The Sims

"There has always been beauty in SIMplicity"

The Sims has made a resonably well preserved journey from PC to GC. EA and Maxis have done a great job here.

Gameplay: The best part! This game basically is the epitome of fun. So much to do, and so much required of you. Your little sims must be told when to eat, sleep, bathe, etc. you are the boss of their lives! (of course it supposed to be YOU that you're managing so dont abuse the little buggers) You can either play the mission based game, ok you have to at first, but after that you can play open ended sims, which is just as fun. The mission based sims is called ''Get a life'' and you, well, get a life. You start out with nothing and must work your way up through all of lifes great moments, including newer and better houses. You can become proficient at a number of skills, from cooking to charisma. These skills determine how well you preform in the workplace which is a must. You can buy things for your home, and yard(s). But the main point of ''Get a life'' is to advance through the levels earning your wings and unlocking bonuses. In the open ended game you create a neighborhood and run it (including building the houses), thats right EVERY family in the neighborhood you are in charge of (though not all at once) you can be actively involved, or watch them..either way. You can also marry them to each other and have little sim children, but that carries responsibilities, and just as in real life, the social services show up if you neglect your child. The realism is defintely here in this game. In short: Real life=boring Sim life=fun....i dont know how that works, but well, it does.

Graphics: Serviceable, they are done well enough to keep you interested and into the game, as well as easily see what is going on. They aren't going to blow you away, or blow other games out of the water, but, what did you expect? They are well enough, after all this isnt some epic story here, its a life simulator.

Control: Now usually this is not important in a review however, when a game is brought from PC to a console it loses oh, fifty some odd buttons to do things with. Well, no worries here, the controls are flawless, there are no shortcuts/keys, but i never had/have a problem with doing what i need to do.

Replay: Oh yes, definetly, lots. I mean, how can you get tired of this, and you certainly can't ''beat'' it. And even if you get bored of one family you can create another, play as another existing one, or even evict the family you are tired of. Seriously, this game has unimaginable replay.

Buy/Rent: Well, i dont know why you would even want to rent this, you can't exactly accomplish anything should you rent it, rentals don't last long enough. So you can go ahead and trust me here, if you liked Animal crossing or any game similar to it, BUY THIS GAME. You wont be dissapointed. In fact, i would recommend this game so much, that i would say it is worth the fifty dollars a new game costs (cant honestly say that about most games nowadays).

Final thoughts: The sims had pulled off a succesful leap from computer to Gamecube, and it is quite enjoyable, as well!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/03, Updated 04/29/03