|
|
The Sims
|
|
|
|
|
|
Graphics & Sound:
How does Simplified life look? Maybe it's not especially realistic, but The Sims has very nice looking objects and characters to play around with. The character appearances and the furniture descriptions/appearance are unique, witty, and interesting in their own right. The graphic interface is nice and easy to learn, utilizing icons for choosing different factors to observe, such as relationships and skills, and level meters that show what factors are in abundance or lacking. Watching these levels will help you keep your Sims full, comfortable, relieved, and happy. Keeping your Sims happy will allow you to effectively direct them as to what to do. If they get to depressed, they'll refuse to look for a job, play chess, or even work out.
|
|
|
Gameplay:
If you are looking for a realistic reproduction of day-to-day life, go out and just get one. If you're looking for an entertaining and somewhat Simplified simulation of what goes on in day to day life, The Sims may be worth putting down a few Simoleons. While everything from cooking to talking to changing clothes is represented in a highly 'simplified' way, the gameplay itself is not simplified. You have to manage your Sims' various levels to keep them happy and agreeable enough to work with. You will have to keep them clean, remind them to flush, work on improving their skills (by working out, studying from books, playing chess, painting, playing piano, etc.), and improving their relationships (by talking, joking, tickling, rubbing each others backs, entertaining, hugging, and... eventually kissing).
On top of this, you'll need to convince your Sims to get a job and actually keep going to it. The Sims are generally NOT morning people, and will throw a tantrum if woken before they've been fully rested, so try to get them to bed on time if they have a job to go to (or school). You'll have to remind your Sims not to throw their trash on the floor, and to clean up messes when they occur. I suggest you get a maid (by calling services on the phone), and a gardener, too. They cost some money, but take a lot of the workload off of you. Also, you'll want to REALLY think over whether or not you want to get a baby... it doesn't take much to be considered negligent, and the 'big brother' Sim City social workers will walk right in and march out with your kid if you blink. Of course, the handy built in photo album feature will capture this 'Kodak moment' for you, so you can upload it to your The Sims website and see if you can ever outlive the shame. Oh - and a word of advice... if you don't want to have a baby, stay away from the heavy kissing. If your Sims start touching each other's butts, it's all over. |
|
|
Difficulty:
What do you want to do today? That's what it all boils down to. If you want your Sim to be a loner, lie low in a cheap, small house, be fairly miserable and asocial, and be a pickpocket in Sim City, then you're life shouldn't be too hard. You've set reasonable goals. If, however, you want your Sim to build a Gates-sized financial empire, live in the biggest house on the map and be adored by every Sim he (or she) meets, then you're work is cut out for you. Just keeping a job takes good management skills. In fact, The Sims make Pokemon look like the perfect low maintenance pet. Not only do you tell your Sims when and what to eat, but also you have to tell them to throw their trash away and flush the toilet. In addition, there is the mental anguish of knowing that a burglar alarm may indeed keep you safe from burglars, but a repo man can waltz right in and 'transport' your possessions away (Star Trek-style, no less!) And the snooty next door slut can walk in and eat your munchies at all hours of the night. All in all, if you've played simulation games before, The Sims will be easy to warm up to... but very hard to get a good handle on. This will lead to some frustration - and countless hours of trying again.
|
|
|
Game Mechanics:
It seems that Maxis is the king of simulation games. They've made innumerable Sim games in the past, from Sim Ant to Sim World, each one focusing on specific factors and their effect on the outcome of a system. In other words, Maxis has had much experience with determining the key factors that have the greatest effect on a situation and how these factors interact. The monetary system may be unrealistic, and the speech system may be 'tokenized,' but the dynamics behind these factors that make them work are very real indeed.
Your Sims' well being is not only decided by whether they have food and can relieve themselves, but if the room they're in is comfortable, and if they've had enough fun. In short, the subject being simulated in The Sims is the functionality of architecture, and (more to the point) interior design. Anytime someone designs an interior, they are forced to rely on (and draw from) those spaces they've experienced themselves. Good interior design is a combination of size, dimension, layout, decor, access, flow, and function. Whether you build your own house from scratch or move your family into an existing house, you will eventually have to address each of these considerations. The Sims is a nice simulation of how life in a house works. This may actually be of interest as a tool to interior designers. With The Sims, you can create a scale model of an interior design concept, and let a family put it through its paces. In theory, interior designers and architects study 'flow' to decide placement of doors, walls, furniture, appliances, etc. in order to make a more appealing and functional living environment. In reality, quite often, flow patterns that look obvious on paper, just don't hold true in the completed structure. Whether it be caused by factors that weren't considered in the initial design... or just fickled whim and habits of the occupants... flow through a space can be completely different from what was expected.
The Sims does a great job of showing possible deviances to you. Who would have thought that after building a large, well-equipped kitchen, the owners of the house would choose to eat in the backyard? ...and always get there via the front door? After finding this discovery, the kitchen can be redesigned such that is closer to the backyard, thus removing the need for the owner to run through the front yard and around the back to eat. All in all, The Sims is a highly addictive, very entertaining simulation title. |
|
|
-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins |
Minimum System Requirements:
Win 95/98, 233 MHz or faster Pentium processor, 32 MB RAM, 300+ MB Hard Drive Space for saved games and Windows swap file (additional space required for DirectX installation), High Color (800x 600) capable 2 MB PCI or AGP video card with DirectDraw compatible driver, 4x CD-ROM drive, DirectX 7 compatible sound card, keyboard, mouse |
|
Test System:
Win 98, AMD K62 400MHz, 64 MB RAM, Voodoo 3 2000 PCI Video Card, 8x CD-ROM drive, Vortex PCI sound card, keyboard, Razer BoomSlang 2000 PCI |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
