Mrs. knotty's neighborhood!
Written: Sep 20 '04 (Updated Oct 28 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fabulous graphics, great music, and much more detailed than the original.
Cons: Huge program. May cause some machines to lag during gameplay.
The Bottom Line: All hail the newest timewaster on the market!
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| knotheadusc's Full Review: The Sims 2 for Windows |
I admit it, I became a tad obsessed with the original version of The Sims back when I discovered it last year... (yeah, I know, I'm a little behind... I just thank GOD I didn't discover it when I was in grad school or I might still be there now!). Anyway, like many other folks around the world, I was very eager to see The Sims 2 come out last spring, which is when it was supposed to be released. But Maxis/EA Games kept pushing back production over and over again until at last, the much hyped game was released in the United States on September 16th. I managed to hold out for ONE DAY before I found myself driving to the nearest Target to purchase my copy of the game... and the whole time, I was feeling kind of pathetic because I'm 32 years old!
I got to the Target and found a whole shelf devoted to The Sims 2. Half of the shelf was devoted to the special DVD version and the other half was the regular version of The Sims 2; both were selling for $49.95. I debated buying the DVD version. Apparently, it offers special features that can be viewed on the DVD player, such as funny bloopers and outtakes from the game, game hints and cheats, and a documentary or two. I usually skip all of that stuff when I buy DVDs and since The Sims 2 is one hell of a large program, I figured I'd be better off buying the regular version. Off I went to the cash register; I zipped right through and quickly drove home, hoping that northern Virginia would not be stricken with weather from the now defunct Hurricane Ivan badly enough to knock out the electricity that evening.
When I got home, I tore open the package and pulled out a jewelcase with four, count 'em, FOUR CD-ROMS. Holy Moley... It took me roughly an hour or so to install The Sims 2 on my computer, which at almost two years of age, is getting old fast (if I didn't think so before, I certainly do now that I've played this game)! I did have to update one driver so that the game would display properly; luckily, it was included in the game. The really cool thing about installing The Sims 2 is that creators were kind enough to provide entertainment for eager players. Remember the matching game "Memory" from your childhood? Well, as you install The Sims 2, you can play again as nifty music plays. There's a Sim standing next to the matching game and you're scored. After each timed Memory game, there are three trivia questions. Your score determines how old your "Sim" is. The better you do, the older your Sim.
At last, the game was loaded on my machine. I double-clicked The Sims 2 icon and the game promptly loaded. I found myself presented with three "neighborhoods" to play, and each one has story behind it. There's the bucolic looking "Pleasantville", the weird "Strangetown", and the modern-day takeoff on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, "Veronaville". I later discovered that there's also a fourth option-- one that would allow players to custom build their own neighborhood. As I pondered my decision, nifty piano music played.
I chose to play "Pleasantville" first and was immediately impressed by the fantastic graphics offered by The Sims 2. Anyone who has played the EA Games/Maxis game Sim City 4 will recognize the very realistic scenery. Those who haven't played Sim City 4 will be treated to trees and water that don't look like cartoons. The tradeoff is that those graphics eat up a ton of memory. I quickly found that after playing The Sims 2 for awhile, the game started to lag a bit. On the other hand, I had a ball making my new Sims. In The Sims 2, players have the option of customizing the hell out of their Sims so that no two look alike. Players can choose makeup, bone structure, hairstyles, and even whether or not their Sim is fit or fat. I have to comment though, that the fat Sims still look pretty thin to me. I quickly made a couple of families and moved them into suprisingly realistic looking houses. I had them read the paper and choose from the three available jobs that were in there.
In The Sims 2, players have the option of determining how their household members will be related to one another. Your Sims can be spouses, roommates, or siblings, although if they are roommates, they will still have the same last name. One of my female Sims got pregnant after "woo-hooing" (having sex) with her husband. She was placed on maternity leave from her job and as each day passed, grew larger. She ended up having twin boys in her kitchen-- but they weren't identical. One had red hair and green eyes like she did and the other favored his black haired, green eyed father. So far, I have gotten to watch them grow from tiny babies to children; if all goes well, they'll make it to adulthood and get jobs. One of my other Sims got food poisoning from eating old food. She vomited repeatedly and couldn't clean up after herself because she lacked cleaning skills. Another Sim got the flu, but quickly recovered after some time in bed.
The Sims 2 is incredibly complicated. The Sims age and have wants and fears. Players who allow their Sims to achieve their wants are rewarded with points that can be spent on special contraptions that aid in gameplay-- but beware, if your Sim's mood isn't good enough, they can backfire. It's not enough for the children in the game to simply go to school, either. They have other skills they must develop and they have to do their homework, AND they have to be in a good enough mood to do their homework. If they don't do their homework, they get bad grades-- but instead of going to military school, they end up being taken off by the social worker! I have an issue with this aspect of the game, mainly because I happen to be a social worker myself and folks in my profession already get a bad rep because some of them are child welfare workers who take kids from their families. It's not realistic that a social worker would take a kid from its family simply because the kid has bad grades. Besides, in reality, social workers do a lot more than "break up families" (I'm being facetious). It annoys me that my profession will be further stigmatized by a popular game like The Sims...
Now that I've gotten that little diatribe out, I will comment that for the most part, I love The Sims 2. It's addictive as hell and well worth the $49.95 that I paid for it. So far, there aren't as many items available for decorating as there was in the original Sims, but I'm sure expansion packs and downloads are forthcoming. Besides, the game separates the available furniture and appliances into collections, which I'm sure will be helpful to the style challenged folks out there. One other nice feature is that players can pick out colors and patterns for their furniture. I'm also sure that before too long, some of the more computer savvy players out there in the world will start creating custom content.
The Sims 2 comes with an instruction guide, but it doesn't reveal much about gameplay. The game is so detailed that I believe most folks will end up going to http://www.thesims2.com for guidance. I've found that site to be very useful; in fact, I've already scored the money cheat code! Makes things much easier!
In order to get The Sims 2 to work on your machine, you'll need:
Windows XP, Me, 2000, or 98 (XP/2000 requires an admin account)
A CPU of 800 MHz or faster
At least 256MB of RAM
A CD/DVD drive or at least 8x
A hard drive with at least 3.5 GB of free space
A video card that is DirectX 9.0 compatible- Video card must have 32 MB or more memory and one of these T&L capable chipsets
A sound card that is DirectX 9.0 compatible
ATI Radeon 7200 or greater; NVIDIA GeForce2 or greater
I'm assuming my computer meets all of these requirements because the game does work; however, it lags after about an hour of gameplay. Loading families can also take a long time... rather disheartening when I think about all the expansion packs that are bound to come out in order to enhance this game. The Sims 2 is also a healthy reminder that computers age fast! This is definitely not a game for a wimpy machine.
That said, I heartily recommend The Sims 2... now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to the neighborhood. The mother of the twin Sims is pregnant again and I'm dying to know what she's going to have!
Recommended:
Yes
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