The graphics in Sims 2 are, much like the game itself, a realistic, though simplified, version of reality. The characters feature a reasonable amount of detail while remaining somewhat cartoonesque in nature, and your environment is presented in an isometric 3D format, which you can zoom out and up or down and into to find your desired closeness.

All of the items in Sims 2 are detailed enough to tell what they are, but seem more like stereotypical iconic representations than attempts at actually simulating life. This creates an obtainable and consistent level of realism which supports the suspension of disbelief, while keeping things from being too complex. Those who are looking for a hyper-realistic graphical simulation of life as we know it may be disappointed, but those who accept the graphics for what they are will find glimpses of their everyday life and their friends' personalities while playing Sims 2.

One of the coolest elements of Sims 2's presentation is the music. It all sounds like it could be music taken from the radio - feeling like other songs that might be by your favorite artists, but are actually sung in "Simlish" - the nonsensical syllables that the Sims use when they talk to each other. One of the strangest experiences I had while playing Sims 2 was after playing for a while and hearing the songs a few times, one of the songs I liked most came on and I found myself singing along with the (non)words. Okay, that was weird...

For those of you who have played The Sims, but haven't played Sims 2 yet, you'll be glad to hear that your Sim will be easier to manage now. This is primarily due to the fact that you are only controlling one Sim (at first). I find that I can take care of my Sims' needs and actually hold on to a job in Sims 2 - something that seemed quite a challenge in the original Sims game. Later on, when you are able to control more than one sim, you will have the option to switch to a control scheme similar to that in The Sims, where you can 'stack' up a list of actions for a sim to take, rather than having to wait for them to complete the current action before assigning a new one.

While it's now easier to take care of your character's needs, you're faced with more challenges with the arrival of Sims 2. You'll need to see to your character's needs along with new wants and fears - goals to strive towards and things to avoid. These wants and fears will be based on your Sim's personality, which you get to tweak a bit in the Sim creation process. You'll get to decide whether your Sim is an introvert or an extrovert, whether they're nice or mean... but choose carefully. While it might seem like having an outgoing, romantic Sim would be a good idea, this will lead to having goals of actually going out and romancing other Sims - not a single one, mind you, but several. This might sound fun, but getting intimate with one Sim takes a lot of work... being a playa could take some vacation time!

The character creation feature is very interesting. When you randomize a character's appearance, the character's grandparents are randomly chosen (a la slot machine), then the resulting mother and father are synthesized from those grandparents and finally, the Sim is the genetic combination of these parents. Its an interesting process - and is fun to watch, but it can create some rather ugly Sims, so be patient... Or, take whatever they give you and do extensive editing in the next step; you will have creative control over the Sim's appearance after the randomization is complete.

It's easier to keep your Sim from losing a job or wetting themselves in Sims 2 than it was in The Sims, if only because you're only managing one Sim now. However, Sims 2 introduces several new aspects to the simulations (other than improved graphics). Your Sim now has wants and fears that you have to manage. To keep your Sim marching forward in the pursuit of happiness, you'll need to strive to achieve the things that your Sim wants while avoiding the things that your Sim fears. These wants and fears are greatly affected by your Sim's personality traits and progress so far, so make your choices carefully.

Additionally, Sims now have memories and awareness, so you may find that some Sims like you and others don't. If your Sim's personality is outgoing and relies on a lot of social interaction, being surrounded by people who don't like you can be a real downer.

You no longer simply grab food out of the fridge, by the way. Now there are recipes in Sims 2. You can retrieve ingredients from the refrigerator and then use a recipe to create food that can be not only nutritious, but delectable and even erotically tempting; create a romantic dinner for that special sim-one and score some extra points. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, select a few ingredients you think would go well together and make a roast, soup or smoothie and see how it comes out. You can "look at" your food before eating it and see what its values and general description look like; if it comes out nasty, throw it out.

I've always been amazed at how The Sims games can provide a realistic simulation of life. Sims 2 only takes this further with better graphics and more detail. The specific things used to portray certain actions may be preposterous (such as showing a 'trick' to someone by whipping out a vacuum cleaner out of nowhere and balancing it on your nose), but taken as a random example used to signify a general concept, it works. These representations are intentionally chosen to provide a comic element. Another example is that one of the options when interacting with another Sim is 'Sock Puppet'. If it doesn't work on the person, they seem aggravated with you (and understandably so). If it does work on them, however, they whip out a sock puppet as well and they talk back and forth with them for a bit. Weird. Very Weird.

One interesting feature of Sims 2 is a split-screen 2 player mode. In this mode, players each control one sim on the same lot as the other player. This is an interesting way to allow more than one person to play - something I was surprised to see in a simulation game such as Sims 2. I must say, however, that it's difficult to play in this split-screen mode, since the screen is divided into two vertical sections and the information bar takes up about a third of that when it's visible. Also, if you have an EyeToy, there is some "EyeToy USB Camera Enhanced" features available in Sims 2 that you may want to try out.

Sims 2 provides entertainment much in the same way that playing with an "ant farm" or "sea monkeys" does, only you actually have some control over certain sims at different times. It's not the kind of game that will cause you to be exhilarated or to walk away after playing thinking, "Wow! That was so much FUN!". Instead, there are a lot of tongue-in-cheek comical elements that are likely to cause you to laugh out loud on more than one occasion while playing the game. And - if you're not careful, you might learn something about human interaction.