As much as it pains me to say this, because I had high hopes for it, The Sims 2 on DS is just not what it should be. It isn't a bad game by any stretch, but if you're looking for a version of the PC classic, where you can raise a family, each with their own aspirations and wants, right there in the palm of your hand, then you'll find your own aspirations for this game being crushed.

Making use of the touch screen, you begin as you would any other Sims game - making your character using the passable creation system. Once you have done this and selected your desired aspiration, it's time to begin the DS exclusive story; you arrive at a hotel with a broken car, and the only way to have it fixed is to get a man named Jeb to fix it - but until then, you're put in charge of a hotel. Go figure. Your job is to not only maintain the hotel, but also to make sure that the people staying there are happy and content; otherwise they may begin to steal from you and the other customers or even vandalise things!

Bills to pay, aspirations to fill, sanity to maintain, customers to keep happy (or unhappy if you want that creepy cult leader to leave...), rooms to furnish; you'll definitely find yourself busy and that's more of a bad thing than good.

The Sims 2 quickly becomes a chore because of this. Guests will have you running around playing games of fetch, as they constantly lose items or want you to buy some trivial object for them to display in their bedroom - and if you don't? They'll get angry and become uncivil with you, resulting in the above mentioned illegal activities of robbery and property damage. Meanwhile, you need to get your own aspiration meter up, which is a far cry from the true Sims 2 aspiration system on PC, where your character has specific needs and wants, both of which are absent here.

Of course, you won't be playing fetch the whole time. Like any Sims game you'll run across some truly bizarre characters and moments, such as dressing up in a rat superhero outfit to help the small town by fighting off invading aliens. The Sims 2 is definitely entertaining at times and vastly superior to the Game Boy Advance version, but that doesn't change the fact of the matter: if you want a proper version of the good old PC Sims on your DS, then just don't bother with this. Though you can rearrange and furnish your hotel, you can't reconstruct it or make new characters, you have no wants or fears, and the basic Sim wants such as going to the bathroom or sleeping do nothing but get in the way here, barely tethering this to a genuine Sims game.

One thing this version does very well however is make use of the DS's unique features, most notably the touch screen, although perhaps not in the way you might expect! You don't actually move your Sim by touching the screen like you might assume; instead, you use the directional pad to move the character around and any information about objects or people appear on the lower screen. All speech options and menu management is carried out using the touch screen without interrupting gameplay up top, while the two triggers are used to rotate the camera around as you run or walk, which usually works flawlessly.

The fact that you actually control your Sim, like every other port of The Sims 2, contributes to the game not actually feeling anything like a simulation, but rather a bizarre third person adventure game of fetch. There's still the simulation aspect when it comes to your interaction with other characters - which itself is a mini-game - where you try to make friends with them, romance them or just piss them off. However, maintaining your own Sim is not a huge part of this game and for many people that's where the joy of The Sims comes from.

Another huge departure for this version of The Sims 2 is real-time. Unlike any other game in the series, the time in this game is actually based on whatever your DS internal clock is set to and advances with it. Is this a good idea? No, not at all, partly due to how skill points work; you have to be in the right spot at the right time... who knew there would be a mechanical skill point in the freezer at 10:30pm on Thursday? What happened to reading books to study and using experience to gain a skill, like how Sims should be? It also drags the game along; there'll be moments when you have a goal to do but you can't complete it until a certain time or day. I paid for the game, let me play it when and how I want! Of course, you can always change your DS unit's internal clock, but the game isn't stupid. It knows!

So, the game doesn't have much business being called The Sims 2, we've established that. Does that make it worth avoiding? Not at all - though it can be very tedious at times, the story and characters are amusing enough to keep you playing, while having a hotel to maintain with occupants to please is a neat concept that offers a good amount of fun when you aren't constantly doing their bidding. The side-quests are quirky and the mini-games, such as designing works of art with the touch screen, can be a lot of fun. Unlike the GBA version of The Sims 2, this one actually retains the tongue-in-cheek humour that the series is known for and it fits well.

Speaking of the Game Boy Advance version, both these games take place in the same town (which looks completely different on both games), leading to some familiar encounters for those who've played both. As with the GBA version, I must commend Maxis for creating a whole new game from the ground up and even creating some story ties to the other versions, though I'd still have preferred a more traditional Sims 2 port - I want to build my own hotel, dammit!

Replay value is one of the high points of the game; after you complete the main story, new options open up to you and, as with any Sims game, there are hundreds of items to buy and furnish your hotel with, as well as multiple side-quests and of course the aspiration meter to fill up. However, there is nowhere near the amount of replay value you'd find in the PC version of The Sims 2, which basically never ends.

The close up 3D graphics of The Sims 2 look as good as you'd expect from the DS, but they don't match up to the likes of Super Mario 64 DS. Whilst they're certainly passable, there isn't much to shout about in this department; it's hard to get excited about even the best DS graphics when we've seen so much better looking games for years now, but The Sims 2 does what it can and manages to have as little pop-in as possible. Unfortunately the graphics do have a tendency to glitch, such as being able to see through walls - something that was common on the N64 and PSOne and shouldn't come as a surprise on the DS either.

Glitches go beyond that though; characters often ask you to meet them somewhere and they end up somewhere completely different, or you'll talk to a character outside and then find them in the next room as soon as you walk in. Sometimes a non-playable character will be, let's say, mesmerised, yet you can call them on your cell phone and they act completely normal. The most frustrating glitch is a tie between occasional game freezing and not being able to complete a certain objective due to a seemingly random glitch that prevents it.

Like the Game Boy version of The Sims 2, this one features very little trademark Sim-speak. Most of the dialogue is written on screen in plain English and you only hear the unique vocals during mini-games, which most of the time is the same phrase over and over. To say it wears thin fast is an understatement. The music is a lot better though and is definitely fitting to the whole Sims world, with tunes that will put a bounce in your step and definitely just make you feel good about playing the game.

Like every port of The Sims 2 so far, the DS version is not a true version of the game but more of a spin-off. The storyline is DS-exclusive and contains a lot of tie-ins, but if you're looking for the authentic Sims experience then you'll have to stick with the PC version. The Sims 2 is a good DS title for sure, but doesn't live up to its namesake at all. Check it out if you're looking for something a little different on the DS, but avoid it if you're looking for a version of The Sims 2 that you can touch. How ironic!

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).