Published on 3/9/00

The Sims: An In Depth Study

Introduction:

Why do we people play video games to begin with? Well yes, many of us do play them because of their graphical splender and gameplay values. Yet how many people do you know that play a game solely for graphics? I don't know very many myself. If you view it from a more psychological view it runs a bit deeper than that. From my point of view we play these games because we simply like the feel of having control over an alternate persona, to get away from being the real us. The Sims is a superb game for the gamer who plays to control things. Here are a few of the features in this ground breaking new simulator.

Features:

This game allows you to not only build homes and select furniture for your sims to interact with, but it lets you have complete domination over you sims. The game contains 135+ items for your sim to pass his/her time and decorate his/her home with. Your sim can do everything from being a bum who sits on the couch watching his black and white TV and eats chips all day, to having a risque affair with your neighbors companions, to having large pool parties, to just kickin it with your woman/man and knockin down a few cold ones. When you go to create your Sim you given the options to change your appearance, create a name, and (the most unique area of the creation) dictate your sims natural habits through the selection of different traits of your personality, such as Neatness, Playfulness and Activeness. There is quite a bit more than just screwing around though. You may also choose to mold your sim into a succesful business man/woman or become the leader of your very own international criminal mafia! As your sims embark upon their lives you can take many pictures of them to capture their important and heart breaking moments. After you've gone through with all of the picture taking and such, you can then entertain yourself by creating your own stories featuring your sims and share them with other people via the internet. "Watch you Sims live their lives without a sense of purpose... or take direct control to help them find happiness." - back of "The Sims" box.

Author:
Charles "Zombie"

Type:
Simulator

Developer:
Maxis

Publisher:
Maxis

Requirements:
Windows 95 or 98
233 MHz or faster
32 MB RAM
300+MB
4x CD-ROM
DirectX 7

Multiplayer:
No

Graphics and Sound:
87%

Storyline:
n/a

Multiplayer:
n/a

Replay Ability:
90%

Innovation:
95%

Overall Grade:
92.5%