The most boring game... EVER!
Who could resist that little bunny (and that girl) on the box? Who could not think "OMG! I always dreamed them, now I can play with them!"? :P
I must admit it.. i fell in the trap...
(...though i bought the game bundled with a magazine for 5$, so that's not a big deal :) )
Anyway.. let's get back to the game, I can synthesize it in just three words: boring, pointless, repetitive.
I got bored playing this after one hour of play, but i wanted to give it a second chance and forced myself to play it a little more (just to confirm my first opinion).
The game goal is to publish as many issues of the magazine as you can and then become rich and famous.. and this is achieved by always doing the same mechanical steps: hiring a staff, organize a party to ask VIPs some contribution for the magazine (a photo shoot for the cover and an interview) tell the journalist to write an article and so on...
You can also take the pics of the playmate of the month by yourself, but even this feature is boring as hell, there are so few poses and expression that u'll probably end all possible combination before the December issue is out. (and i don't know why, but all the girls looks the same when you take photos,once I invited an asian looking girl with ponytails, but when i had to take the pics, she looked as all of the other girls i saw before her, same face, same long hairs (no ponytails).. but maybe that was just a bug...)
The main aspect of the game (publishing issues)is contoured with other features that should make it more interesting... but they don't:
..as the title reads.. building "the mansion".
Even the houses in the sims (1) looked better than "the mansion".
The items ugly and completely useless: u can buy a bed but u can't sleep, u can set up a nice dining room, but that will be useless too, since there is no need to eat in the game.
"the mansion" is not even useful even in the terms of gameplay.. I published 3 numbers of the magazine without leaving the "party room" (just a room with a bar table and a stereo), keeping clicking on the "organize a party" button, waiting for the VIPs to arrive and "socialize" with them..
.. and that is the other "feature" that fails to make the game less boring.. socializing and live the life of the great Hef. (I hope his real life was waaaay more interesting than this).
Socializing just consist on clicking on the person u want to talk to and choose from a series of chained options..... and then wait for a LONG and SLOW animation to finish before u can choose the next conversation option and go on with the dialogue...in one word... boring
2 years have passed since the game was released.. so I don't think many people is buying this anymore.. but if that idea passes in your mind, be smart, look further the bunny and the girl on the cover, and buy the Sims2 instead.. that is 10000 times better; and if u want something "adult" at all cost... the sims could be better than this game (that IS supposed to be adult)in that aspect too.