Highly addictive and fun! (The Sims 2 (PC))

Member Name: Lauren06

Product:	The Sims 2 (PC)
Date:	24/08/07 (200 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Better graphics, can guide sims through different life stages

Disadvantages: None

I was introduced to this game by my friend just after it was released in September 2004. As proof of just how popular it was before anyone had even played it, all copies in our town were sold out and we had to travel elsewhere just to find one! This is a life simulator game released as a follow up to the original sims game although it's not a sequel, more of an updated version. Very updated in fact, as this version involves so much more than its predecessor.

Basically, you create your own Sims (people in the game) and guide them through their lives, but this time they age through six stages - baby, toddler, child, teenager, adult and elder. You begin by creating a family of up to eight sims and can choose who is related to who before you start controlling them properly eg. two sims can be married, or you can make siblings. If you have two adults, one male and one female, you can create a child to look like them both. Creating the sims is one of the best features of this game as you can change their faces, bodies, clothes and hair to give countless different looks. There are four different skin tones, sims can either be fat or thin and the game comes pre-loaded with plenty of outfits, some designed for the whole body or you can mix and match various tops and bottoms. There's also a few completed sims on the game which you can use or edit. These sims can also wear make-up with a wide selection of blushes, eyeshadows and lipsticks as well as a couple of mascaras. Male sims can also have facial hair, and there are many hairstyles to choose from. Once you start controlling your sims you can change their appearance as much as you like and you can buy them new clothes too. This first stage is where you get to be the most creative with your sims, before you decorate their home that is.

So once you have created a family or chosen one of the pre-loaded ones, you go to a neighbourhood and move them into a house. Sims use simoleons to pay for things and there are cheats to gain more of these instantly without having to make the sims find a job. When you have plenty of money, then you can start adding new furniture and decorations to the house. You can change the wallpaper and flooring, put in a karaoke machine and a pool among many other options. Controlling them couldn't be easier. You just select a sim from the panel on the left of the screen which has their pictures on it, then click on someone or something to make them interact with it. When you click, you get a menu appearing with several options - for other sims this can range from kiss - make-out to irritate - throw drink. Sims can study to gain new skills such as mechanical or cooking skills. There is an info box on the bottom of the screen. Part of this shows the aspiration, wants and needs of the sim currently selected and a box next to this can show their basic needs, relationships with other sims and memories as well as their job status and skills among other things.

Sims can have different aspirations in life such as family aspiration which will make them want to have children or knowledge aspiration which makes them want to learn everything. If you want your family to keep growing, use the family aspiration. Aspirations are chosen when you create the sims. Female adults (and male adults with some cheats!) can get pregnant. Since time passes quickly on this game, they're only pregnant for two sim days. The different stages of life have different lenghts. For a baby its a couple of days but for an adult its about 29 days. Creating a family and making it grow becomes very addictive! The kids can leave home when they become adults, or with the University expansion pack they leave when they become teenagers and then become young adults. Sims die when they get to the end of their elder days but they can also die in fires, by drowning, satellites falling on them or by fright to name a few.

The graphics are a vast improvement witht the ability to zoom in on the surroundings and rotate the camera angle. You can use this feature to take good snapshots which are saved in the photo album. Souns quality is very clear. Sims speak their own sim language which sounds like nothing I've ever heard before and can be really funny to listen to, especially when they sing karaoke!

Although it might all seem complicated, taking care of sims isn't difficult when you have cheats to keep their basic needs up. This means they don't have to sleep or eat. There's plenty to keep you entertained with your sims - you can build up their creativity skill and watch them become good singers, making children and teenagers do their homework gets them an A+ report card (this is an American game) and they can even get abducted by aliens! I find it amazing just how close to real life this game really is. As you progress through the sims life they develop memories and histories. After they die you can even see their picture by viewing the family tree. Sims can have good relationships with one another, can fall in love and can also be worst enemies who will fight with each other everytime they see each other. They can even cheat on each other! There's loads to do with your sims which will keep you playing for hours at a time. Expansion packs are available to make the game even more interesting such as the Nightlife expansion pack which allows sims to go Downtown and meet new sims as well as dine out or visit nightclubs etc. A new expansion pack will be released later this year called Bon Voyage which will allow sims to go on holiday.

Overall, this is the kind of game I could recommend to anyone. It's a great improvement on the original classic the Sims not just with graphics but with the features and options available for it. I recently bought the new Sims 2 Deluxe version which come with the expansion pack Nightlife and it only cost £24.99 from the play.com traders. I'd say this is the best buy for this game and the best way to start off if you plan to buy more expansion packs. However I have heard that you need a powerful computer to play all the expansion packs so don't buy too many of them in case it doesn't work.

Summary: Brilliant for anyone