The Sims: House Party

"Will Wright does it again with this excellent expansion pack."

When I first heard that there was going to be another expansion pack for The Sims after Livin' Large, I wondered what new goodies would be added to it. So did many other gamers. It was just as good as I predicted that it would be. New items, wallpapers, and other objects were added, proving that, once again, the development team knows what they're doing. For those people still wondering what would be added, read on...

Gameplay (10/10): It doesn't get too much better than this on the PC. You control the household of your choice, forcing (and watching) your Sims do whatever you tell them to. You can do nearly anything in here. Well, you can command your Sims to get in a fist fight, just in case you were wondering (actually, you can if they really hate each other). There are plenty of new goodies for you to use and abuse, like inflatable chairs, mechanical bulls, more minibars, new lights, and a whole lot of other stuff. Anyone want a surf shower? Got it. The most long-awaited and exciting feature is ''throwing parties!'' Yes, that's right. You can have some obscene amount of people trashing your pad while talking. Oh yeah, there are plenty of new windows, wall textures, floors, and fences which add to the experience. Fun.

Story (X/10): I gave the Story category an ''X out of 10'' because the story is influenced by what YOU do. You can create a jealousy-ridden love story or anything else for that matter. What you do decides on how difficult the game could get.

Graphics (7/10): I scored the graphics so low because I've seen what other games are capable of on the PC. Still, the graphics won't bother you because you'll be too engrossed in the game to worry. ;)

Audio (9/10): First, I should go into one of the more interesting aspects of the game: the voices. All of the people (whether you or the designers created them) speak gibberish. So do the TV commercials. ''Gestayda bada von deedle a dah.'' Crazy, but funny. The music score is nice, but sounds slightly similar to elevator music. Still, it has a nice touch.

Buy or borrow?: Go shell out $15 bucks for this; you'll be happy. Of course, you have to have The Sims first, but that's OK.

Overall: Simulates a PERFECT 10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/01, Updated 08/11/01