As much fun as an S Club party! (The Sims - House Party (Expansion Pack) (PC))

Member Name: gollygumdrops

Product:	The Sims - House Party (Expansion Pack) (PC)
Date:	09/10/01 (382 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its the sims, more shopping options

Disadvantages: It adds little to the game

I am a dedicated Sims fan. I like nothing better than to relax for an hour (gently slipping into 3) watching my Sims make friends, get married, get promoted, get married some more, kill off lower earning spouses....

I guess that makes me perfect target market for any and every new expansion pack that comes out. I've certainly had my moneys' worth out of the original game, and the Livin' Large expansion gave me plenty more to do, more than recouping its' £20 cost.

So The Sims 'House Party' Expansion pack was an obvious buy for me. I happily installed it, with no problems at all, and within 15 minutes of the nice man from the Royal Mail putting the parcel in my greedy little hands I was ready to play.

Oh, the excitement. I can throw parties! I don't need to call friends individually, I just throw out a general invitation and anyone in the neighbourhood who wants to can just roll up at my doorstep. There's no accidentally 'forgetting' to invite the dullards.

There's a few new skins, mostly funky young souls who have been available to download for some time. There are also plenty of new decorating styles with a country theme really taking centre stage.

I can buy more stuff - woopee! So I can't really afford to go wild in the aisles, but in the wonderful world of the Sims where they get paid in cash every day I can shop big style. So what's new in the Sims Mall. There's a bucking Bronco to increase my fun and body skills. In addition to country requisites, there's a whole Jimmy Buffett Parrothead theme available too. There's a dressing up box so your Sims can choose an evening outfit.

There's a bubble blowing machine and a buffet table. There's a campfire we can sit around and toast marshmallows, tell stories and sing what sound remarkably like 'Michael Row The Boat Ashore'. Yes, your Sims can have dull parties.
If they get seriously dull a mime shows up and bores them further.

There's more staff! You can hire a caterer who makes low quality food all night, but will flounce of like Gordon Ramsay if you fail to provide the requisite tools. There are strippers. Well, OK, not strippers, but people who jump out of cakes and dance all night. The police take a far more lax attitude to late night partying than in earlier games.

Through no fault of my own I seem to have made this sound good. It isn't, not really. Despite all the consumer goodies I can buy and the new themes I can decorate with I really don't think this expansion pack adds much more fun to the game. It feels more like bloaty padding and if anything a distraction from the game. The party throwing option on the phone is nice, but it cheeses me off that throwing a party can mean that people who you would normally be told are at work will roll up. The intrusions from the mime and strange clown/boxer ugly bloke are irritating rather than amusing. There are no new career options or skills to build so nothing really new in gameplay.

I expect more for my gaming pound. So should you. It seems to me that EA are looking to screw fans for ever penny they can before releasing Simsville. The release date for Simsville has been put back, and EA have scheduled yet another expansion pack 'Hot Date' for release before Christmas. I'm beginning to feel exploited. Overall this pack is for absolute die hard fans. I wouldn't recommend it personally, it's just not capable of adding enough fun to the game.

Summary: