bird’s view that gives you full scoop about what’s happening in your kingdom. The music played in the background is pretty relaxing and the natural sound effects also manage to get the job done efficiently.

This is certainly not a title any old gamer should be looking at. But it’s defiantly gift material for younger gamers out there. The fast and easy approach will keep the kids engaged for a while, and the animals are cute enough to grab the kid’s attention. Having the daily responsibilities is also a plus, giving the game that extra value factor many handheld games lack so much.