The Sims
System: XBox   Publisher: EA Games   Developer: Edge of Reality   Genre: Strategy   Release Date: 01/12/03

Quick Synopsis	Overall Score
Enjoyment:  This game is great for someone that has a big ego. Graphics:  Standard Sound:  Passable Replay:  Continual

Maxis’ The Sims is in a sense mimicking and mocking real life. In this game you are creator and ruler of the little computer people created by your imagination, in other words one might call you a god of the sim folk.. This is great for someone that has a big ego. You begin the game by choosing the gender of the person or persons that you want to create then you give them some personality traits. By giving them personality traits you decide which astrological sign that they will be associated with then their behavior will act accordingly. For instance, Scorpios tend to be neat, if you choose your character to be neat they will clean up after themselves more often than sims that are not. The personality traits also determine how they will get along with other sims, if one sim is neat and another messy they probably won’t live well together. When choosing roommates for your sims try to choose ones with compatible personality traits. Then you choose your sims physical appearance. There are fat sims, skinny sims, blonde, and brunette sims; you can make your sim any way you want. After choosing their body type you get to choose your clothing, this is the clothing that they will wear through most of the game. However by playing in the mission mode you can unlock a vanity that will allow you to change your sims appearance.

After you have chosen your sim characters they will be given some starting out money for you to buy them a home to start a life. You can purchase a home that is already built or purchase an empty lot to build your own home on. When you buy your home you will probably find that most of your resources have been depleted, that’s okay, it just means that it is time for you to find a job. A sim can find a job in one of two ways; the newspaper or the internet. Look through either one to find what options are available, remember job opportunities come and go on a daily basis so check often until you find the job that you want. You can get a job ranging from a burglar to an actor, but in order to get promotions you must develop the desirable skills necessary for advancement. You will find out what skills your sim needs by checking out the menu that tells you what your current skill level is. At the start of a game your skills will be at zero. