Desperate Housewives: The Game

Developer(s) Liquid Entertainment
Publisher(s) Buena Vista Games
Platform(s) Windows
Release
  • NA: October 5, 2006
  • EU: November 2, 2006[1]
Genre(s) Life simulation, social simulation
Mode(s) Single-player

Desperate Housewives: The Game is a life simulation adventure game developed by Liquid Entertainment and released by Buena Vista Games in October 2006, in the style of The Sims games. It is based on the television series Desperate Housewives. The player takes the part of a housewife with amnesia who has recently moved with her husband and son to Wisteria Lane. The plot takes place over 12 episodes. The game features a script by Desperate Housewives writer Scott Sanford Tobis and voice acting by Brenda Strong.

Plot

The game begins when a family moves to Wisteria Lane: a successful doctor working at the Fairview Medical Center, a wife with a forgotten past after a jogging accident and their son. Edie Britt first introduces the wife to Wisteria Lane and visits Bree Van de Kamp, who invites her to gossip at her house along with Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo and Gabrielle Solis. A pair of brothers then visit the player's house: Daniel Fox, a famous designer and his twin brother Frank Fox, who installs an Internet service in the player's computer. Your character then progresses through episodes, completing tasks that range from gardening and cooking for your family, to discovering the secrets of the neighborhood.

The doctor's wife must battle off a love rival to her husband as his secretary, Jackie Marlen, who stops at no cost to get what she wants as well as a cranky neighbor, Etta Davenport. Not only this but she must deal with the antics of her unruly 14-year-old son and the people around him. We also find that the other residents aren't as nice as they seem when a private investigator, Erik Larsen, shows up in town alongside a shady businessman, Vincent Corsetty, who seems to have ulterior motives. In the end, their secrets are aired to the public and a desperate decision is made in a hostage situation.

Timescale

It can be assumed that Desperate Housewives: The Game takes place in between seasons 2 and 3 of the television show. For example, Susan Mayer reveals her relationship with Ron McCready to the protagonist, and Gabrielle and Carlos' marriage remains intact. However, there is no sign of Orson Hodge, who joins as a series regular at the beginning of the 3rd season. Susan Mayer is also single, and Lynette Scavo makes no mention of Kayla Huntington, Tom Scavo's illegitimate daughter. Also, Susan's house has not burned down yet. It appears as it does in seasons 1 and 2.

Reception

Desperate Housewives: The Game received mixed reviews in the gaming media. Some reviewers praised it as a well-written and faithful adaption of the television series; however, the game also attracted criticism for its derivative, simplistic gameplay and prominent product placement.[2]

Problems

Many customers who have bought Desperate Housewives: The Game have found it does not work on their computers/laptops. After thousands of complaints Buena Vista posted on their website the reason the game might not work. The reason Buena Vista claimed the game does not work is because of the System Checker identifying the video card as not supporting either Vertex or pixel shader technology. The "Video Acceleration" row in the table will display "FAIL" to indicate the system requirement failure. The "Required System" column will show the deficiency ("Accel"). Full details of video cards that will run the game are on the website.[3]

The game is "not supported" with Windows 7, but does work. However, the game will crash during episode 6 just before the poker game, at 7PM. However, fans found a solution. Just before the poker game, you have to sleep with your husband/neighbour. Doing so, around 6:55, causes a short cut scene that will force the game to go past 7PM, bypassing the crash. This strange bug can occur in other episodes, in which seducing someone just before will get you past it.

Endings

Desperate Housewives: The Game has four different endings.

  1. The main character has sex with every man on the lane. .
  2. The main character lives happily ever after with the husband.
  3. The main character lives happily ever after with Erik Larsen.
  4. The main character runs off with Vincent Corsetty.

References

  1. ↑ "Desperate Housewives: The Game". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  2. ↑ "Desperate Housewives". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  3. ↑ "Video Acceleration Failure. At Disney Interactive Studios Help Centre".
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