The Sims: Livin' Large

"Excellent new features make this expansion great!"

Being a owner of all 6 expansion packs of The Sims, this expansion, Livin' Large, is great. Today, it is included as part of The Sims Deluxe Edition (a combination of The Sims/The Sims LL, with new things). In my opinion, this is one of the best expansion packs for The Sims.

STORY: X out of 10

The reason why I gave the story X out of 10 is that you choose the story. If you wanted, you could have a normal family of 2 adults and 2 children, or a family consisting of 1 person living in a small house in the neighborhood.

GRAPHICS: 7 out of 10

The graphics have basically stayed the same since the original version of The Sims. You could call the new objects, skins, and build mode objects new graphics. The animation, like your Sims walking, are very smooth and you can see what you're doing, and it's not slow.

MUSIC: 9 out of 10

The background music is the same as the original Sims game. It isn't annoying, but it isn't the best music I've ever heard.

SOUND: 5 out of 10

The sound, simply put, is repetitive. The Sims say their ''simlish'' language, and that doesn't bother me at all, but it's repetitive. Some of the more annoying sounds, however, include the buzz of the insects flying over the dirty plates, and the sound of the burglar alarm is pretty annoying, but it isn't as annoying, because it isn't as consistent as the bugs flying.

CONTROL: 10 out of 10

Control is simple. You basically use the mouse to click on the furniture to rotate it, place it, etc., and to make your Sims interact with a object, like a computer or a fridge. You also use the mouse to do other things, like use it to select from the various menus.

GAMEPLAY: 10 out of 10

This expansion pack introduced 2 new main things: great items and multiple neighborhoods.

The new items are really great. Some of the new items include a robot that does all your housework (but it's pricey), a magic lamp that contains a genie, and great new sets to make your house what you wanted it to be (one example is the new castle theme furniture)

And the next major thing is the multiple neighborhoods. In this expansion pack, there's 4 new neighborhoods for you to build on and have up to 50 families (10 for each neighborhood with this expansion pack).

REPLAY VALUE: 10 out of 10

You could be playing this game for a long time, and since it doesn't end, you could be playing for a couple of years.

OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10

THE BIG QUESTION: Buy or rent?

If you have the money, you should buy this expansion. Since you cant rent games, and if you don't have the money, ask your friend if they can lend it to you.

THE GOOD PARTS: Adds so many great items and the multiple neighborhoods, if you wanted 50 families.

THE BAD PARTS: I really thought that the sounds can get on your nerves, and the graphics aren't exactly the best for it's time

Like Unleashed, this is one of the best expansion packs for The Sims. If you're new to the game, you can buy this bundled in with The Sims with The Sims: Deluxe Edition.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/04/03, Updated 07/04/03