MySims

Wii
The Wii version of MySims takes a departure from The Sims franchise and begins with a character moving into a run-down town with a mayor desperate to bring residents back. The player's job is to attract business and townies back into town. Players must collect essences to build houses as well as furniture, and in return are given special decorations, blueprints and outfits for their Sim. As the town's population increases, new areas of town are unlocked in which even more people can be moved in. To unlock more places you have to run errands for the new business that move in as you continue, so your town is a five star city. If you miss a person at the hotel, they will return later in the game. Eventually, the town is bustling with citizens again.

You can also interact with citizens by doing certain things with them and also you can join in their activities somewhere in your town. There are six different types of Sims and those include Fun, Geeky, Cute, Studious, Tasty, and Spooky. You can also customize your character in many different items you can build that has the option to change your character. Some items in the game can be used to watch television and other stuff you can do. Unlike other games in The Sims franchise, your Sim does not have needs or want, although eating and sleep is optional.

In the Nintendo Wii version of MySims, the Nunchuk is used for direct movement, with the Wii Remote used for object moving and building. Also you move the cursor around the screen to collect essences and to make your Sim do certain options like eating or sleeping. You can also use the Wii Remote to go fishing in certain lakes around town or the Ocean.

Nintendo DS
The Nintendo DS version of MySims takes place in a vacation resort with the player tasked with the job of luring in tourists. This is accomplished by doing tasks for the locals who lives in your town and after you're done with a certain task you earn stars. Players collect stars to unlock other parts of the city as well as new minigames and new items in stores. As more stars are collected, the town grows and mini games are unlocked.

You can also interact with tourist and these tourist have different moods like Sad, Normal, or Mad. You must cheer the Sim up with many different options that the game gives you. If you succeed on making the Sim happy, you can earn some simoleans or on commercial sims you can progress through the story. You can play certain minigames and depends how you do, you earn more money and more points that you can earn and eventually if you play the game many times you can unlock new difficulties of those minigames. You can also customize T-shirts and furniture from the different locals and you can customize your house or mansion. You can also change your Sim's style in any different way in the wardrobe and you can store items in the drawer. Unlike other games in The Sims franchise, Sims do not have needs or wants but sleeping can be optional.

The Nintendo DS version of MySims supports touch screen and microphone functionality. The touch screen is used for talking and movement as well as placing and moving furniture. Other buttons may control specific tasks such as taking photos or initiating conversation. This version also features a number of mini games.

PC
As in the original MySims for the Wii console, the game allows players to develop a small town and build buildings and furniture for the growing population. The game also has the ability to host a limit of 7 other players via an Internet connection. The online feature allows players to chat, interact and play games like Tag and Hide-and-Seek with online "buddies". Furthermore, it allows players to construct buildings and create objects to use cooperatively, and to share creations in-game as well as outside the game via email or instant message, allowing other players to use the creations in their towns. Like the Wii version, Sims do not have needs or want, but eating and sleep are optional.

The controls are identical to the Wii version, but now you use the Keyboard and the mouse to play the game. You use the keyboard to move your Sim around while the mouse clicks and collects essences. Also building can be used both the keyboard and the mouse. You can also use the keyboard to type messages during online mode.

Features
Apart from creating a custom Mii-like character, players may also modify their houses and build furniture and appliances using a selection of building blocks. This gives the player more building options, allowing them to create objects by using blueprints, a change from the usual virtual catalog found in The Sims. There are 80 characters with whom the player may interact in the Wii version (30 characters in the Nintendo DS version), such as a mad scientist, a magician, a librarian, a pizza chef, and a martial arts teacher. Some of these characters may ask the player to build things for them. As with previous Sims games, meeting people and forming relationships is a major gameplay focus. Becoming a Sim's best friend will earn the player either a special blueprint not available anywhere else in the game, or a style of clothing for their wardrobe. Players can also earn blueprints by performing tasks for Commercial Sims (Sims who have their own businesses). Typically this involves building around 5-10 items for Sims, depending on the Star Level (the 1-5 level) of the player's town and the essences they have access to.

A feature new to MySims is "Essences". They can be found in various locations in town or by interacting with Sims or objects. Essences are used for a number of things including paint for the walls of houses, construction of items, as well as decoration. The mini-games include racquetball, water-skiing, baking and more.

Reception
MySims has received fairly mixed, but generally decent reviews. It is known for having colorful graphics, and cheery and fun gameplay, but criticized for having too much focus on construction and collecting essences. IGN said that "The problem is that nearly all of the objectives revolve around the same two tasks: the collection of essences and the construction of houses, buildings and items. All of the Sim management and social interaction elements of the previous games – well, you're not going to find much of that in the streamlined Wii affair". Gamespot praised the Wii game for the construction being intuitive and flexible and for the presentation being cheery and clean. It was also criticized for having longer than usual load times. Its Nintendo DS counterpart is regarded as virtually an all new game in design; However, reception of its control scheme varied greatly.