14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook seems to be getting big name games week after week and this time it's ready for the massive Sims franchise to make the jump into the social space with the aptly named The Sims Social, which is available in beta stage at the moment but it is open to all those interested.
On the surface the game seems pretty similar to what fans of the series have been getting since the first title for the PC, with a detailed characters creator allowing them to set up an avatar (there are quite a few customization options at this stage) and then jump right into a set of familiar mechanics.
The avatar has needs and aspirations and, in order to fulfill them all, needs to interact with other Sims and also earn resources.
The game uses a cast of characters to quickly teach gamers what they need to do to be successful and The Sims Social seems like the kind of Facebook game that can keep a fan occupied for quite some time, between meeting other characters, improving the house, learning some skills and getting the money that powers it all.
One of the potential issues for the game is that it actually uses three distinct forms of currency: SimCash, SimoLeons and Social Points, all earned in different ways and all needed, in varying percentages, to get clothes, items, furniture, energy and other resources.
It would have probably been a better idea to have just one currency for everything and just have some limits on what a gamer can buy linked to in game actions or to the character level.
The Sims Social seems, at first glance, to require more Facebook friends than Dragon Age: Legends or King's Bounty: Legions to take part in order to be enjoyed so make sure that you have at least 5 to 10 people in your various lists who are interested in joining you before jumping in.
After the initial few tasks characters progression is tied to either badgering friends or to paying with real world money for SimCash.
I admit to still playing the Dragon Age Facebook game and, as long as Electronic Arts devotes the same amount of attention to the new Sims game, it will probably be an enduring hit.