"It was fun while it lasted..."

Gameplay: 3/10

When The Sims first came out, I was hooked. I mean HOOKED... It was extremely innovative in everyway! When Living Large came out, it made the game better, adding items, jobs and new gameplay options. Now this... House Party adds no new jobs or fun gameplay options. Just plenty of items and the ability to use them with more than 1 person. Most of the items are also things that are extremely stupid (showers made of wood?) and things that you would never use in the game anyway. (Back to the showers of wood) After playing House party for a while, it seems like something that you should have downloaded off the main website, not something that you spent 30 dollars for. I don't even consider this an expansion, its just a CD filled with items and house themes. If you are already bored with The Sims, this game won't help it. If Maxis wants to continue their success with this franchise, they'd better think of something new. QUICKLY. My views of this whole series are dimming as we speak.

Control: 6/10

Nothing different really. You control the life of your Sim. When he/she eats, sleeps, poops, whatever. House Party added something different though. Because the parties tend to be large, it is sometimes hard to control what goes on at your party. (Music, food ETC) You can hire services to help, but sometimes you don't have the money, do you? Also, when you are paying attention to your guests, sometimes you might just forget about your own Sim and find him sleeping in the middle of a dance floor, or soiling his pants in front of that hot babe sim from down the street. Oh how I hate when that happens...

Audio: 8/10

This is the highlight of the game. Lots and lots of new music and a DJ table set to scratch it up! You can also put in your own MP3 which makes it sweeter. Most of the time though, your Sims will dance for a few seconds before going off to do other things. Don't expect your Sims to shake their thang all night long. Well, you could always turn off your monitor and enjoy the sweet tunes. That is of course, until your Sim turns the music off...

Graphics: 7/10

The graphics were never really that great. They weren't bad, just not anything innovative. The animations were always very well done though. There is nothing new in this game. (seriously) Except the fact that the game lags a bit when you have a reasonably large party going.

Replayability: 2/10

Honestly, I played this game for about 2 hours before getting bored with it. Thats why I gave it a 2. The new items can only keep you busy for so long and the new themes don't really make the game anymore fun. A big disappointment.

Overall: 6/10

This game isn't worth 30 dollars. Maxis could have just released the whole game as a bunch of downloads. All it does is add more stuff for your Sims to buy and gives it a little party element. I was extremely disappointed in this game, as I was expecting new job classes, new and fun gameplay elements and multiplayer. If you are already bored with The Sims, don't bother with this one. Play this only if you desperately need to play The Sims and even then, play it at a friends house first to make sure you'll enjoy it. Now all I can do is wait until The Sims online is released...

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/08/01, Updated 04/08/01