12DOVE Verdict
Pros
- +
Massively cute style
- +
Tons of fauna facts
- +
New multiplayer options
Cons
- -
Not a whole lot else new
- -
Not very exciting
- -
Probably won't hypnotize kids for long
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There isn’t much to separate Africa from the first SimAnimals. You’re still in charge of a range of environments (savannah, jungle, river), each containing animals and plants to be looked after. There are a few goals for each stage, such as befriending a meerkat or getting an aardvark to destroy a termite mound, but it’s fairly aimless. It’s all massively cute, and far removed from the ‘lions nomming a hyena’ terror of a David Attenborough documentary, although Sir Dave would presumably approve of the fauna facts that are dished out.
Among the few new features are multiplayer options to either play co-operatively or trade discovered items; and the opportunity to get an in-game parrot to repeat things you say into the mic. These additions notwithstanding, the games are so similar (on DS at least) that all there is between them is the price and whether you prefer rabbits to hippos.
Jan 14, 2010
More info
| Genre | Simulation |
| Description | This is another one for younger players. They’ll enjoy it far more than the original, but we were hoping for more depth out of Africa. |
| Franchise name | The Sims |
| UK franchise name | The Sims |
| Platform | "Wii","DS" |
| US censor rating | "Everyone","Everyone" |
| UK censor rating | "3+","3+" |
| Release date | 1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK) |
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