Who knew that this game would cause me to fall in love with the entire franchise for years to come after? Through The Sims Bustin’ Out, I was introduced to Electronic Art’s world of pixels which make up a Sim. Shortly after, the television screen shifted from the black PlayStation loading screen to a light blue glow with The Sims Bustin’ Out logo plastered all over the screen in rightfully obnoxious cartoon font. My prayers were soon granted as we reached my friend’s house and powered on the PlayStation which started whirring immediately The iconic startup screen glowed among the plasma television screen. A game where customization is encouraged and creativity is apparent. I wanted a game with freedom but also limits if you choose so.

The games he would play surrounded basketball, racing, and soccer which failed to pique my interest as a kid. Not at all! My brother wore that crown he dedicated hours of his own time to punching colorful buttons atop the GameCube controller.

They owned a PlayStation 2 and one game, in particular, dominated the pockets of my brain–ensuring that it was the only thing I could think about. I was overfilled with excitement as I traveled to my friend’s house circa 2006. Platform: N-Gage, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance

The sims bustin out pc