Virtual Families (Windows)

61 out of 76 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

27

by empirehigh

in previous virtual games, you can adjust the speed in options or whatever, but in virtual families that option isn't available for you. so it takes a long time for them to do things. walking around the house to pick up trash takes too long, and earning money can be ridiculous.
from my personal game experience, i made my person work a lot and was only able to get 30 in one day. this can be frustrating considering you need money to upgrade work areas and buy certain items to solve some puzzles in your home.
it's an alright game all in all, but certain things could have made it more enjoyable.

40 out of 53 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

6

by Guardrox

Oh, my goodness gracious! This game was unbelievably slow. It's in real time, so it takes your little person 5 minutes to pull a weed. Not. Even. Kidding. If you think that's bad, "working on your career" takes so long that I acually got up and made myself dinner before it was over! It's not my computer, for any of you doubters, it's just the makers' way of trying to make the game more realistic. It might be less obnoxious once you get a family going (the goal of the game), but at the beginning you only have one lone person to watch do simple, uninteresting tasks. It made me wonder how long it must take to start a family if it takes 5 minutes to pull a weed! Argh. It was very frustrating.To make matters worse, you can't queue up your events, leaving you with nothing to do but praise them when they're doing a task. Out of curiosity, I googled reviews from people who bought this game, and they basically said that it doesn't speed up much. Another issue was the fact that my oven caught fire a couple minutes into the game. Unfortunately, you can't fix this until you buy the toolbox for $2,400 (you start the game with around $100). Needless to say this bugged me for the entire duration of the demo. My advice would definately be not to buy or even try this game: it's a waste of time. If you like this style game, though, may I suggest The Game of LIFE: Path to Success? It's much more interesting, fast-paced, and fun.
PROS:
--If you turn off the game without pausing, the people will continue on with their lives without your guidance.
CONS:
*--WAY too slow
--Oven caught fire
--VERY difficult and time consuming to earn money
--Online marriage proposals take fun socializing out of the game
*--Tutorial was much too short, leaving me confused and help-less
--Graphics weren't great, consisting of huge heads that are almost always facing in an impossible-to-achieve direction and a point stubs in place of hands.
My advice: This game isn't worth your time.

20 out of 22 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

12

by LovelyTrees7

Its an okay game. It takes too long for the characters to do certain operations, especially if you've never played the game before and you are on the trial.

19 out of 21 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

15

by HereKittyKittyKitty

I bought this game after playing the trial. I enjoyed it and found the game interesting and different from the normal types of games I have played. I haven't played a sims type game before. If you get stuck with a clogged shower or a fire in the oven there are multiple steps you need to do to fix the problem. Show drop someone on the tub to show them the clog and then take them to the laundry room for them to get a bucket or find a way into the shed, get a fire extigisher and put out the fire. I am not sure yet just how much I will like the game, but, it is fun now at the beginning. Yes, it is slow though.

18 out of 21 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

10

by imnottellingyou101

TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE!!!
Game play is terribly slow, the graphics are horrendous, and overall the game is boring as boring can be. I can understand the concept of wanting the game to be in "real time", but the developers seem to have overlooked a tiny detail. ITS A GAME! People play, to be entertained. People play to escape their own mundane reality of washing dishes and picking up wrappers. I dont want to sit at my computer and watch my character "clean the house" for 45 min, while it takes me 15 to clean my real home, in real life. I wanted to reach into the screen, shove her out of the way, and do it myself!!!
Sorry....lol...Super duper disapointed in this game. I came here to relax...now I need a drink.

15 out of 17 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

24

by demetertenney

As a Sims' fan, I didn't expect this game to be as addictive. Technically it's not the best casual game I have ever tried, but there are a lot of funny details and following different generations is very entertaining. A very good surprise.

15 out of 18 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

17

by silverlady0521

I have to say that this game is a big step up for the Virtual Villager game production. I have The Lost Children out of the four games of this series and I have played the demo of the other three of this series. This game is a major step up from the other simular games that Last Day of Work has made in this game sequence.
The confusion that most are having with this game is that one needs to adopt a character that has at least $200.00 to start with. Then you will need to purchase the Encyclopedia from the store. Study, this will prevent the fire at the stove!
If your people are hungry all the time it means that they need to have the tools to create a better eating habit, study by buying the Gourmete cooking book in the store.
When it comes to the repairs of the household sinks, stove, shower, toilet, garden hose, and computers...Buy the mechanic book at the store.
This game is based in the real life simulation and not a real difficult game to understand, which I believe to have been created for a more mature player. Life is slow and the tasks are many, which is why I like this game in the first place. It's closer to the real world than so many of the other fantasy games out there. It may move in a slow pace but it has it's benefits as well. There is a lot of plants that need looking into- researched, a garden hose tells me that somewhere down the line of play that there may be the possibility of making a garden, other than the fact that there is a shovel standing next to the garage indicates this may be a possibility also.
I like the virtial games for the simple reason that it is cleaner, nicer, and shows to a very clear extent that you get what you put into it. Look at your available funds, understand your basic needs, and fulfill the american dream is what I believe The Last Day of Work is trying to convey in this game. A major improvement from the other simuliar games that they have come out with.

12 out of 12 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

10

by Jessmca1

I really like this game. I liked the other Virtual Villagers games, but my people always died because of the speed up option. I'm glad this one doesn't have it so I can actually keep my family alive! It is fun to watch them grow older and raise a family. It isn't goal oriented like the other games though. I wish it had a few more goals, but overall this game is really good!

18 out of 24 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

6

by skyey2000

Pretty good game a little confusing ing the beginning but after it get better.Unlike the past three it doesnt have that big of a plot and no puzzles which is pretty cool.If you love this game you can also download any of four game at the official website.

14 out of 17 people found this review helpful:

2009

MAY

11

by Wildhartz

I like this game ok, what drives me crazy is the slow speed. Interesting puzzles that are not too hard to figure out. Money rolls in at a very slow pace. Every 4 hours new items show up in the store which is good. When you do pick a person, you need to get one with a higher pay to get anywhere in the beginning. All in all not a bad game.