I am a big fan of "The Sims" in all its incarnations. This console version has both great new additions and limitations.
New game modes: I loved the "Get a Life" mode with its goals and rewards. It serves as an extended tutorial as well for those who are new to the game. I tend to get bored in free-play. In truth, I didn't explore the "Play the Sims" much because I figure I already had that game on the PC. You can unlock items, career tracks, and 2-player games when you complete goals in "Get a Life". I love having the option to play with a friend at the same time, but the split screen makes it hard to see what's happening.
New Items: I can't be sure what are new items created for this version, because I don't own every sims expansion pack. Here are some notable items which were new to me - makeup table, tree swing, aroma master, teppanyaki table, gorilla butler, possible alien abduction phenomenon after looking through telescope?, sandbox, sprinkler, sonic shower. Most of these were truly wonderful.
Game engine limitations?: There is no second floor to build on. I think you can not have very many items on each property. I keep running into the object limit and then I have to sell things to buy other objects.
Controller limitations: The joystick is just not as efficient as mousing or keyboarding. Cycling through the characters to change the one you control is very tiresome. You also have to hold a button down to keep track of a sim's motives or keep the time moving faster. These can't be toggled like in the PC game. When you stay zoomed in, it takes forever to see another part of your property, the screen scrolls so slowly.
Screen limitations: Using a regular composite connection, the game looks exceedingly dark. Using an s-video connection, it looks much better. I kept wanting to see my Sims closer up, because I couldn't see their faces clearly. That bothered me a lot, I wanted a stronger zoom.
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