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Please note I'm currently working on the new site. I didn't want to take the site offline though, so you can still visit it. However me working on the site while it's still online means a lot of the pages will appear wonky. But not to worry, it won't take too long. Happy
24 Feb 2000 - 22:10

Looking for that rustic touch for your Sims' living room? Nothing like a massive Moose Head looming over your sofa! Hey -- where else can you download a moose's head?

Download Moose Head (235 Kb)

24 Feb 2000 - 22:00

We've upgraded our online help! Check out our new easy-to-navigate answers pages. You'll find solutions to all sorts of questions, from the simple to the technical.

Go to FAQ's

21 Feb 2000 - 22:00

Come one, come all! In our brand new Exchange you can browse through all the cool Albums, Families and Houses created by The Sims players.

Go to Sims Exchange

18 Feb 2000 - 22:00

We received some great sweetheart Skins for our Valentine's Day Contest! Check out the winners and download the Skins ...

Valentine Skins Pack - Marc Antony & Cleopatra Valentine Skins Pack - Romeo & Juliet Valentine Skins Pack - Robinhood & Maid Marion

Download Valentine Skins Pack

  • Marc Antony & Cleopatra were made by James Ferris
  • Romeo & Juliet were made by Erik Dahl
  • Robinhood & Maid Marion were made by Albert Ming
17 Feb 2000 - 22:10

More fun for your game! The Cuckoo Clock has arrived and is ready to bug your Sims.

Download Cuckoo Clock (133 Kb)

17 Feb 2000 - 22:00

Coming soon, our first Family Album Contest -- The Simmys! We would like to thank everyone who made the Simmys possible ...

Go to SimDay Events!

16 Feb 2000 - 22:00

Voodoo card owners experiencing problems with the Viewing, Saving, or Exporting of a Face, your problems are solved. This version also contains an uninstaller that can be run from the Windows Start Menu.

Go to FaceLift!

11 Feb 2000 - 22:10

Reporter A.S. Berman of USAToday.com states " ... The Sims, not content merely to be a triumph of gaming artistry, also reveals life to be what it is: a glorified pursuit of food and love, punctuated by frequent trips to the loo."

Go to USAToday.com

11 Feb 2000 - 22:00

Gamecenter.com said " ... just as in the real world, there isn't enough time in the day to complete everything that needs to be done, so you must be extremely frugal with how your Sims spend their free time."

Gamecenter.com Review


The Sims

CNET Gamecenter Review

By William Harms
(2/10/2000)

The good: Very addictive; the open nature of the game ensures endless playability.
The bad: Reminds you how mundane your life really is; only one neighborhood; can't explore beyond the limits of your property.
The bottom line: This game rocks, end of story.
Multiplayer: N/A
Single player: Excellent
ESRB rating: T (Teen)

Taking its cue from Seinfeld, The Sims is a game about nothing. Oh sure, a lot happens during the course of the game--love is won and lost, houses catch fire, and there is much tomfoolery in the hot tub--but everything that occurs is tinged with the same sense of the absurd that made Seinfeld such a great show. And this absurdness is what makes The Sims tragic, funny, mundane, and one of the most entertaining games I've seen in a long, long time.

Taking Control of the Little People
The latest installment in Maxis's phenomenally popular SimCity series, The Sims, moves the action from city management to people management. You can play the game with either predefined Sims or Sims that you create. If you choose the latter, you decide how they look and what their personalities are (neat, outgoing, friendly, and so on). This determines how easily they'll make friends, whether or not their house is a pigsty, and how fast they'll move up the career ladder.

Gamecenter.com The Sims review Gamecenter.com The Sims review

Once you've created your virtual guinea pigs, you need to get them a place to live. Each Sim "family" (the Sims in one household) is given $20,000, which is used toward the purchase of a house and a few belongings. Naturally, money is pretty scarce, so after you get a roof over your Sims' heads, you need to be pretty tight with your funds and forego the plasma television in favor of a cheaper black-and-white unit. Everything in the house affects the Sims' behavior and happiness in some way, so in the early going your little virtual people are probably miserable.

The real genius behind The Sims is its ability to mirror the real world, while still offering a compelling gameplay experience. To succeed, you must balance a number of factors, such as eating, sleeping, and learning career-building skills, all while making sure you get your Sims out of bed in the morning so they can go to work. And just as in the real world, there isn't enough time in the day to complete everything that needs to be done, so you must be extremely frugal with how your Sims spend their free time.

Gamecenter.com The Sims review Gamecenter.com The Sims review

It's hard to explain in a few words how the game plays, because it sounds extremely simple but actually is exceptionally complex. One day you're cultivating friendships; the next you're recovering from a thief who has stolen all your electronics; still another day, you're trying to improve the mood of your Sims so they will go to work. And although there are some limitations built into the game--your Sims can't become serial killers, for example--you can do pretty much anything.

Building a Life
As with the SimCity games, the interface powering The Sims is a thing of beauty. Accessing the Build and Buy screens is extremely easy, and making the Sims interact with each other and their environment involves nothing more than a couple clicks of the mouse. All the items available for purchase are laid out by room or item type; just click an item to see what it is and how it will affect your Sims' lives.

