Simulation Games - ranked by preference

Release Date: November 8, 2012 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation

When you take a glance at the 3DS activity log and notice that you've put nearly 90 hours into this game, and you're still not done playing, it's doing something right. New Leaf isn't a long RPG with a great story to push you through those hours...It's just a life simulation where you interact with your neighbors, water flowers, dig up fossils, catch bugs, go fishing, and partake in selling and buying items....That's about it. But it's done very well, with new things seemingly popping up every time you might start to feel like it's all getting a tad old. This is easily the best game in the series to date, and if you've ever wanted to try an Animal Crossing game, this is the one to get.

Release Date: December 14, 2001 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Life

I remember visiting friends in Seattle that worked at Nintendo at the time...They asked me if I wanted to purchase anything from the official Nintendo store with their discount. Animal Crossing was one of the titles that I wanted. I remember them coming home that day with the game stating that some of the folks that worked there thought I was a girl and was surprised that a guy wanted to play this game. Well, feel free to call me Pauline because I wanted to play it and I'm glad I did, dang it! Animal Crossing is just a relaxing game to play here and there. There's nothing to kill, no real story to follow...Just wandering around in the game's world and enjoying a virtual life in a town full of talking animals. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely a well-made game with plenty to do for those who get into it. Plus, it's got a bunch of NES classics to discover and play in the game, and that alone was worth me playing the game for.

Release Date: April 21, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Pet

People who say that this game is boring, well then it's obviously not meant to be for you. Nintendogs is not a game that you'll sit and play for hours at a time, but it's not meant to be that way. This is a game that you pop in for ten or fifteen minutes a day to care care of your dog(s), take them for walks, put them in competitions, etc. As a lad that missed his real dog back at his parent's house, this was a decent way for me to experience some of the joys of having a dog around. It's obviously no replacement for the real thing, but as a dog owner and animal lover, I really grew to love Nintendogs and found my time with it to be very relaxing.

Release Date: December 16, 2012 (NA)
Publisher: Grey Dog Software
Developer: Grey Dog Software
Genre: Wrestling - Simulation

Ever want to take control of the WWE and take it to new heights? How about taking control of promotions like CHIKARA, ROH, NJPW, or AAA and having them overtake the WWE as the top promotion in the world? How about going back in time and booking WCW in attempt to prevent it from being sold to Vince McMahon? Or even going back to the territory days of the early 80's and see if you can fight off the WWF from taking over your territory and going national? You can do all of that in TEW 2013. I booked promotions from 1970 to 2017 and loved all 47 years of it. If a wrestling simulator that has you in charge of hiring and firing talent, making television deals, booking shows, etc. sounds interesting to you, then get Total Extreme Wrestling 2013 - you'll very likely fall in love with it like I did.

Release Date: 2003 (NA)
Publisher: Oliver Copp
Developer: Oliver Copp
Genre: Simulation

TNM7 is a unique game...It's much more of a simulation than a game that you "play." In TNM7, you create (or download) wrestlers, book the match, and then sit back and watch (well, read - it's a text-based game) the results. But, at the same time, you can unlock certain aspects of the game (like match types, new rules, etc.) by booking specific matches. Aside from unlocking those "easter eggs" there isn't a whole lot of strategy here, so folks looking for a game where you have to control finances and the like to keep a company afloat, this may not be your cup of tea. For folks like me who just like to book "dream matches" and see the match unfold, this is a game well worth owning - I've played it on a regular basis since 2001.

Release Date: November 16, 2008 (NA)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Life

I absolutely loved the original Animal Crossing, but I was afraid that without the NES titles to unlock, like the original had, that I wouldn't be nearly as smitten with this game as I was the original. I really didn't have anything to fear, as City Folk, with or without the NES titles, is just as addicting as the original was. It's not action-packed or anything, but it's a great game to pull out and play when you just want to relax.

Release Date: July 24, 1997 (JP)
Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Tecmo
Genre: Strategy - Pet Simulation

Monster Rancher and Pokemon sometimes get lumped into the same category - afterall, the goal in both games is to have creatures battle each other. While Pokemon is more of an RPG, focusing mainly on the battles, Monster Rancher is more of a strategy/pet simulation game, focusing on how you take care of your monsters. As a result, Monster Rancher is a much more slower-paced game, so fans of Pokemon may not automatically fall in love with Monster Rancher, and vice-versa. Despite the slower pace, Monster Rancher is still very fun, and the ability to put random CDs into your Playstation (music, games, software...anything on CD) and get monsters from them just adds to some of the fun. What monster will appear when putting your Stuart Little 2 soundtrack in the system?...Only one way to find out.

Release Date: November 23, 2005 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Life

When I first played Animal Crossing: Wild World, I was kind of afraid. I loved the original Animal Crossing, but I was unsure if that was because of the game itself or all of the classic NES games that I enjoyed discovering and playing. I didn't have anything to worry about, with NES games or without 'em, Animal Crossing is still very fun and its style of gameplay seems to be right at home on a handheld. Wild World may lack the ability to play Donkey Kong Jr. Math whenever you feel like it, but its own gameplay can more than make up for it. Fishing, catching bugs, digging up fossils, and interacting with the townfolk are all fun activities that Wild World had now let us all do while on the go.

