Bustin' Out Mode

As with the previous console version of the Sims, Bustin' Out offers a loosely-structured, mission-based game that lets you start out with an unemployed Sim and work your way up the cutthroat corporate food chain until you rule over your own capitalism fiefdom, crushing the peons who oppose you and spreading the domain of your iron fist across all the land. As with the Sims games in general, the main goal here is simply to have Fun, so there's no artificial time limit that's imposed on you, and no mandatory goals that you're forced to achieve, save for the fact that you'll have to gain promotions in your given career before you can unlock new locations to visit and move into.

Before you begin, though, here are a few tips to help you out.

Mom, I Want To Be An Interior Decorator

When you move into a new location, you're given an oddly landlord-like carte blanche regarding each house's interior design and overall construction. Want to knock down a wall, or add a new door leading to the sidewalk? Feel free. Want to sell off all of your roommate's possessions and spend the proceeds on a $10,000 television set? You can do that, too. What's more, when you spend your money to remodel a place, and wind up increasing a house's overall value, your roommates will reimburse you for your expenditures when you move out. If handled with a little finesse, this system can let you buy the most expensive items in the game with nary a hit on your pocketbook.

First off, though, you'll need to earn enough money to be able to afford the pricier items on your own. The Paramilitary career track is a good way to earn some early cash, as it features the highest early-game salaries without many requirements for advancement over the first few promotions. After you've unlocked a couple of locations and gotten a few promotions under your belt, you'll hopefully have a few thousand dollars available to you, and that's all you need to take advantage of this little exploit.

The trick involves the fact that items add almost their entire value to the cost of a home. So, if you move into a house, buy a few thousand dollars worth of appliances, then move out, your roommate will pay you the full price of your purchases immediately. You'll get this money back whether you move out immediately or move out later, but moving out immediately lets you move back in again, having bought a large number of room and Fun boosting items without putting a dent in your pocketbook. In essence, this is the difference between having money now and money later, but since there's no penalty for rapid moving, you should always do the bulk of your purchases immediately after moving into a location, then move out and back in, so you have plenty of extra cash on hand for bills, services, and other items that you unlock at that location.

One important consideration is that your roommates must be at home when you move out in order to get your money back. If you move out when they're at work, you're screwed! Luckily, the game auto-saves before you move out, so if you don't get the message where they reFund your money, restart your console and reload your game and try again.

Conspicuous Consumption

Most of the game's high-quality items are locked when you start a new game; these items can only be unlocked via accomplishing the game's various goals. Since different career paths force you to move into different buildings, each with their own set of goals, this means that you'll be forced to change from career to career in order to obtain the truly elite items that will spruce up any house and allow you to take care of your Sim's motives with relative ease.

Of course, you should feel free to explore the career paths and different houses at your leisure, but if you want to have an easier time satisfying your Sim's motives, the following items are worth seeking out early in the game, in order according to the level of the house in which they become accessible:

• HyperGraphix (Dudley's Trailer, Paramilitary career)
• Flush Force 5 XLT (Toane's Gym)
• Sonic Shower (Toane's Gym, Gangster career)
• Aromaster Whifferpuff "Gold" (Toane's Gym, Jock career)
• Floyd Co. Laser Light Show (Studio 8, Fashion Victim career)