Also, there is a battery indicator if you are playing in a full screen environment. Keyboard controls are used for manipulating the camera for instance, but for the most part, it is mouse controlled. Performing actions to each Sim mimics the events you will find in a real life situation such as watching TV or talking to another person. What really makes the game laptop-friendly is that it doesn't hog up your graphics processor! The game engine is based on The Sims 2, and I also tested that game on my eMac running Mac OS X 10.3.8 Panther. The Sims: Life Stories is one of the recent additions I found from a thrift store, for my PowerBook G4 running Mac OS X Tiger. The game has been optimized for laptops through the controls and by not requiring an independent graphics card. He too will fall in love, with Naomi Hunt, but there are business rivals to take into account. Vincent Moore is a business tycoon from Bitville who breaks up with his girlfriend Samantha Hayden after proposing to her. She will get to meet the neighbours and Mickey Smith, who soon becomes her love interest. In Riley's story, she is evicted from her house in Sim City and moves to her aunt's house in Four Corners to start a new life. Each character has an independent, pre-defined story, and upon completion a classic mode is unlocked, where the player can create a new character with much more freedom and open-ended gameplay. The player needs to guide 2 characters through a more or less linear story, with set goals to achieve and through the use of scripted sequences. Unlike the main The Sims 2 game, which offers open-ended gameplay, this title focuses on the life of 2 characters, Riley Harlow and Vince Moore, and the game mechanics are more reminiscent of the console ports.
Life Stories is the first title in the The Sims Stories series, part of the larger Sims franchise.