Release Date: February 26, 2011 (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Pet

I hold the first Nintendogs games close to my heart. I was away in college when it came out, and my dog was not allowed to live with me in the school-sponsored apartment complex I lived in. So, while on the weekends I got to see my pup, I wasn't so lucky on the weekdays, which is where the original Nintendogs games came in. This sequel is just as good in my opinion, but aside from the addition of cats, there isn't much else new. That still didn't stop me from logging several hours into this game, though. As far as pet sims go (and a TON of them have popped up since the original Nintendogs) this series remains at the top of the heap.

Release Date: November 27, 1997 (JP)
Publisher: Gaps
Developer: Rytmix
Genre: Simulation

Burger Burger: Hamburger Simulation has always been a game that interested me. I didn't know what it was simulating. Eating a hamburger? Creating hamburgers? Well, Burger Burger is basically like one of those "tycoon" games where you open up a hamburger restaurant, create the menu and prices, invent new food items to sell, etc. and try to drive in customers while competing fast food chains do the same. I've never been big into these kinds of games, but for what its worth, I enjoyed my time inventing new dishes and watching how the public reacted to them. It's a decent and charming little strategy game.

Release Date: January 25, 2005 (NA)
Publisher: Arush Entertainment
Developer: Cyberlore Studios
Genre: Simulation - Adult

I'll admit it. Playboy: The Mansion surprised me. I saw that the game had nudity and I immediately thought that this would be a game with absolutely no substance that relied on naked women folk to drive sales. While it's not a must-buy game by any means, this is still a passable simulation of being Hugh Heffner. Basically, you hold parties, mingle with people, and do your best to put out issues of Playboy each month so that you can continue to make a profit. It can be slow and boring at times - and overly simplified as well...But this is still a decent game that would be just as fun (or not fun, based on your tastes) if it were about putting out Polka Monthly magazine instead of Playboy. It's not great, but it's decent...and really, that's a whole lot more than I expected out of this game.

Release Date: September 12, 2012 (EU/AU)
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: SCEE
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Life

Ecolibrium is a strategic simulation game where you are trying to create a thriving ecosystem by placing assorted plants and animals in a given area. You need to make sure that the right plants are planted to make sure that the plants themselves thrive, but also provide for the animals roaming around as well. On the animal side, you need to make sure that you put the right amount of herbivores in versus carnivorous predators so that there isn't an unbalance. It's all pretty precise, and complicated. If you've got the patience to spend time with it in order to understand it all, it's an okay game...But it might be far too many tutorials for many to be willing to sit through. But, it's passable for what it is. If it sounds neat to you, give it a try...Just be prepared to dedicate a bit of time to it if you do.

Release Date: November 13, 2007 (NA)
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Pet

With the success of Nintendo's Nintendogs, it only seemed natural that there'd be a surplus of pet simulation games flooding the market. The Petz games are the most notable of them. In Petz Catz 2, the sequel of Petz Catz for those keeping score, you get a so-so pet simulation experience that's passable, but with enough flaws to prevent it from being anything more than that. I've had a cat before. It didn't need a drink of water every three minutes. I just want to play with the cat, but every time I start, I've got to go to the kitchen to get the furball a drink. It's also worth noting that while I don't doubt that cats can be trained to do tricks and play fetch like dogs, from what I've observed in life, it's not what most folks do. As a result, this feels like a game based on dogs with the dog models swapped with cat models. As I said, this isn't horrible...But it's far from the quality that Nintendogs has given us.

Release Date: November 8, 2011 (US)
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Pet

Puppies 3D is a shining example of how you can have two very similar titles, but the way the games are developed can prove to be the difference from a game being good or bad. From what I've seen and played, anything Puppies 3D does, Nintendogs does it much, much better...From gameplay, to graphics and the game soundtrack, to even the animations of the dogs...Nintendogs is so much better than this game. For example, the dogs in Nintendogs are loaded with personality...The dogs in Puppies 3D are more like robots. I've played worse simulations before, but that still doesn't make this game worth anybody's time.

Release Date: August 13, 2012 (NA)
Publisher: Rafal Dittwald
Developer: Rafal Dittwald
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Pet

This game is a unique hybrid of a pet simulator and language-learning game...unfortunately, it's a very crude version of both. Basically, you raise the Kirin, which looks like a floating, horned kitten head, and said Kirin only speaks in Mandarin, allowing you to gradually learn the language as you raise your new pet. As neat of a concept this is, it's very basic....very, very basic, in fact. I'm not confident that anyone over the age of five would be able to stay interested in this game for longer than ten minutes or so. But, if you're trying to get your young child into learning a new language, this might be a nice starting point for them.

Release Date: June 8, 2011 (NA)
Publisher: SelectSoft
Developer: SelectSoft
Genre: Simulation - Virtual Pet

Hoo boy, is this game rough. I think a very young child might like this game...Like under the age of five...But otherwise, this game is terrible. If you want a game where an otter gets filthy (while swimming in a crystal clear pool, mind you) in the span of five minutes, forcing you to clean it again, this is the game for you. I see what they tried to do by speeding up everything and trying to make you manage it...But it doesn't work. Not being able to skip eating/drinking sequences that you've seen multiple times and are entirely too long doesn't help matters, either. The game is also incredibly buggy, with messages popping up long after they should have. My otter, Ape Jr., won a beauty contest...I didn't get a message stating I won until after placing second at the next one. Also, messages telling me that my otter has to go to the bathroom, or is hungry, or is tired when the appropriate "meter" for that was in the green were very common. This game could be worse...But honestly, I can't think of more than a few ways that it would be. The developers must've been otter their minds to make this garbage. Get it? Nevermind. That pun was the best experience I had with this game.