As a spin off title from the best selling game series of all time, MySims Kingdom is always going to sell, but does it manage to step out from the shadow of The Sims.

When the original MySims appeared on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS last year, it was pretty much a stripped down version of The Sims with more cartoon like characters making it perfect for the slightly younger gamers out there - and instead of socialising, building up your assets became the focus of the game.

If you are one of the many gamers out there who picked up MySims and enjoyed it, then you will have just as much fun this time around with MySims Kingdom as it does not stray too far from the principles of MySims, but has enough about it which can be considered new to give it the value for money factor every game needs to make it worth picking up from the shelves. Rest assured, MySims Kingdom is more than a traditional expansion pack style title that has become widely associated with The Sims.

The storyline behind the game is good, without being anything too special, but it does enough to tie everything that happens in MySims Kingdom together nicely. In the past, the kingdom was inhabited by Wandoliers, residents with wands who made it their duty to help needy citizens of the kingdom - however their days came to an end for unknown reasons, but they are now needed once again as the kingdom is in a state of disrepair. You are chosen by King Roland to become the latest Wandolier and it becomes your job to bring things back up to scratch throughout the kingdom.

Ultimately, everything you do in MySims Kingdom boils back down to that basic storyline, but there are various sub-plots associated with each of the islands in the game which you will play some part in which gives the game something extra to keep you entertained without allowing you to become too sidetracked from the job in hand. These island storylines will involve you performing tasks such as assisting a robot with opening a diner, helping a criminal make a friend and give a helping hand to a zombie that wants to brighten up his graveyard a little.

In true Sims fashion, most of the tasks that you are faced with in MySims Kingdom will require you to build things, or decorate buildings which are already there. Specific items of furniture or color schemes will often be noted as requirements for completing your tasks and you can unlock new items by gathering essences as you progress through the game. Gathering essences is simple enough - you gain them by fishing, treasure hunting, picking them from trees or by mining.

The game’s controls are pretty good, but you will experience the odd glitch every now and then because of the slightly annoying camera perspective used during some parts of the game - but for the best part of the game both the controls and camera angle are good enough to keep the game enjoyable throughout. Perhaps the best thing about MySims Kingdom is the style of graphics used, they can brighten up your day the moment you start playing as the colorful environments around you are a joy to explore with your equally colorful and cheery cartoon-like characters, and the dialogue these characters come up with is entertaining too and very well written.

MySims Kingdom is an enchanting game which will give you hours of fun, and will keep you wanting to play again and again if only to experience the wonderful visuals again and again. You will find yourself growing attached to the characters in the game, much like you did with The Sims on the PC. MySims Kingdom is certainly worth buying if you’re a fan of the sims or any social management or simulation titles.

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