The Sims 2 is out on PC and Mac, and to be released on PS2, XBox, GameCube, PSP, DS and GBA. We've spoken about those last platforms earlier in this special. The final edition, or actually three editions, is the mobile phone game. If your phone has a colour display and Java support, it's not unlikely that you can play the Sims at any time of the day, as long as your phone is charged up. But don't expect a fully 3D game like the Sims 2. In fact, expect a game that looks more like the Sims 1, with a few features of the Sims 2.

There will probably be three versions for your mobile to use, depending on your phone. The smallest is 64K, and has very basic, a little bit GBA-like, graphics. It has part of the gameplay of the bigger versions, but is the smallest and most limited of them all. Next is the 256K version. Although this might sound like it's the biggest, it's in fact in the middle. It's similar to the 128K version, except that the 256K one doesn't have any on line features in it. The other version will require (and allow) you to download some content, which means the total size becomes a bit bigger. All in all, it's the most feature-rich version of them all, and that's also the one we'll be talking about here. In total the game will run on (roughly) 183 types of phones, which should be about 80% of all phones.

With the Sims 2 on Mobile, you don't just have the option to create your Sim, using some fairly basic tools. You can also download your Sim, which you created on the PC or Mac, and uploaded to the exchange. In the end this means you get all the Create a Sim options of the big versions. The server creates a mobile version of the Sim, which contains not much more than a few sprites. That means you can't upload it back to the exchange again either. Nevertheless you can place this Sim on your mobile phone and use it as your character.

Once you created your Sim, you have to select your aspiration (all linked to your career as well) and starsign. The four aspirations in this game are Romance, wealth, popularity and knowledge. Picking this and the starsign is done using a sort of roulette-like board, with all the options in two circles. After that you'll see a spinner go round, and depending on where it ends up, you can get some extra money and core tradeables to start off with.

Naturally you also have skills, needs etc. in this game. These can be seen in the menus, accessible by pressing 1 or 3 on your phone. You also have four wants at any time, shown at the bottom of the screen. Again it's not really necessary to keep looking to the motives constantly, as your Sim will point out urgent needs. In some cases, like when going to the toilet, showering, cleaning, eating, or woohooing, a dust cloud will appear to show that something's going on. There's no blocky censor this time, and as the animations are all very basic. Those limits simply exist due to the limitations of phones.

Naturally your Sim will have to live somewhere. This time you'll move to Splendington. It has 3 vacant houses where your Sim can live, 3 already populated houses and 1 community lot. The populated houses are occupied by NPC's, which are all in a bit of a sour mood. Your goal is to cheer them up, through trading for one. This is almost the key element of the game, as opposed to the other handheld versions which are more focused on the social gameplay. You can trade items from your inventory with others, you can trade for simoleons, or give gifts. The trade screen will allow you to see what objects an NPC will give away, and you can pick some to trade them for.

All NPC's have a specific object they carry around. However, in the connected version, you can sometimes update the set of NPC's. This will replace existing NPC's and their objects with new NPC's and new objects. The only NPC's not being replaced are "dateables", Sims you can go out with. Of course it is possible to socialise with any Sim, which is done through a social screen. You won't see the actual animations, just a big close-up on the face of the other Sim. Then as you pick the actions, and the relationship improves, the close-up will become a closer-up, so the face becomes a bit bigger. Is the relationship getting worse? Then the camera will take a little distance too.

One of the other main features of the connected version is the ability to check your Sims' progress on the net. You can upload your Sims' details to the exchange, where you can see stuff like the personality and skills, but also the latest three memories. Other than that you can place a Sim from the exchange in the Sim on Deck function. Then when you start the game again, you're able to download that Sim and play on with that. As if that's not enough, there will also be some exclusive ringtones and wallpapers to download.

Costs of this game might vary, and depend on your carrier. It also depends on the carrier which game is available. Almost all on line features in the connected versions are optional, but might cost a little bit extra to use. The estimated purchase price of the game is $7 to $10, making it affordable for teens who want to play the Sims while waiting for the bus as well. Also for those who are not familiar with the Sims yet, or want to go from Sims 1 to Sims 2, it might be a nice game to make the transition. Naturally it's not as complex and extensive as other Sims games, even though it's quite surprising how much was put in such a little game. If you like having a sort of virtual pet to attend to every now and then, but not for hours on end, then this mobile game might just do the trick.