SimAnimals Africa is a game that will be greatly misunderstood by many reviewers, mainly because it’s not aimed at the average games reviewer; it’s aimed at a child. A child who loves fluffy safari animals, especially cute baby ones, and who wants to frolic with them and watch them dance in the Savannah. Yup, SimAnimals Africa is unrealistic, cartoony and most definitely not aimed at the average gamer. But it certainly has some redeeming features for the younger generation.
The bulk of the game is comprised of the challenges available across Africa. There are a number of chapters to unlock, each achieved by releasing ‘good energy’ into the world. This is done by befriending the animals in the area and completing challenges and mini-games. There are quite a few different landscapes on offer such as jungles, savannas and volcanic deserts, all with their own unique challenges. The most important thing in each chapter is to befriend the animals available. There is a decent variety of animals on offer such as rhinos, hippos, lions, gazelles, crocodiles and my personal favourite: zebras. All the animals are cute in a cartoony way which will irritate adults but enchant kids. To befriend each of them you have to first of all pet them. This is where the Wii remote comes into play with the player having to shake the remote in certain areas of the animal’s body to make it happy and like you. It’s not as sordid as it sounds, and although it’s slightly tiring on the arms, kids are bound to enjoy the interaction. Once the animal likes you sufficiently, you can control the animal and wander around the area interacting with the others. Dancing with the other animals is particularly enjoyable and the way in which each animal dances is quite unique and entertaining.
There are also various mini-games available such as playing Ring Toss with the elephants and playing the drums with gazelles and lions. It’s all rather frivolous but I can certainly see young children enjoying it. Playing the various mini-games also has an extra use as it improves the statistics for the animals such as the gazelle’s ability to dodge which comes in handy if you want to avoid being eaten by the lions. It’s perhaps a strange choice for such a child friendly game, but yes the poor old gazelles can be eaten by lions which did feel ever so slightly wrong in such a cutesy game, but I doubt many children will be too traumatised as fortunately the death of the gazelle is never clearly seen. A similar tale is true when it comes to the mating habits of animals. They simply hug each other and a baby animal (even more cute than the adult equivalent) appears.
Each of the animals has their own special ability. Elephants can water plants, while zebras can knock fruit down from trees. This is how many of the challenges can be solved throughout the game. It’s all simple stuff but just at the right level for the young gamer to get to grips with. There are many opportunities to simply explore the enclosed surroundings and have fun and there are also many hidden extras to acquire such as rare items which extends longevity a bit. Controls are pretty simple without any real hiccups besides slight camera quirkiness at times. However there will be no great frustrations here ensuring no temper tantrums from the little ones. It is slightly annoying that you can’t save mid way through a chapter, only at the end, but the levels aren’t too long at least. There’s no real risk of dying here too which is very welcome when dealing with easily frustrated children.
You just can’t help but smile at what occurs in the game. Sure it might be ridiculously simple but it’s great for under 7s and with supervision will be terrific fun. SimAnimals Africa is certainly not aimed at anyone over 7 so don’t even contemplate it. However if you’re looking for a gentle exploration game for your child, you could do a lot worse than SimAnimals Africa. It might not be revolutionary, but nor should it be. Instead it offers simple, casual fun that’s ideal for the family.
VideogameUK verdict: 7/10 (but take off 4 points if you’re not a parent with young children.)
