The Sims is an exceptionally unique game, and after a huge success and many, many updates, Electronic Arts has given its fans a wholly new title, which builds upon the foundations which the original set.

Improvements in the game are initially seem aesthetic. Better graphics, full 3D environments, with complete control of the new camera system, with better textures and models. It looks cleaner, and very definitely looks better from the original. The new camera system allows you to get closer to The Sims than ever before, allowing you to be even more pedantic as to what they do with their lives.

Underneath there has been quite a change. With a new, much more detailed menu system, with more depth, options and choices than the original game. The ability to create your family from scratch, with the untold number of choices in customisation of your character is immense; their tasks and sub task, plots of sorts and of course a family of your own to take care of.

Some of the other overhauls include the ability to mix the DNA of yours Sims, taking them through as many generations as you prefer, your Sims will change and develop as you mix and match, and create new Sims. You can also film the Sims, with the ability create a stage, cast and so on. The sheer amount of options is staggering.

Looking after your Sims is the most important thing in the game, as well making them successful. Being liked is not that big a deal, unless of course this is one the tasks or a persona preference, that will continually change based on whether you succeed or fail an existing task. It could be as simple as buying a refridgerator, or flirting with your wife, or even feeding your family. Failure to complete the tasks will cause a drop in your Appreciation meter, if it goes from green (which is good) to red (bad), you can expect your character to act like a lunatic and essentially act out a comic version of depression. It will affect the family, and the cohesiveness of their entire happiness, therefore it is essential to make everyone happy.

There’s some voyeuristic and perverse sense of pleasure that gamers receive from being able to control lives in every manner

The Sims can best be described as Sim City, but with people; instead of creating a successful city, you’re creating a successful Sim, be it a family, an old couple or an individual. The choice of customisation, as I mentioned, is immense, and how difficult or how easy you make the game is tailored by yourself by the choices you make, as well as the random life events that take place in the world of The Sims.

If you’re a fan of sitcoms, soap operas and have the type of mind which enjoys controlling people, lives, or meddling with other people’s problems, you will not leave the computer if you play this. That’s a slightly prudish view, as those into strategy, would equally enjoy this game. In fact, the interface is so easy to get a hold of, that you’re up and running within a matter of minutes, and it’s a testament to the brilliance of the game design and the continual testing of the game. As is often ill-used, it’s easy to learn, but difficult to master.

Keeping your Sims is an easy enough task initially, it’s when other Sims enter their lives, when problems can occur. Flirtations, wheeler dealings, irritating someone, they all affect the lives of your family and the reactions of those that live near you. Cause a stir and everyone will hear about it. You can choose to be the most popular family in town, the quietest, or the most detested. It’s brilliant, it’s clever, and it’s the reason why the original game sold million, and why this will supersede that success.

It’s a huge world, with no less than three initial towns, which again is customisable. The control that EA has provided the user is immense, and in no other game will you find the same degree of personalisation that this title, other than it’s related games, will provide. The game aptly reflects the tastes, the feelings and the attitude of the player themselves.

This sort of control could seem overwhelming, but it’s an option, rather than obligation, and this is one of the key reasons that The Sims 2 is so amazing; the choice to do anything you want, to a world that you can create, to people you can create, to lives you create, from birth to old age, to death. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

The ability to create your family from scratch, with the untold number of choices in customisation of your character is immense

So why do I hate it? Because I find it absolutely, sickeningly dull. This game is like a soap opera, and I detest soap operas. The game is self is not at fault, it just happens to be a game that doesn’t appeal to me, and is designed for a mass audience. for those that have an interest in simple controls and people’s lives, ie. everyone else.

There’s some voyeuristic and perverse sense of pleasure that gamers receive from being able to control lives in every manner. From choosing to make them poor, or making them filthy rich at the expense of others, or cheating with someone and so on. Players are able to live a life, they perhaps can’t in real life, and as games go, this is perhaps the most realistic form of escapism possible.

It’s a living breathing world, easy for a player to get lost and drawn into, it triggers all the right mental buttons to entice a player. It’s gaming ingenuity, taking you away from the same old World War 2 shooter, or the same old First-Person shooter, or the same old platform game, or sports game and so on. But it doesn’t interest me, in the least bit.

I’m very impressed by the game, just as I was impressed by the original title. The changes are significant enough to make a bigger impact than the original did, and enough to warrant purchasing the sequel if you bought the original. In fact, if you don’t have the original it is worth buying if you’re interested in something different. For me however, it’s a bore, albeit a rather pretty one.

Verdict: Incredibly packed sequel worthy of purchase. Everyone will love it. Except me.