I'm a God. Would you like to be? (The Sims)

Member Name: wtwildcats

Product:	The Sims
Date:	27/12/02 (214 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its fun, addictive

Disadvantages: It will swallow up your time if you let it

Obviously I don't always have such a high opinion of myself. However there are times when I have complete control over the lives of a group of people who live in a place called Simsville.

These people are characters in the game called the Sims. I create them, tell them what to do, and give them things to make their lives happier. They meet other Sims, get married, have jobs, like spending time on computers (who doesn't) and have to do the basic things in life like eat, sleep and go to the bathroom to live and prosper.

When I get bored, I just turn them off, and they lay there in Simsville in a state of Suspended Animation until their master returns.

Ok, so it's a bit of an ego boost being able to sit there and boss people around. When I'm at work I'm the one being bossed around, so it's good to get my own back.

I tell my people to cook food, to play, to rest, to study, to get exercise, to sleep etc etc. All these actions and many hundreds more are available to you, to help enrich your Sims life, and help them progress on the social ladder to success.

GAMEPLAY

Ok, so you're new to this game. Well, there are loads of things you need to know. You could of course, sit and read the manual from cover to cover (all 92 pages) before you put the cd-rom into the pc, but if like most people you just want to get on with it, then don't worry.

Put your cd in, install the game, and you're off.

There aren't levels in this game - basically there's no "winning post". This game ends only when you are fed up of it, or when you have to reformat your hard drive *chuckle*.

When you play this game, you will enter at "Neighbourhood 1", and this contains a tutorial house, which you can visit at any time during the game, to recheck on things. Basically, if you click on the tutorial house, you will be talked through the ways in which this game works.
Sims need to interact with other Sims - you will learn how. You will be shown how Sims find jobs, look after themselves and enjoy themselves.

Yeah, read the manual if you must, but only after you have spent time with the tutorial family. The manual is useful background reading, it explains why certain characters act as they do, and possible remedies to counter their natural instincts.

Your Sims have free will too. Oh, you can control them. Just click on a character and your wish is their command, but if you ignore them, then they will go about their daily life as they see fit. Whilst it's important to let them have some free time, I wouldn't suggest this is a good way to go - you need to manage the household, and this gets more time consuming as your household increases.

After you have completed the tutorial - there is actually no completion, like the rest of this game you play this as much as you want. There is no defined win, which may not appeal to some people - you are free to move around the same neighbourhood or choose a different one, and either pick a pre-existing family, or create your own, and move them into a plot of your choosing.

If you create your own, you have to choose names, characteristics and clothing for your individual family members, and hey presto, your new family is complete. Click on them, buy a plot of land, and you can then build your dream home for them.

Sims have expensive tastes, and are materialistic. Their moods are often dictated by their impression of the room they are in, and they like attractive, expensive items, to make the room prettier. The happier a sim is, the more likely they are to be happy, and this affects their daily life - everything from getting that valuable promotion to socialising with friends.

Money is vital in this game, and at the start, it's in short supply. Money is needed to buy items and food. You will need kitchen equipment, living room and be
droom furniture, bathroom stuff and things to keep Sims happy. All this costs money, and as in real life, Sims will want to better themselves, and you will have to buy new items of furniture, decoration etc etc to keep your children happy and improve their morale.

Not only do you control these Sims lives, you also can take satisfaction of a job well done. The Sims will let you know if they aren't happy, similarly you can tell if they are. When they are they will do anything you ask. When they are miserable, you have to give in to their needs, otherwise they will just ignore you.

The game goes on and on, and is thoroughly absorbing.

I could go on further and explain the game play in more detail, but by doing so the game would be spoilt. This is a game that is best experienced by playing it, and I would heartily recommend anyone to do so. The basic game is suitable for most age groups, from 8 upwards anyway.

ADD ON PACKS

Game creators have long since realised that if "It?s not broken, why fix it" That's why there is no Sims v 2.0. However what there are is add on packs. Typically these cost around the £20 mark from legitimate sources, and all of them introduce new characters, new objects and new ways of behaving into a game. Each one bolts on to the original Sims game, and is a must have for the Sims addict.

Currently there are 8 expansion packs!!!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - Min Requirements

Windows 95
223 MHz processor
32 MB of RAM
4x speed CD-ROM
255MB free HDD space
2MB Video Card with DirectX 7.0 drivers
Keyboard and Mouse

CONCLUSIONS

Go ahead and play the game. Its brill. It will absorb your time. The concept is straightforward, bit the way the game goes will ensure your involvement. The price will vary. Nowadays it's impossible to buy the game separately at High Street stores as a brand new game. It will come bundled with an exp
ansion pack, or other Sims goodies - so expect to pay around to £30 mark, or maybe more.

I like this game. And when I'm not writing or reading ops, I have been known to play it too.

Have fun.

Andy

Summary: