New look: The Sims: House Party

Maxis recently stopped by the GameSpot offices with a final copy of House Party, the second add-on for the company's wildly popular strategy game, The Sims. Unlike the previous Sims add-on, Livin' Large, House Party doesn't focus on simply adding more household objects and random events. Instead, House Party lets you create large-scale parties for your sims as well as their sim friends and neighbors.

In order to help you throw wild parties, House Party features a number of new furnishing "themes," including a Hawaiian luau and a techno rave. House Party will also feature an all-new soundtrack with more than 20 new songs for each theme, all of which are sung in "Simlish," the gibberish language of the sims. House Party also includes a number of new objects that'll encourage sims to socialize, including a lighted disco dance floor and a campfire (around which sims roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories, and sing songs). Many of the new items and fixtures we've seen are extremely funny. For instance, if you decide to go with a rave-themed party, you might purchase the new dancing cage, in which your sims will dance about like mad.

House Party will also feature several additions to help you throw good parties and improve The Sims' core gameplay. For example, House Party lets you hire a caterer for your household, and the caterer's table will not only feed a house full of hungry guests, but it's also useful for large families on a regular basis. And although House Party doesn't require that you have Livin' Large installed, it does feature new interactions with some of the Livin' Large items if you do.

The Sims: House Party is scheduled for release at the end of March. Look for GameSpot's review of the game soon.