Instead of playing God with a mouse pointer (which was always awkward using a controller on your couch), you can simply hop "inside" a Sim and run around as you would in games like Grand Theft Auto. The new console versions add something that changes the tone of the game considerably, though.
As in the PC version, the Sims are rendered in 3D and much more expressive than ever before, so that you can - in the words of former President Bill Clinton - "feel their pain." You can either guide your Sim through the perfect storybook life or mess with their heads just to see what happens when it all goes wrong. They'll also have fears (of rejection, losing a job, etc.). The Sims 2 for PS2, Xbox, and GameCube brings over the same new gameplay elements from the PC sequel: Your Sims, aside from having basic needs like comfort or food, will also have aspirations for things like popularity or cash-money. But EA is taking lessons learned and applying them to a new round of games that just might find that magical blend of the open-endedness of the PC games with the instant accessibility of consoles. At first, we were a little skeptical - The Sims has been ported over before, sometimes with great results, and sometimes falling short. EA's mantra this year is to bring The Sims "everywhere you want to play." As such, the company has announced that it's developing versions of the game for, well, just about every platform you can imagine, even mobile phones.