The Sims 2: Pets has already appeared on the Wii, but it was just a simple port of the PlayStation 2 version with little real use made of the Wii remote. This though is a complete reimagining of the whole The Sims concept made exclusively for Nintendo’s consoles. The concept is largely the same as always as you take control of the lives of your own fictional family in what’s a cross between a video game and an interactive version of Big Brother. The graphics have been completely revamped, moving away from the pseudo realism of the older games and using a much cuter, cartoon style that’s somewhere between Playmobil and Animal Crossing (they’re actually modelled after a Japanese toy line called Pinky Street).

Naturally the game makes full use of the Wii’s controls with the remote used to pick up, rotate and drop objects and buildings with refreshing ease, while the nunchuck is used simply to move around. This is all in the aid of making the game as customisable as possible, from the characters themselves to their homes and furniture. Previously The Sims games let you build your own house or swimming pool but here you can design your own fridge if you want or bed, sofa or any other item of furniture. This feeds into the concept of having to do up your house and turn your virtual ghost town into a thriving village full of oddball characters. With Animal Crossing still some way off this could be the next big casual game on the Wii.