The Sims Online

"Chat room + The Sims = The Sims Online"

First off, to take full advantage of this game you should have a high speed Internet connection. I first played this with dial-up and it actually wasn't that bad, it just started lagging really bad if they were more then 8 people on a lot. Which on average, most of the time there will be that many people on a lot.

Game Play:
If you've ever played any of The Sims games, you'll know what to expect here. You have slightly more customization options in the beginning (compared to the rest of the offline Sim games) when you first create your Sim. You choose from a wide variety of heads and then choose what outfit you want. Choose wisely here because you only have one outfit until you can afford to buy more clothes which will take quite awhile since it's very hard to make money in this game and the outfits cost about $5000. You start off with $10,000, but then you need to find a place to live. You can either buy a lot and build your own house (which will cost much more then you can afford in the beginning so it would be wise to get a roommate) or move in with someone. This game is very much like a chat room because you can start talking the second you enter a lot to anyone. You get a roommate by going to any lot and just asking around. You'll usually find someone pretty easily. Or you can go to a lot and ask the people that live there if you can move in with them. Some people will let you move in without you paying a dime, other's want you to give them half or all of your money. You can interact with people just like you would in The Sims, click on them and choose an interaction. You can unlock more interactions by making more friends.

Graphics:
Exactly like The Sims. No improvements or anything. The character's look cartoony and you'll usually run into someone who looks exactly like you because of the mass amount of players, which gets a little annoying.

Sound:
Nothing really to comment on here. No background music unless you buy a stereo and that gets a little repetitive. The Sims of course still speak their little nonsense language.

Should you buy this game?
If combing a chat room and The Sims sounds like a dream come true to you then you should probably buy this. It isn't a bad game by any means, just repetitive and kind of boring.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/05