The Sims Life Stories

The Sims Life Stories is a video game, the first game in The Sims Stories series. The game is a version of The Sims 2 optimized for laptops (and lower-end desktop computers) and bears similarities to the console ports of The Sims games. In Story mode, it begins with the problems of Riley Harlow and Vince Moore. Rewards are unlocked as set goals are achieved. In the open-ended Classic mode, the player creates Sims and then chooses how they'll live their life. The Sims Life Stories was released on February 6, 2007. It is categorized as laptop-friendly since it lacks the need for an independent graphic card.

The Sims Life Stories
American cover art
Developer(s)	Maxis Redwood Shores
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts (PC) Aspyr Media (Mac)
Series	The Sims
Platform(s)	Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Release	Windows NA: February 6, 2007 Mac OS X (DVD release) NA: March 28, 2007 Mac App Store NA: December 3, 2015
Genre(s)	Life simulation game God game
Mode(s)	Single-player

The game begins in Story Mode with Riley Harlow's life story as she moves from SimCity to Four Corners to start a new life with her Aunt Sharon. A second story follows the life of Vincent Moore, a millionaire who is searching for true love. After both stories are completed the gameplay continues in the open-ended Classic mode, which is similar to The Sims 2. The towns in which Riley and Vince live are also available to play when their stories are finished.

On December 3, 2015, Aspyr released a port of The Sims Life Stories for OS X to the Mac App Store for OS X Mavericks or later.[1] After the announcement of macOS Catalina dropping support for 32-bit apps, Aspyr removed the port from the Mac App Store on June 17, 2019,[2] though it still remains available to play for users on older versions of macOS who previously purchased the game.

Gameplay

The Sims Life Stories uses the same game engine and gameplay mechanics as The Sims 2. In addition to the open-ended freestyle mode from The Sims 2, Life Stories features two pre-defined scenarios. In each scenario the player takes control of one of two protagonists and is tasked with accomplishing various goals in that character's life. The game features significant use of scripted sequences to create pre-defined dramatic events and situations. There are three neighborhoods to play - one for each of the two stories, as well as a freeplay neighborhood.

Critical reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 69.75%[3] Metacritic 72%[4] Review scores Publication Score Eurogamer 7/10[5] GameZone 7.5/10[6] IGN 7.3/10[7] Dark Zero 5/10[8] WorthPlaying 7.0/10[9]

On the review aggregator GameRankings, the game received an average score of 70% based on 22 reviews.[3] On Metacritic, the game received an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 21 reviews — indicating "mixed or average reviews".[4] IGN, who gave the game 7.3, praised the low system requirements but criticized its inability of allowing players to make their own stories.[7]

References

1. "The Sims Life Stories". Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
2. "MacOS Catalina, 64-bit, 32-bit, and related Questions". Aspyr Support. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
3. "The Sims Life Stories Reviews (PC)". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
4. "Sims Life Stories, The (PC: 2007): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
5. Dan Whitehead (February 13, 2007). "The Sims Life Stories". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
6. "The Sims Life Stories - PC - Review". GameZone. May 4, 2012. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
7. Jon Habib (March 1, 2007). "The Sims: Life Stories Review". IGN. News Corporation. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
8. Ben Knowles (March 2, 2007). "The Sims Life Stories PC Review". DarkZero. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
9. Steven Mills (July 21, 2007). "PC Review - 'The Sims: Life Stories'". WorthPlaying. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.