pippadaisy's Full Review: The Sims™ (Deluxe Edition) for Windows
I have absolutely no idea why I wanted The Sims Deluxe Edition for Christmas; I've never been really big into computer games (except for Myst, but well, that's another story), but was excited about having this game to relax at night after the kids are in bed.
~&~ The Basics ~&~
The Sims Deluxe is The Sims game with a few add-ons. The concept behind The Sims is that you have various people under your control. Each time you open the game, you choose your family (either the Newbies or the Goths, who are already moved in, or one of the three other families they provide who haven't gotten houses yet) and control the members of that family in everything from telling them when to go work to when to go to the bathroom.
In order to succeed at the game, you must keep your Sim happy, which is no easy task. There are eight mood indicators (hunger, hygiene, fun, social, room, comfort, energy, and bladder). Each is indicated on a scale of green to red, with green meaning that your Sim is happier on that scale, and red meaning you need to do something to make your Sim happier on that scale. Your Sim needs to be fed, bathed, given recreation time, helped to make friends, given comfortable furniture, told to sleep, and told to use the bathroom. What makes each Sim happy depends on their personality. In addition, you need to improve your Sim's skills in creativity, logic, charisma, mechanical, and cooking for them to get ahead in life and their career.
Each Sim family starts out with $20,000 to buy and furnish their house. Where they go from there is up to you, the veritable God of the Sim world. You have the option of trying to get them ahead in the world or letting them self-destruct.
Also included in The Sims Deluxe Edition is The Sims Creator where you can create your own Sims characters, and the Sims expansion pack Livin' Large which incorporates additional features and objects in the Sims game.
~&~ Sound and Graphics ~&~
This game has two graphics modes: 1024 x 768 or 800 x 600. I generally run at 1280 x 1024, so have only used 1024 x 768. Graphics are decent, but a bit disappointing for me based on the commercials. I thought they'd be cleaner and more realistic. I'm running The Sims Deluxe Edition with an NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX on a machine with an Athlon XP 2800 processor (2.08GHz) with 512 MB RAM. I've seen no delays or hiccups in graphics movement.
The sounds in this game are generally annoying, so I usually play the game on mute. The Sims talk to themselves and each other in a sort of gibberish, using thought bubbles to give you a bit of an idea as to what is going on. As Sims are falling in love, or doing anything of the romantic persuasion, you hear soaring strings. Sims who are angry with you will rant at you in what I've come to call Sims Gibberish as well. Go into "Buy" mode to buy furnishings for your Sims home or into "Build" mode to make renovations and two different types of music will play, both of which remind me of the music they used to play on Wheel of Fortune when they made contestants spend their winnings on prizes (I know... I'm showing my age).
~&~ Betcha Can't Play Just Once ~&~
Even my husband, who swore this game held no interest for him, sat down and didn't leave the computer for at least an hour. And that was BEFORE we discovered the whole Sims Cult online.
It's amazing how addictive this game can become so quickly, and that appears to be the common refrain of everyone I know who plays it. Even within the confines of their own little houses (Sims only leave their houses when they aren't your active player; you cannot get the Sim you are controlling to leave their property without adding other expansion packs) there is a lot for Sims to do, and a lot for you to tell them to do. Depending on your Sim's personality (pre-set in characters that come with the game, or you can create your own Sim's unique personality characteristics in Sims Creator), your Sim may not even have the common sense to pick up dishes after they eat, and later you'll have flies buzzing around.
In addition, once you get acclimated to the game, you can start searching online for additional items to add to your game. Some sites offer free downloads, while others are subscriber-only sites, but there are tons of people out there making wallpaper and other fun things for your Sims to keep you from getting bored with the game.
~&~ I Can't Stop Playing ~&~
The part of The Sims Deluxe Edition that is most addicting for me is house decorating. For two days, I didn't even play with my Sims at all; I just built additions and decorated and shopped. The first day I played The Sims Deluxe Edition I created a Sims couple who promptly burned their house down (Sims need to be taught how to cook, and woe betide the Sims player who forgets to buy them a phone and smoke alarm!). The stress of worrying about money and bills and getting them to work on time (oh yes, don't forget they need an alarm clock!) made it seem all too real, so I took a detour and used some hacks.
There are tons of web sites detailing built-in cheats, and there are also items you can download that will allow your Sim to work from home to avoid losing time at work. I found this game most relaxing once I made one Sim independently wealthy. My alter ego, Tasha, now lives in an almost 10,000 SF home, has a maid and gardener, still goes to work, but I can concentrate on decorating the huge home and just having fun with the game.
~&~ Recommendation ~&~
Of course I'd recommend this game. With all the options out there, and expansion packs available, The Sims Deluxe Edition can become whatever virtual reality game that you want it to be. If I went into every item and feature, this review would take longer to read than to play the game, and I want you to go out and play the game. Then we can talk about Tasha's new yoga room with a parquet floor. :D
~&~ Caveat Emptor ~&~
* This game is highly addictive. Purchase at your own risk.
* Now that this warning is out of the way, there are tons of great sites out there with items for your Sims.
* Know that once you see these great items, odds are you will want expansion packs, because in order to use some of them, you have to have expansion packs installed.
* Look at your local warehouse club for this game and expansion packs. I paid almost $4.00 less at Sam's Club than this game was at Target, and over $1.00 less than Amazon (with no shipping!)
Start out with the original Sims -- a hilarious game where you actually have to control a person's life from start to finish! Give them a look, find t...More at Amazon Marketplace
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