OK, so what does it mean to be responsible for your Sim? Well you start out
creating your Sim by selecting everything from the gender to hair and eye color,
from the body shape to clothes. Once you get a Sim you’re happy with you start
to ... well, you start to live life. You go and find a place to live and search
through the paper, or computer, for a job. You meet other Sims and start
relationships with them. You may even find the Sim of your dreams, fall in love,
and get married. Or every Sim you run across may reject you. Your Sim is driven
by Motives that you need to help fulfill for him or her. These include hunger,
energy, social, and fun, among others. You can check how your Sim is doing in
any of these areas by simply pressing up on the control pad. These motives are
very important to how happy your Sim is and you spend most of the game
maintaining these motives in different ways. For example, if your Sim’s Hygiene
gauge is really low this is a good indicator that it’s time to take a bath. Once
you’re all clean the gauge is filled up again. While you can always check these
meters by using the control pad, your Sim will also let you know when he or she
is unhappy about something. For instance, your Sim may be walking around the
house and suddenly look up at you and start jumping up and down “screaming” at
you. This is a very good sign that at least one of your Sim’s motive meters is
low. You can usually tell by the thought balloon icon that accompanies said
tantrum what your Sim wants.
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| Multiplayer action. |
The real trick is to maintain a decent level of all the motives. You can, for
example, invite another Sim over for dinner and this can actually improve
several motives at once. I found it challenging at first to get a good pattern
going in the daily life of my Sim that didn’t neglect any one motive for too
long. This is one of the more interesting aspects of the game and in some sort
of odd way it can actually make you reflect on you own life. Now how many games
have you ever played that made you do that? As you get further along in your
Sim’s life many things actually become easier. Once you get a couple of
promotions and can afford a maid and gardener you free up more time for your Sim
to meet other Sims and have more fun. This is another very interesting part of
the game. As you go along you can strike up friendships and relationships with
other Sims in the neighborhood. Depending on the different traits of your Sims
and the other Sims, you’ll hit it off much better with Sims you have things in
common with. You can invite a bunch of them over for a big hot tub party, or
just call that one special Sim for a little romance. The interactions between
Sims can lead to some very funny moments, like when your girlfriend Sim catches
you dancing with someone else.
Graphically, The Sims is nothing to write home about. It gets passing grades
even if there is the odd slowdown every now and then. The sound is interesting.
The Sims talk to each other but not in any understandable way. I would describe
it as the sound of adults in Peanuts cartoons. You get the general idea of what
they’re saying without actually understand a single word. But to judge this game
on graphics or sound is really missing the point of the game. The real thrill is
to understand that you actually care about your Sim and that you want to help
make him or her happy. It’s very strange, yet oddly cool.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
86%. The Sims is a dangerously addictive
game that you have to carefully monitor yourself with or you may find many, many
hours of your own life missing while your Sim is living the good life.
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