I remember when I first bought the Sims, and the excitement of the idea of being able to play around with a virtual household. The game definitely held my interest for a while, which is surprising, as much as I love games, I'm always chasing the next "best game yet" coming down the release trail. I pre-ordered the Sims 2 back in July, I knew already that it would be the biggest PC game ever created. After watching so many gameplay movies and seeing what it had to offer, I was hooked from the start. I ordered 1 day air shipping, and was surprised to see that it had arrived at my house this tuesday, September 14th. Thursday has come and gone, and i have probably spent about 30 hours playing this little simulation, I'm not joking. I'm exhausted, but can't seem to pull myself away. Lets start with gameplay, the feature that made the first Sims as addicting and entertaining as any game ever made. The gameplay here is a perfect 10. I have not sat at my computer for this much time in just two days since Diablo 1 was released. I can not pull myself away, I always feel compelled to see just what crazy things my Sim family will do next. One of the coolest gameplay aspects is genetics and aging. This was a feature that was not in the first Sims, and in the end is what made me lose interest in it rather quickly. I did not like extending the family with children in the first one, mainly because the child sims were annoying and the fact that they never grew up did get boring after awhile. Enter Sims 2, where everyone grows up and grows old, and even dies after what feels like a long time :). Let me give you some examples of my experience so far. I started my family with myself, and my girlfriend, Kirsten. The Sim creation system was unbelievable. I was able to create near life-like replica's of myself and my girlfriend, and I still spent nearly two hours just going through all the options. We started out in a small house, but it was definitely decent looking for two young adults starting fresh. I got a job as a doctor, while Kirsten decided to stay home and take care of the house. Quick note, we started off as roomies, not married. So I went through the whole dating and courtship with her. It was adorable, and definitely fun. I could go on for hours, I really could. There is so much to this game that you simply have to play it to believe it. The Sims are so much more aware of their surroundings now. While there is still slight pathfinding problems, its not nearly as irritating as the original. For example, My sim was reading a book on mechanics, while Kirsten was next to me on the sofa reading as well. Occasionally we'd look up from our books and smile at each other. My sim had to go to the bathroom, so he got up to do so, and Kirsten was checking him out with every step. Its subtle things like that, that will catch you by surprise and blow you away. Another brilliant move by Maxis and WIll Wright, is the genetic system. This totally threw me for a loop even more than the artificial intelligence, which i think has not been matched to this day. When Kirsten and I had our first child (in game ;)), the baby had traits of both of us. Kirsten's eyes and nose, my hair color, and both of our quirks and habits. It was amazing. The gameplay alone sets this apart from anything that has ever come before it. The graphics are excellent! The revamped 3D engine brings the Sims world true to life, and gives everything a look and feel that I was not prepared for. TVs play actual movies, and with a little tweaking you can play your own AVI files. (My family is addicted to South Park episodes :) ). Anyways, everything is just great graphically. Characters convey visible emotions. You know by your Sims' faces whether they are happy, sad, in love, in lust ;), its all there. The sound has gone above and beyond as well. Environmental effects are in there too! Simlish is back and with a punch may I add. You'll find your imagination running so wild at points that the Simlish begins to actually seem like something audible. Music is good, nothing super extravagant, but it fits the bill, and thats what counts. The composer did a great job with all this (the former frontman for Devo). The music does what it should by adding immersion to the world. The Sims 2 is worth every penny spent. The fact that downloading custom content is as easy as clicking a button while in the neighborhood screen gives Value a 10 here. After you download content, its immediately available for use, no gimmicks, no extra button clicks. I give Maxis a lot of credit as this must have been a pretty complicated feature to setup, but it works brilliantly. I could seriously go on for hours about this game, but frankly, I need sleep. You absolutely have to get this is you're even remotely interested, if you like simulation games, and if you want something new. This is it, its got it all. I wish I could really write a review to do this game more justice. I can't see this game scoring less than a 9.5 if this is your thing. To really enjoy this, try to get out of the mind-set that you HAVE to beat the game. The true fun comes from seeing what kind of crazy situations you can concoct on these poor unsuspecting Sims. The wants and aspirations system will keep you busy for hours on end. With the talent thats behind the Sims community of people, I seriously see the Sims 2 destroying its predecessor's sales records. To sum it all up... Perfect, completely perfect and worth the wait. The only thing I would advise is buying it when you have at least two days for some time off, because you will have a VERY hard time pulling yourself away from it... Speaking of... my daughter has homework to do... and I just bought a new hot tub for me and the mrs...
There are over 600 player reviews of EA's "The Sims 2" online on GameSpot. The average score is 9 out of 10, which is exceedingly good. The rating is well deserved for this worthy successor to the original Maxis master... Read Full Review
Ever wish that if your house caught fire, all you had to do was quickly exit to the neighborhood without having to save and the second your back in your house, the fire is gone and everything was back the way it used to ... Read Full Review
