The Sims 2 (PC)

Price: $54.95
Date Of Release: Sep 14

Forget Work. Forget School. The Sims 2 is finally here.

By Yusuf Abdol Hamid • UrbanWire
email reporter • email story • printer friendly

The Sims 2 is the much-anticipated sequel of the wildly popular The Sims , a game based quite simply on the God-like control over the day-to-day motions of a human-like Sim. First released be EA Games and Maxis in February 2001, The Sims took the gaming world by storm, selling over 36 million units , especially when female gamers picked up the game and became the majority of The Sims players.

Storyline

Perhaps for the first time, there actually are storylines in The Sims 2 , though they don't quite affect gameplay as much as one might expect. Depending on which of the 3 neighbourhoods you decide to move your Sim into, there comes an inbuilt storyline. Veronaville, one of the neighbourhoods, is an Italian-like small town with a storyline not unlike that of Romeo and Juliet , and your Sim gets to add to that story depending on how you choose to interact with the original Shakespearean characters.

You might think that all realism would go out the door, but The Sims 2 is such a deeply immersing game, it's easy to forget about the storyline when you start getting involved with your Sims' daily life. However, these characters do walk around the neighbourhood and occasionally knock on your Sim's door, a reminder to be sociable in the astonishingly realistic Sims environment.

Gameplay

The first thing you'll notice about The Sims 2 is that how it hasn't really changed from the original. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Keeping with the winning formula seems to be the case here, still, as you spend more hours playing the game, it becomes clear how improved The Sims 2 is.

For one, the AI (artificial intelligence) of the Sims is notably enhanced, and they respond more realistically to situations when left to their own devices, such as taking out the trash, without being told to, when ants start to swarm in the kitchen.

A new feature to the game is the aging process. Your Sim will eventually age into an elder and die, to be mourned by his/her children and grandchildren. Directly linked to this is also the new fear and aspirations system, which is basically a point system that gains or loses points in accordance to the individual needs of the Sim. Aspirations range from learning how to cook a dish to making a new friend to even getting married. Constantly achieving your Sims' aspirations put them in an elevated mood, making them highly productive. If your Sim is constantly plagued by its fears, the aspirations bar goes into the red and the Sim suffers from depression and even insanity. Looks like the neighbourhood needs a shrink or 2.

What's really great about sending your Sim to work this time, is that there actually are days off. Usually it's 2 days off per week and gives your Sim a chance to socialise with neighbours, and perhaps even throw a party. In The Sims , if your Sim left for work with an empty stomach and a full bladder, it would return in the same disastrous state. Now with The Sims 2 , there's a chance that your Sim will have attended to some of these personal matters at work, such as having lunch or visiting the bathroom.

When it comes to modelling your Sims, it's almost like a whole new game in itself. With so many appearance-editing tools at hand, it's almost possible to make a Sim who looks like anyone you know, including yourself, and without the hassle and danger of cloning either. The appearance of your Sim does matter, as the look and personality of the parents get passed down to their children.

Be sure to watch the hilarious fight scene that inevitably breaks out when a burglar breaks into your house and a policeman comes running after. At the end of it you even get a bonus for helping the police catch a criminal!

Controls

Controls in The Sims 2 don't range much more from the left mouse button to the mouse scroll. It's that simple! The keyboard shortcuts mostly remain the same from the original, such as the numbers 1, 2 and 3 corresponding to increasing the speed of the game.

What's great with The Sims 2 is that you can choose any angle to view your game, which leaves you to decide how best to view your Sims' movements. Zooming in and out is also not limited to several degrees, but goes accordingly to your mouse scroll button.

Graphics and sound

The Sims 2 is a beautiful game to watch. Sims are beautifully rendered, and even the household objects are surprisingly detailed, making daily chores not as mundane as they could be. If you choose a career in politics, the carpool that arrives at 8am has a loose door and gives the impression that your Sim is working for an underdog political party. It's such attention to detail that draws you into the game.

Sims speak a language of their own, which upon closer listening, sounds like Russian. It's comical to hear them argue in their own strange tongue, but after a while you might come to understand certain phrases that imply, "I'm sleepy", or "I'm hungry". The chill-out feel of the sound-track is probably a major factor in keeping gamers glued to their seats for hours, and simple sound effects such as the alarm clock going off or the stove burning maintain the realism of the game.

Verdict

Ever the bane of teachers and bosses around the world, it looks like The Sims 2 is set to keep people up late at night playing the game for hours on end. For those who've never played The Sims before, it might take some time to get used to this game, especially given that there are so many different aspects of the game to pay attention to. Once you've gotten over the learning stage, you're sure to be addicted to this excellent game. You practically don't have time to even ask the question: are you controlling the Sim, or is the Sim controlling you?

Specs

OS; Windows XP, Me, 2000 or 98

CPU: 800Mhz or faster

RAM: 256Mb or more

Disc Drive: 8x or faster CD/DVD drive

Hard Drive: At least 3.5Gb of free space

Video: DirectX 9.0 Compatible

Sound: DirectX 9.0 Compatible

Specs taken from The Sims 2 packaging

Pictures courtesy of Sims2World.com