Good thing there is no gun, as you mentioned, and you can skip whatever packs you please. If you only have the base, you should be able to drop this game for a better one, too, with minimal wallet damage.
Personally, I like "zany" things. Humor was one of the things that really separated the original Sims from pet simulators or the Computer People game for me. The tragic clown and social bunny were hilarious in my opinion, and gave the game a lot of flavor. If anything, I consider Bust the Dust rather mundane and realistic for its cleaning system. It is fairly easy just to vacuum the bunnies rather than interacting.
So I hope you find a game that does satisfy you.
