Product Description

From Will Wright, the creator of SimCity, comes a strategy game that hits close to home. You are in charge of a neighbourhood of Sims, and it is up to you to show them that they're living in your world now! Force them into a life of crime or help them live life in the fast lane. Build them a sprawling mansion or dump them into a dilapidated shack. Let them party like swinging singles or fall in love, get married and raise a family. They can live out your wildest dreams or experience your worst nightmares. It is up to you to decide: their fate is in your hands.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4476 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2001-03-23
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000

Amazon.co.uk Review
The idea behind The Sims is this: the ultimate goal of life is to achieve happiness, and the way to achieve happiness is to satisfy your Sims' needs. That's right, The Sims allows you to create, direct and manage the lives of SimCity's residents. Each need (eg: Hunger, Comfort, Hygiene) can be met by interacting with other Sims or objects--throw a party with the help of a rocking stereo system, and watch your Sims' Social and Fun ratings improve.

Mismanage your new, simulated family, and you'll be faced with the worst of MTV's The Real World: jealousies will ignite, fights will break out, jobs will be lost and the house will fall apart.

One gameplay goal is to improve your Sim so he or she can climb the career ladder, which nets him or her more money, which allows the purchase of higher quality stuff. Eventually, your Sim will have a mate, kids and a mansion with an indoor pool.

Triumph or tragedy, each significant event in a Sim's life is captured in a snapshot and saved in a photo album for later viewing. Players can also take photos any time they wish and the best part is that you can upload the album to www.thesims.com and share your Sims' sagas with the world. Entire families can also be uploaded and downloaded, as can houses. Want to re-create and manage your own version of Friends? Download the free face and body editor and make Sim clones of Ross, Rachel, and the rest. With The Sims, you can create whatever--and whomever--you desire.

Toying with the lives, successes and emotional states of dozens of little Sims is undeniably fun--limitless gameplay, endless variety, cool Internet features, and the ability to play matchmaker/landlord/counsellor The Sims a great way to increase your own Fun score. --Mike Fehlauer, Amazon.com

Pros:

• Unique, addictive, fun gameplay
• Included photo album feature records triumphs and tragedies
• Free uploads and downloads expand the game and allow swapping with other players
• Sims are smart--it's sometimes best to just let them act on their own

• Addictive gameplay may cause loss of sleep, job
• Complex behavioural modelling program--requires serious computing power
• No pets other than fish

Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Sim - Life
From the creators of 'SimCity' comes an all-new era in PC gaming. 'The Sims', designed and developed by Maxis man Will Wright, lets you interact with virtual people in a world inside your computer. This totally original idea takes the virtual pet that one step further, enthralling the gamer to the max. EA games are always good but nothing prepared us all for this, here's why:

When the game starts up, and the beginning clips are over you're introduced to a large, virtual neighborhood. Only some of it isn't there yet. It's your job to build houses and create the life forms that will inhabit your own simulated world. Life and death fall directly into your hands and with one click of a button you can change someone's life. In 'The Sims', you are God.

However, you do have a budget and with your money (known as 'Simoleons') you can furnish your home with plenty of accessories. Furniture, electric, plumbing, lighting, kitchen appliances, you name it, they've got it. In stunningly crystal clear graphics too. They've really used the 32bit graphics limit on the PC well. Details are amazing and you can see things other games don't have to offer; Facial features, skin colour tones, ripples in the water, etc, it's all here.

This game is ecstatic, a non-stop ride of surprises and interaction. It's definitely one to add to your collection and, like some games, the novelty doesn't wear off after a few weeks. Clearly I haven't stopped complementing this game throughout the whole review and I'm not going to stop now. I don't usually give five stars but check out this score, it's definitely one of the best games on the PC ever! - 96%

Fantastic
Adults and children from everywhere will love this game. You have complete control over your sims, from what they wear to who they fall in love with. You can do what ever you want, YOU control it. There are thousands of items for sale, but to buy them, of course, you have to earn money - just like in the real world. Your sims can have children who will then be little sims and have to go to school and study hard. This game is amazing I would recommens it to ANYONE!

Fun does not cover it....
Not many would think of the Sims as a strategy game--maybe it is just a game to muck around on, running or ruining peoples' lives.
However, there is a strategic element to helping your Sims bring in the right money to run their household successfully, make friends and advance in the job ladder.

The game is fun for all ages; you create a Sim, or a family of Sims, move them into a house and decorate. Then the game seems to take over your life; keeping the family safe from fire, keeping them happy, answering the telephone when it rings in case it is a reward....

However, some material in the game may be inappropriate for children; especially when the game is combined with Hot Date (one of the many expansion packs). Some of it is slightly sexually explicit.

I would definitely recommend this game as it is addictively fun, and a great distraction!