The Sims

The Good
Although I doubt Origin had anything to with it, at least it's good to know that some people are still creating worlds out there...

If there was one game that created an interesting cultural gaming revolution, this was one of those games that will be in the "positive light" of the gaming hall of legends.

The Sims was the next best thing since the Ultima Series at least, again in the concept of creating worlds. The Sims a representation of any kid's dreams when it comes to role-playing. Come to think of it, this game really must be an RPG in every sense of the world: Playing a role, controlling characters, how they think and breath, developing them...an interesting option compared to actually starting a family :)

I won't go into any gameplay elements, since you can read that in other reviews, but I will tell you some interesting thing's I've noticed about the game. It's interesting how the game developers tried to mimic social behaviours of human and their standard way of life. Social needs, emotional needs, hygiene needs, and so on. Spesifically for social needs, it's interesting to see the attempt to mimic the social relations between one person and another: keep conversing with a person and eventually you'll fall in love with them. Although unrealistic, it is true in real life that if you at least try to communicate with people, it will improve relations. You'll see from this game that even a simple compliment or just a gesture will improve your relations with that person...and if you don't continue to establish a steady relationship, the level of friendship will eventually decrease. This magnificant experiment is something I have applied in real-life...at least the knowledge that anything you do actually does impact social relations with other people. The Sims at least in this light has a very good psychological education level.

I've also noticed on an external perspective that Sims created one of the most creative gaming communities out there. There are many websites out there that have custom made skins and objects. One of my personal favorites was Darth Maul and Homer Simpson. But one of my favorite elements in the Sims community was when the fans started creating stories through a string of screenshots complete with a plot and storyline. I've read some really A class storylines out there which are better than a lot of movies in comparison. An A+ for those Sims Fans out there who were blessed with the gift of storytelling!

The Bad
Everyone agrees that the Sims is a little unrealistic...something that really isn't surprising and a good attempt at it too! This "bad section" isn't really condemning the game (which is something I like to do), but I have given the game and the developers the benefit of the doubt, due to the creativity and ambition to which the game attempts to accomplish.

There are many unrealistic elements to the game...probably also to make gameplay more easier and less complicated. The first is about money. Getting money daily would be something really nice in real-life. You eventually turn yourself into a consumer in this game. Always saving to buy better things in life...if I were a left wing extremist, I would probably say this is capitalist propaganda into turning youth into consumers. Hahaha....and it would be a very effective propaganda too...since it's quite logical.

One thing that kinda was a let down is employment challenges. Sooner or later, you'll reach the highest level you can get, and out of boredom you'll change your job and start over. Speaking of boredom, this game eventually does reach that level of "been there, done that". The fact that mostly everything in the game is done manually eliminates a lot of challenges when it comes to external surprises. Even the neighbours are created by you. This game would be better if there were NPC's in the game...even a town...you can then focus on your single family. Don't know about other expansions, but I hope they'll reach a world where there is a whole town of Sims, complete with commerce and stuff. Now that would be really challenging!

The Bottom Line
If you actually have a life to live, it would be better to avoid this game since the "Sims World" is a whole lot better than real life....hahaha.