The Best Sims Yet! (The Sims 2 (PC))

Member Name: Jack-Voltaire

Product:	The Sims 2 (PC)
Date:	27/12/07 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Graphics, Sound and Gameplay

Disadvantages: Not even Crystal Meth is as addictive as this game

---Intro----
A game more addictive than Crystal Meth, with more hours consumed than waiting in line at the DMV, and more siblings than a bunny on viagra.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it can only be The Sims 2. Create your own virtual people, each with their own aspirations and personalities. Raise them, spoil them, get them jobs, put them in relationships (poor things), get married, start a family... the possibilities are endless.

The Sims 2 is hands down one of the best games to ever hit the shelves. You will spend sleepless nights trying to convince yourself (and you're spouse) "just ten more minutes, I swear". All the available expansion packs don't exactly make it easier to get back into the sunlight either.

---Gameplay----
Basically, in a nutshell, you create your own virtual people. You craft them from the ground up, detailing them to your hearts content. You can specify what colour hair and eyes they have. Male or Female? Toddler, Teenager or Adult? Bearded or Smooth? Cranky or Nice? The sky is the limit.

Creating your Sims is only the first part of the journey. Once you are done with that, you move them into a house (either choose from one of the available ones, or build your own stylish abode). Once that's done, they're going to need some furniture. Buy them beds, tables, TV's, trashcans, fridges, dishwashers, toilets and computers.

Oops! Did that shopping spree take a bit of a chomp out of your wallet? Well don't just stand their babbling like an idiot (which they're very good at), get out there and land yourself a job. You can be a lab assistant, reqruit for the army, dishwasher, intern... whatever floats your boat. Develope your skills (like cooking, cleaning, creativity, logic, etc.) enough, and maybe get a few friends on your side, and you can get a promotion to a title that sounds a bit more important than "dog walker". As your job status increases, so does your pay.
The best part is, that unlike in previous versions of The Sims (where you never got a single day off work), you now have the option to take a few days off, or if you're a tad more sneaky, try calling in sick.

Fulfil your Sims' aspirations and you can get then Aspiration Bonuses. These are special items that can help make life a tad easier for your Sims. It can be a money-tree, energizer, skill-sucker, or any of the other nifty items available. There are also bonus items available from your jobs if you advance far enough.


Right, now you've got the house, the furniture and the status (and the age :-)). Something's missing... A mate! Find yourself a partner and fall in love, get married, make kids (viagra might help for the previously mentioned "age"-factor). Or be a regular, gangsta type "playa".

If you get bored of your routine, why not take the family out for a day on the town? There you can buy your Sims some new gear. Ranging anywhere from new clothes and magazines, to food and computer games (yes that's right. PC Games inside a PC Game). Schweeet!

---Graphics and Sound----
Depending on your harware setup and settings, the graphics can range anywhere from very good, to astonishing. Even on the lowest settings, the game still retains a truckload of eye candy.

The sound is pretty darn clever. Sims speak their own top-secret language (recorded by real voice actors). The music is also catchy and adds to the joyous feeling of controlling your little puppets' fates.

---System Requirements----
Minimum:
* 800 MHz processor or better
* 256 MB RAM if Windows Vista, XP, Windows ME, Windows 98 or Windows 2000
* At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

Recommended:
* 2.0 GHz processor or better
* 256 MB RAM if Windows Vista, XP, Windows ME, Windows 98, or Windows 2000
* At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

Get the most current driver for your video card


---Final Word(s)----
No amount of words can describe how good this game is, so I'm not going to try. All I can tell you is this: you simply cannot call yourself a PC game lover without the Sims 2 sitting proudly in your gaming collection. It's a must have (and you're sure to feel the same way about the Expansion Packs)!

Summary: Beware, you may never see the light of day again...