The Sims: Vacation

"More joy."

Here we have yet another expansion pack for the monster-popular The Sims, courtesy of brainiac Will Wright and those other geniouses at Maxis. This time around, we've got a lot more added. It seems that since the Hot Date expansion pack, a new concern is adding more places for your sims to go. This time around, you get to go on vacations! These vacations are complete with a cast of new and nutty characters, including Archie Archer (Robin Hood, anyone?) and the Yeti (the abominable snowman). So how does this fourth expansion pack stack up? 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 arcade machines (YES!), new light fixtures (more to hang on the ceiling), and, for vacations only, the halfpipe! Shred the pipe and rip some sick tricks for the onlookers. 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 (8/10): I scored the graphics so low because I've seen what other games are capable of on the PC, but they've spruced them up a bit this time around. 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. Also, you can add your own MP3s, creating custom radio stations and adding your own music in place of the standard music (but you can keep it as well).

Buy or borrow?: Go shell out $30 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: 04/21/02, Updated 04/21/02