The Sims isn't just a game. It's also an architectural simulation, interior design simulation, and a lesson about life.
But, just when you thought nothing could go wrong, technology puts a restriction on the fun. Even though you can build a large two-story house fit for a king, with more computers and TV’s than you’ll ever need, there’s only a limited number of items you can use to build and buy.
The vacant land you can buy to build your fortress of solitude on does come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and each at a variable cost, but sometimes just isn’t enough space for the home you had in mind. You can’t build on a slope or uneven piece of terrain, and can’t even build downward at all. So you can forget about having a basement to protect you from the storm that’ll never come (but nice to have just in case anyway) or your own gravity room like at C.O.S.I. You can only have a main floor and an upstairs, but that should really be all you need to make your dreams come true.
You do, however, get a variety of paints, wallpapers and carpets, to ensure that each room is as different from another as possible. You can make a bedroom to look like it belongs to a child, teen or even an elderly couple with a love for art. There are more things to place on the walls than a museum would know what to do with, and enough lights to make your own Vegas. But, sometimes they do seem too plain and boring after you build enough houses and need to use them over again because there’s not enough.
On the plus side, everything sounds like it should. Toilets sound real when flushed, sinks sound like water is flowing correctly, and music sounds like music; not just beeps and chimes. Sims don't have actual voices though. It's all just random gibberish. But that's actually a good thing, as real voiceovers can get very repetitive and annoying so much to the point that the attractiveness of the rest of the game is brought down.
And, not everything is as perfect as it seems. Showers and dishwashers to breakdown and leak, stoves and grills catch on fire, and computers and TV's can blow fuses. But all this just makes it more realistic an experience, since after all; you do need some sort of challenge. And even with the cost of the dishwasher and cost to repair it, you also get charged for water and electricity too. But, you can get a job to pay it off, and even get motivated enough to try fixing it yourself (which will need skill points you can get from reading manuals or hands on experience).
And, there are a variety of jobs your sims can have, each with a different pay rate and chain of promotions if you do well at work. You don't however, get to go to work with your sims. They leave an hour before scheduled time, and come home after 5-8 hours with a paycheck everyday. But it's worth it to have the extra cash.
Overall, you can seem to put enough imagination into the design of the houses, families and decorating sense to have a whole neighborhood of unique individuals. And, this is not just a game for entertainment; you can also use it to show your design creativity, whether it’s to become an architect creating blueprints, director building movie sets, or a home decorator showing you have a good sense of style and taste. What’s more is that all this is made possible with one program, on your home computer, all thanks to The Sims, which you'll have fun playing over and over again.