Playstation 2 - Playboy: The Mansion

Format
Playstation 2
Publisher
Cyberlore Studios
Developer
Arush
Country of origin
US
Genre
God sim

Playboy: The Mansion

By David Rasmussen
19th Feb 05

It must be nice to be so darned rich that you eventually believe people can't wait to play a video game based on... you. Hence how we came about to Playboy : The Mansion, starring... yes, don't be too surprised now... Hugh Hefner.

First off take note that "Hugh" seems to be rather... unrealistic. Yes. This game takes place at the beginning of the "empire" so he should be young, but does he age during gameplay? I bet not!
Second note that your "World" is the most limited thing you've ever seen! You have the Mansion grounds, and later unlockable "sections" of the mansion, but then again you don't need to leave... the world will come to you.

The objective is simple. Publish Playboy, make friends and associates, find playmates and bunnies, take lots of topless pics (adjust the costume during photoshoots, one "step" to the right, and you have an instant topless shot for the cover or centerfold), and find new pieces of your Sims type furniture to have sex on.

Yes. Another thing you notice is that this game is very Sims like. In fact it seems that the people who made this game drew their inspiration from the Sims... but then went one step further and found a few ways to teach the Sims some new tricks. Yes. Believe it or not it's got a few things going for it that the people at EA Games/Maxis didn't do yet! How so?

1-Group Conversations
Unlike the Sims (or probably the Urbz) in this game you can create whole "Groups" of conversation! Up to SIX people can join in this "group", forming a larger and larger circle as they talk. And as the topic goes about you can carry it on by choosing an "option" to keep the conversation going (with everyone in the group benefiting (or not) from the discussion)!

And you can join groups already going! Just walk up and choose a person, and you'll have the option to join the group or try and break it up to get access to one person! Another keen option!

2-Relationship Effects
The way you reflect on some people (your girlfriend mostly) reflects on how she reacts to others when it comes to you! She can help you if you are in good relations to her, or hurt you if you are in bad relations! And since this game encourages you to have FOUR girlfriends at one point? This "effect" is times 4 in possibilities as the game goes!

3-Change Costumes
Of those you hire some you can change their clothes, and even have them wear near nothing. Yes.

4-Meet and Greet
Unlike the Sims or Urbz, you can take two people and get them talking to each other! This might have actually saved you from doing lots of stupid delivery jobs in Sims : Bustin' Out and Urbz : Sims in the City for the GBA if they actually picked up this idea!

5-Contracts and Deals
Once you know people well you can try to make the art of the deal with them, which is vital in this game.

6-Sex
Yes. After hovering about the E and T ratings you'd wonder WHEN Maxis would FINALLY get some guts and do something different! Now I'm not advocating an entire chain of adult related Sims from them, but ONE ADULT SIM A DECADE (10 years) WOULD BE NICE! Some variety, people! At least ONCE a decade try to break out of your pattern and do a little something different!

You'll need obvious things. But you can also use different things! Couches, beds, showers and so forth.
And just because you use one bed doesn't mean a different reaction won't happen if you try a different bed! Experiment and see what works.

Now the minuses.
There just isn't much to go in this game. There are only a few areas, so the Sims is far more spacious and has more things to do.

Your main job is to publish Playboy, and accomplish the various "mission" objectives, and even find time for "other things"... but basically it's Sims (adult style)! Now while this is a nice start, I would like it if Playboy tinkers with games again to either "evolve" the Sims archtype again (as they did in some respects here) or move on to the next game to mimic... mainly the Japanese import game Sexy Beach 2.
Yes. I think that is a better adult hentai game to emulate than the Sims, and I haven't even played it!
But X-Play's viewers think it's good, it's the most watched segment on X-Play's website.

Another minus is the game is kind of inferior in comparison to the Sims.
How so? It has quite a few innovations and new tricks but once you got your pattern down pat you'll find yourself a tad bored of it. The Sims doesn't take risks, and doesn't have the fine polishing on some of it's interactions like this game, but it has more areas to visit and more to do.

I can't really think of much else to say about the game. It's straightforward enough.
It's basically, at it's heart, a Sims type game with a more adult twist to it.
It has some innovations Maxis has yet to develop for their games, but isn't as large or have as much places to go or challenges to overcome as The Sims.
Mixed review, so I'll wrap it up here and go right to the breakdown.

Playboy the Mansion Breakdown
What's Hot? - It's a more adult thing than anything I've played from EAGames/Maxis, which is a nice change for once! Not to mention some of those more "polished" moves like the group conversation thing and so forth are also quite keen. And, yes, even the sex is good because it's DIFFERENT!
After pounding out Sims after Sims which (at heart) is the same experience over and over again with only so many differences here and there? I need a brand new experience from Maxis that shows they're ready to take more risks and more challenges, and if that means dabbling once a decade into a M rated Sims game? I'm all for it! A little variation from the norm never hurts anyone!

What's Not? - This game is NOT a replacement for the Sims! It's not as vast as the Sims, nor will it beat the Sims in depth of levels or things you can do! And if you enjoy the micromanagement problems of having to monitor bladder, feeding, bathing, rest and so forth you won't find that here... then again if you're sick of that then you'll be happy it's not here.

It's a nice game, but it lacks some of the large scale playability of the Sims/Urbz.

Moments to Remember? - ...think you know that one already... nuff said...

What to Ignore? - Why is it one of the chairs on the backgammon table seems to move on it's own as if possessed? And why is it I have to CONSTANTLY hire new playmates to fulfill the cover/centerfold requirements every month? And why is it I can only play as "Hugh"?!? Why??
That's just the start of a few ignores I have, but why harp over that when it's not very important.

Overall? - Mixed review. If you're looking for a Sims level playing experience you might not like this game. It's not as deep as The Sims : Bustin' Out or The Urbz : Sims in the City (or even The Sims 2) but it has it's own quirks that the Sims have never touched... and, yes, that includes the sex part!

If you think you want to give a Mature rated sex sim a spin, and know you'll be doing both work and... well... other things in this game? Well then give it a try. Rent it if you can (and if you are of the proper age to do that), and if you enjoy it then buy it. That's up to you, of course, so I'll leave that to you to decide.

Now as for EA Games/Maxis. I'm not even overtly concerned about WHEN The Sims 2 is coming out on PS2 or GameCube... why? Because -- actually I was going to say I'm ready for a more adult Sims but the real reason is I'm NOT ready to play a Sims : Wonderful Life hybrid... as in the GameCube Harvest Moon game which almost does the same thing, except the birth and childhood part that is...

Someone let me know when The Urbz 2 or Sims : Bustin' Out 2 comes out.

-- David Rasmussen 19th Feb 05

Playstation 2 Playboy: The Mansion Images