Playing The Sims Game
Bruce Von Stiers
Those of you who have been living under a rock or just aren’t into computer games have never heard of the hit game SimCity. The other millions of us game players have not only heard of it, but have spent far too many hours playing this simulation game. The force behind SimCity is Maxis Studios. A while back, Maxis was picked up by Electronic Arts. With this gaming powerhouse behind them, Maxis could now go on to bigger and better things. The result is a game called The Sims. This is a simulation game like you have never seen before. The Sims is a simulation game about people. It is one of the most appealing games that I have ever played.The Sims has you take control over the lives of people in the game. Start out with a man and wife and a mediocre house. You will get the man a job and find a friend or two for him and his wife. Have the man and woman interact with each other. The familiar things in our lives can now be transferred to the characters in the game. Real everyday tasks now take on a new look as you have the characters replicate them in the game. Anything from eating to using the toilet and taking a shower are things that the characters do in the game. And we get to watch them do it. Then you will begin to build them into a family with friends and relatives. Create a whole neighborhood full of these folks.
When you begin the game you are taken through a tutorial. You get to meet Bob. He is just kind of hanging out in his house. You soon find out the he is married to Betty. But Bob needs to look for a job. Have Betty bring in the newspaper from outside and have Bob look through the Want Ads. Have him take a job. You will find out what time the car pool will pick Bob up.
If you have played the SimCity game, you know that things in sims can’t be left unattended. Your characters will need to eat, sleep and perform acts of personal hygiene. If you don’t make enough money, needed improvements can’t be made to your house. A shabby house means having little or no friends. You can’t entertain people with a microwave oven, boombox, black & white television and no extra furniture. You will start out with a certain amount of money. Upgrade the furniture, buy something for the yard or start out the game with a whole new set of people than was in the tutorial. You can pick out a plot of land and begin to put together a house. When it has been furnished, drop your sim people into the house. Then watch them go about their lives.There is no real set-in-stone goal to obtain in The Sims. You will only become as successful as the amount of time you put into the game. My son Josh has been playing the game too and he was using the Betty and Bob characters from the tutorial. He got Bob a job at the newspaper. Bob kept moving up, going from job to job at the newspaper. He had an entry level job, moved up to gamer reviewer and then went on to an editorial function. Betty did a couple of things like an administrative assistant and a security guard. All the while, Josh was improving Bob and Betty’s house. He gave them a decent bed and a Bob a recliner for the bedroom.
If you a lot of time on your hands and like simulations, then The Sims is just the game for you. You get to play around with the lives of people without any real life repercussions. And you just might find out that The Sims is even better than SimCity.
You can find The Sims at your local software retailer. Even though it has been out for quite some time, the game is still selling for about $ 40 US.
You might want to check out www.TheSims.com or www.eagames.com to find out more about this game.
System Requirements:
Windows 95, 98 or later
233 MHz PC
32 MB RAM
4x CD-ROM drive
300 MB free hard drive space
High color video display
© 2002 Bruce E. Von Stiers