Stop flogging this poor dead horse
I’ve been pretty loyal to EA Games and The Sims franchise for about as long as I can remember. So much so that I have a longer standing relationship with The Sims than with my current partner and even we’ve breached the half decade mark. As a result, I have tried all of the expansion packs for The Sims and The Sims 2 and I’m saddened to say that this recent one is just about enough to destroy what was left of my ever diminishing loyalty. (If you need to know why it’s diminishing, you obviously haven’t wasted your money on the above expansions – good for you!)
“Move your Sims into close-quarters drama!” the box reads. Well, it sounds more promising than it is. I hadn’t played The Sims 2 for a while and I have a new computer so I set about creating my little family unit then selected a rental property. Rental seemed steep for the little house I chose (1800 simoleons a week) but it was a cute little house so in I moved with my family of two plus cat. Aah, just like home!
And then… well, it was just like playing The Sims 2 for a while (without the Apartment Life expansion) except the apartment was very poky and my Sims kept getting stuck. Possibly foolishly I decided to make things more exciting by getting a roommate. It didn’t work. I couldn’t figure out what I needed to do to keep my roommate happy. All he seemed to do was stand on the porch. True, I had chosen a Getaway Driver but he was even more suspect than I had imagined. I became very tempted to use the ‘Kick Out’ interaction. I resisted but only because my patience ran out with the game before it ran out with my roomie.
So far, I wasn’t impressed and things were not about to improve. The latest addition to The Sims 2 is… wait for it… magic. Yes, I do remember the Makin’ Magic expansion from the original The Sims. Wasn’t that produced right about the time that they were beginning to run out of ideas and churning out nonsense? It says a lot to me that
I’m sad to say, this is really as exciting as it gets.
they have recycled this idea at a time when The Sims 2 seems to be coming to the end of its lifespan. But, if that’s your thing you can enjoy making good, bad and neutral spells to help you on your way. By this point, I was beginning to gibber slightly and mutter to myself (just a normal day then) and I have to confess, I could not bring myself to pursue the magical aspect any further. For those of you who persist, however, I understand you will reap the reward of Broomstick Travel. Can you contain yourself?
The ‘Other Stuff’ page in the accompanying book hints at further delights such as ‘Wash Face and Brush Teeth’ action and the new ‘(Phone) Silent Mode’. I’m sad to say, this is really as exciting as it gets.
It’s unlike me to be so down on any game. I’m an easy to please gamer who can be swayed by the most basic of ideas or games but even I feel cheated by this newest title. The Sims 2 did seem to be missing something that an expansion pack might have been able to fill but instead each new expansion seems hollower than the last. Apartment Life to me is nothing more than a few tacky additional interactions (Gesture… Kiss Kiss Darling being a prime example) and ridiculous new concepts (Noise Pollution and Magic being the two most obvious). If the day comes along where making my little Sim ‘Bang on the Wall’ or ‘Complain About the Noise’ seems like fun, shoot me with a tranquiliser dart quick!
The point I’m trying to make is that the original concept of managing your little people is fantastic but surely there comes a point when it becomes too much. I look forward to the next expansion ‘The Sims 2: Home For The Aged’ where you guide them to the commode and use the ‘Remove False Teeth’ action. But then again, maybe not… I can only hope that The Sims 3 offers something new, radical and exciting to get EA Games back on track with its little people. In the meantime, I hope they please stop flogging this poor dead horse…
The Bad: Very little in this for the money you pay