Gamecenter.com The Sims review Gamecenter.com The Sims review

On the surface, The Sims' graphics don't look as though they are hardware intensive, but don't be fooled--if you want to run this game at its highest resolution, you need a hog of a system. Even at 800-by-600-pixel resolution, scrolling across the screen can be slow and painful, which makes trying to manage multiple Sims frustrating. Still, the graphics are crisp and clear, and bring everything to life. The Sims themselves show off a wide range of animation, making it easy to identify their various moods and when they need something.

The Sims is one of those rare games in which the sound effects actually outshine the graphics. Every action has a corresponding sound, whether it be the whacking of a knife against a cutting board, or the blaring of music from the stereo. The dialogue, which is made up of gibberish, is humorous, especially when your Sims are miserable and trying to get your attention.

Gamecenter.com The Sims review Gamecenter.com The Sims review

Shiny, Happy Sim People
A few annoyances rear up from time to time, which detract a little from the game's charms. Your Sims don't always do what they're told, even when they're completely happy, and they can't perform multiple tasks, such as use the microwave and answer the phone at the same time. Additionally, there is only one neighborhood, and if you want to make more friends, you have to exit out to the neighborhood screen and introduce new people. It would also be nice if your Sims could walk over to a neighbor's house.

As with the SimCity games, The Sims is totally open-ended. Unless you do something truly horrible to your virtual characters--such as place them in a room without a door and starve them to death, or kill them in a house fire--they'll live forever. And because anything can happen and disaster can strike at any time (just as in the real world), the game offers tremendous replayability.

Gamecenter.com The Sims review Gamecenter.com The Sims review

Adding to the game's replayability is the support offered by The Sims' Web site, where you can go to download new families and houses to incorporate into your neighborhood. Editors for faces and for wallpaper and flooring are also available online.

The Sims is a pretty bold experiment--after all, how do you get gamers to buy a game that reminds them of the mediocrity and triviality of their own lives? The experiment pays off because The Sims truly has something for all gamers, whether they want to create an artificial and shallow megastar, or cultivate the biggest slob the world has ever seen. This is one game that people will be talking about for a long time to come.

10 Feb 2000 - 22:20

GamePro.com gave The Sims a 5 out of 5, stating " ... The game is so unique, so simple to understand, so easy to play and utterly enjoyable. It's destined to be a massive hit."

GamePro.com Review


The Sims

by Jason Samuel

Finally The Sims has been released. Questioning whether you should spend the money and get the game everyone is talking about? Ponder no more, we've played enough of The Sims to give you the scoop.

I finally got to sit down and play The Sims a few weeks ago and it has made me a true believer. The uniqueness of the game, the sound, graphics and the ability to control a little Sim life hooked me almost immediately. I found myself playing The Sims to the exclusion of any other game. I knew I had a Sims addiction when I told my girlfriend that my "hunger" need was low and that she should serve dinner.

GamePro.com The Sims review GamePro.com The Sims review GamePro.com The Sims review

Without a doubt The Sims is something unique. Even if you look at it as a sophisticated resource management simulator, it's the most original version of that model ever created. Not only original but also ingenious because of the simplicity behind it's concept. The resource players manage isn't gold pieces or Tiberium, the biggest resource is something we deal with everyday, time.

Time is the biggest challenge in controlling a Sim, there is just never enough of it to get things done. You'll want your Sims to make friends so they increase their relationship rating, but that means they have to call a friend and then spend time interacting, and that is time that could be spent studying for a job promotion, not to mention going to the bathroom, taking showers, eating, working and sleeping -- it's enough to wear a Sim out.

The learning process for the player is figuring out which activities can satisfy a need with minimal amount of time or satisfies two needs at the same time. And let's not forget money because that is one way to meet the time challenge. More expensive items usually satisfy needs faster, which gives you more time to engage Sims in other activities.

GamePro.com The Sims review GamePro.com The Sims review GamePro.com The Sims review

While graphics are a key component of the game, the sound often overshadows it. The Sims speak in this gibberish language that is extremely catchy. Some sounds instantly stick in your mind, like the jingles from TV commercials. I found myself at work singing along with a fake commercial in a language no one understands.

That's not to say the game doesn't have problems. The biggest of which is pathfinding, sometimes a Sim will waste valuable minutes trying to get past another Sim because the pathfinding code gets bogged down. Annoying when time is critical but otherwise not that bad. I would have liked more prefabricated houses because I didn't especially like building new ones, but I know some folks will really enjoy that part and new ones are going to be downloadable from The Sims website.

GamePro.com The Sims review GamePro.com The Sims review GamePro.com The Sims review

The overall fun of the game takes care of any of the bugs. The game is so unique, so simple to understand, so easy to play and utterly enjoyable it's destined to be a massive hit. Who hasn't wanted to be an astronaut or superstar, own a mansion, have a maid and live the life of luxury? Well if you haven't, you could always chose the life of crime path, live in your own filth and get into fights with the neighbors. In The Sims, you'll be able to live the life you chose.

For a lot of great tips on how to play The Sims, check out our ProTip Guide, with tips from Jason Samuel, Dan Amrich of GamePro and the Maxis development team, including Will Wright himself.

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