The Sims Deluxe

"Nothing more than expected"

The Sims Deluxe Edition isn't much more than what you'd get from The Sims and Livin' Large. The only reason I bought it is because I wanted Livin' Large, but the store I was at didn't have it, and I didn't feel like shopping around. Plus, it was only twenty dollars, so... why not?

As I said, the game was only twenty dollars. I already had the Sims, and I wanted Livin' Large. But since they didn't have it, I went for the next best thing... Deluxe Edition.

The box says "All-new exclusive Deluxe content." And, it's right... kind of. A lot of the items that it says are "exclusive" can be found in later (earlier, since you're supposed to install Deluxe after House Party, Hot Date, and Vacation) expansions of the game. As far as I can tell, at least. I could be a tad bit wrong... most if not all of the "25+ Exclusive Objects" can be found in other expansions.

It says "50+ Clothing Choices." I can't really say if any of these show up in other expansions, I haven't been to a friends house who doesn't have Deluxe and tried to make a family... so... I'll just tell you about them.

A lot of the skins (clothing choices) are very... Eastern. Eastern as in Asia, the Middle East, etc. Robes and hair styles that look like they come from China or Mongolia or some other Oriental culture. I myself don't like them, but there are plenty of other skins to choose from, all of which range from "okay" to "fantastic." All in my opinion, of course. If all else fails, you can always download more skins, and they take up next to no space on your hard drive, so you can't really go wrong with having more options.

The Sim Creator is probably quite fantastic, if you're artsy or you enjoy doing things artsy. I myself hate it, seeing as how I'm neither of those. It allows you to take a skin you already have, and draw on it (like you would in MS Paint, or any photo-editing software with a paintbrush/pencil) to make a new skin, which you can use in the game, I'd imagine. I really haven't saved anything.

That's really all there is to this game. Anything else you can find in Livin' Large, or the original Sims. Read a review for either of them.

It is, however, cheaper than buying The Sims and then Livin' Large. Plus, it gives you the menus for Hot Date and Vacation. Get'cha nice a familiar with it, you know.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/04