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The Sims Deluxe Edition
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Graphics & Sound:
The Sims Deluxe Edition (TSDE) doesn't offer anything new in the graphics department. Previous versions of the top-selling game have the same graphics as this version. The quasi 3D characters, the detailed but blocky looking environments, the pathetically slow and cumbersome scrolling, and the limited zooming capabilities are all here. Sound effects are also unchanged, and while they are functional, they are limited. Where The Sims has always shined, and this version is no different, is in the music department. The game boasts a number of different musical tracks, most of them of the new age, easy listening style. They are catchy, and draw you into the somewhat bland but interesting world of The Sims.
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Gameplay:
Sims Deluxe offers a simulation of real-life: Create a family, which is 1 to 8 adults or children. Buy a house, or if you prefer, buy the lot and build your own house. Next, buy stuff to fill your house, including living room furniture and electronics, bathroom fixtures, kitchen appliances, and bedroom furniture. Sims are simple but fickle, so you don't really need to get too carried away, but you do want to make sure they have a fridge, enough beds for them to sleep in, a toilet and shower, and of course a television set. TV seems to be terribly important to Sims, as it is to real-life Americans, and without it, it's hard for them to adequately rest or enjoy themselves. Besides buying stuff, which is an integral part of the game, your Sims also have to work. Since you start off with only 20,000 units of cash and this is pretty much gone right after moving in and furnishing your house, picking a career and trying to advance in it is very important. And since Sims Deluxe includes the The Sims Livin' Large, one of five expansion packs available for the original game, the number of occupations available to your Sims is quite extensive. Career tracks range from business and entertainment, to military and law enforcement, to paranormal and hacker. Taking up or switching careers is as simple as picking up a paper and answering an on-screen prompt indicating you want the job. Sims can also look for jobs online using a computer, but regardless, once they have a job, your Sims have an income. And besides working, the real meat of TSDE is relationships. Here you take your Sims and have them meet their neighbors, develop friendships and love interests, and generally just have an interesting time. There are a variety of on-screen meters that show you not only how your Sim is doing in terms of their hygiene or happiness, but also how well they are getting along with other Sims. Want your Sims to have a baby? Then foster a relationship between two Sims, making sure they spend lots of time conversing, hugging, and kissing, and before you know it, getting pregnant will be an option.
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Difficulty:
There are no difficulty levels in Sims Deluxe, and there are cheats and other work-arounds to the low starting cash problem, but the hardest aspect of game play is probably just getting the Sims to do what you want them to do. The manual does a pretty good job of explaining the game play, but in practice it can be tricky to get your Sims to interact with each other just how you want them to. Maybe this unpredictability is actually attractive to some, but for others it will be frustrating. Since keeping your Sims happy, by buying that new high tech gadget or appliance, or just by having them watch TV, is the crux of the game play, you will work hard attempting to satiate them. It seems simple, but it takes a lot of hand holding to keep them going. And that's probably the real downside to the game. It would be one thing if they were autonomous, and you could just let them do their thing while you watched it happen, but most of the time they can't even remember to wash their hands after using the restroom! |
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Game Mechanics:
As mentioned before, scrolling and zooming in and out are barely adequate. Pop-up screens that ask you questions are very intrusive and hard to understand. The original game is only a couple of years old, but it wasn't terribly advanced technology when it first appeared. The game offers three modes of play: Build, Buy, and Live, and sometimes it doesn't make sense that they have to be separate. Also, once you add some of the expansion packs where you're allowed to buy things (in Live mode, none-the-less) in a downtown type setting, it makes even less sense that the Buy mode is separate. But even with these quibbles, if you like the Sims, there's little to detract you here. There are many web sites featuring new houses, clothes and even furnishings for the Sims, and Deluxe even includes a tool that you can use to customize your own Sims. You can map a photo of your face onto the Sim head of your choice, create clothes using your own textures or those supplied, or you can even paint the clothes yourself. Since The Sims Deluxe Edition includes this new tool, called The Sims Creator, as well as the Livin' Large expansion pack, plus other bonus goodies (25 exclusive furnishings, and 50 new clothes items), it is quite a bargain, as it costs the same price as the original game! It's not the most technology advanced simulation out there, but it's interesting, and it can be fun. |
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-Gordy, GameVortex Communications AKA Gary Lucero |
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows 95/98/XP, 233 MHz Pentium II, 64/128MB RAM, 2MB High Color capable (800x600) DirectX 7.0 compatible video card, DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card, 4x DVD-ROM. |
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Test System:
Windows XP Home, 2 GHz Pentium 4, 256MB RAM, GeForce 4 TI4200 w/64MB RAM, SoundBlaster Live! Value, 32x DVD-ROM. |
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