''SimAnimals'' is a

life simulation Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters (human or otherwise). Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

for the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

and

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

console systems. It was released on January 21, 2009, in North America. It was released on January 29, 2009, in Australia and January 30, 2009, in Europe. A sequel, ''SimAnimals Africa'', was released for Wii and Nintendo DS on October 27, 2009.

Gameplay

The game has the player in a similar role as in ''

The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling video game series of all time. The games ...

'' controlling a disembodied hand in which the player manipulates over 30 types of animals, and creates their habitat around them. The animals evolve personalities depending on how the user treats (or mistreats) them. The players can use the animals to solve challenges and achieve goals by discovering secrets, unlocking forest areas and uncovering one-of-a-kind objects and wild animals, some with special abilities, by having the animals successfully complete tasks. After a certain number of achievement points are earned in the DS version, the player can blow into the DS microphone, creating wind for the pickup of berries. The players can pick up anything in the forest including trees, flowers, other plants, animals, water, logs, and rocks. The game contains more than 30 species of animals from the Northern Hemisphere. Electronics retailer

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

offered an exclusive in-game animal (

panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

, and

ferret The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, Domestication, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their Hybrid (biol ...

for Wii, electric

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

for DS) with purchase during the initial US release of the game.

Development

Soundtrack

The music for ''SimAnimals'' was composed by

Winifred Phillips Winifred Phillips is an American music composer and author. Her music composition credits include '' God of War'', '' Assassin's Creed III: Liberation'', and the ''LittleBigPlanet'' series. Early life Phillips' love of music began in childhoo ...

"The Sims Label Announces Winifred Phillips as the Composer of the Original Score for SimAnimals: Business Wire Business News: ERTS – MSN Money"
MSN Money. Accessed January 28, 2009. and produced by

Winnie Waldron Winnie Waldron is an American music producer for video games, a producer for radio, a radio script editor / adapter, a manuscript editor and a radio host. Career Radio Waldron began her professional relationship with National Public Radio via ...

. The music from the game was released on January 13, 2009, as a digital download album by E.A.R.S. EA Recordings. The ''SimAnimals'' soundtrack album was released to positive reviews and high scores, including a 9.5 out of 10 from Michael Pascua of The Celebrity Cafe, a 90 out of 100 from Jeremy Hill of Gamertell, and a 9 out of 10 from the music review site VGM Rush.

Reception

''SimAnimals'' has a score of 60% on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which indicates mixed or average reviews, and 69% on

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

gave the game a 5.3, writing, "''The Sims'' franchise is insanely popular for a reason, and growing a community, whether it be man or animal, is rewarding. But no effort has been put into the presentation here. The game doesn't run smoothly, the forest is unattractive, and the controls aren't user-friendly. The game garnered some positive reviews. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' awarded SimAnimals 5 stars out of 5. Reviewer Jinny Gudmundsen wrote, " 'SimAnimals''is a fascinating experience that is hard to put down... There are many things that make this game compelling, including the outstanding graphics, music and artificial intelligence, but the most attractive feature is that the game lets you explore the delicate balances found in nature.Get in touch with nature with 'SimAnimals'
USATODAY.com. Retrieved on 2009-02-02.

References

External links

''SimAnimals'' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simanimals 2009 video games Wii games Nintendo DS games Maxis Sim games Biological simulation video games Electronic Arts games Video games scored by Winifred Phillips Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in the United States