The Sims

The Good
First of all, The Sims gives "true control freaks" the opportunity to flex those 'need to dominate' muscles.

Second, The Sims is a universal game that people anywhere can relate to as you are in control of the environment. If you so desire to have a world ruled by delusional children or dysfunctional celebrity impersonators, so you shall. If you so desire to manifest a Utopian kingdom of faeries or an intergalactic space realm, so you shall. If you so desire to create a planet that embraces alternative (i.e., nontraditional) lifestyles or promotes the sloth way of living, so you shall. The Sim world is what you make it.

Third, you can live your life vicariously through your Sims. (Sinister SIMtastic images fill my mind at the thought.) Want to be an international beauty queen or a Doctor-of-Death? Do it. Want to live in a disgustingly purple house surrounded by beautiful alien women or drunk Kirk-like men? Do it. Want to own a limosine? Do that too! Sim users are only limited by the span of the imagination!

Fourth, the game gives the user the ability to be an architect-of-sorts (which is my absolute favorite part). We are talking CREATION and DESIGN from the ground up! Take me for instance...I finally completed my first TRULY original Japanese-styled Simhouse and intend to share it with the Sim World.

Fifth, The Sims is designed in a way that allows the user to manipulate objects in the environment. You can either create new objects to share on-line with others or simply modify old objects. Build houses, design objects, create skins, etc. GET THIS...Tools are actually available on-line FOR FREE, WITH instructions! (Yippee!!) The possibilities are endless.

Sixth, the game has educational value (believe it or not) in that it can teach the young ones (and the rest of us computer heads) a little about responsibility and a few social constructs of how relationships work. For example, Sims must maintain friendships or relationships by constant communication with other Sims. Otherwise complacency can bring a Sim relationship to an abrupt end.

NOTE: Adults should monitor the young playing The Sims for if they have an intrinsically violent nature, this too can be reinforced in the game. Remember, it is indeed what you make it.

Finally, there are literally hundreds of good THE SIMS sites on the web to download houses, skins, objects (including art and decorations), etc.

I could go on about the creative genius behind this seemingly SIMple game, but I want you to experience it for yourself! (...To put a few minds at ease, I do not work for MAXIS or EA.)

The Bad
I guess there must always be a downside to everything...

There are too many people who complain about every little creation or addition to the game without giving much thought to such terminology or phrasings as "upgrades" OR "patches" OR "looking at the positive side of things for a change."

As for the game itself, The Sims can be addictive. Seriously so! You may notice you no longer have friends or that your significant other cannot relate to the Sim sounds you have picked up from the game. You may also find that your boss is not amused to discover you called-in sick because you could not tear yourself away from the computer. Oh yeah...sleep is really a necessity and not just another 5 letter word. BUYER BEWARE! :)

In addition to the addictive aspects of The Sims, one would think with the popularity of the game, it could be a bit cheaper. COME ON MAXIS/EA!

Last (and FINALLY LEAST), there are limits to how realistic certain concepts are in the game. For instance, time is truly an illusion in Simsville; There are not enough objects to support multicultural households (very American oriented); A few of the tools released by Maxis are not completely user friendly for some and it would be nice to have a Sims Tool that allows modification of all file extensions used by the game instead of having a variety of tools for every file type - AAGGHHH!

The Bottom Line
I think the game is worth owning, if only to say I have had THE SIMS experience.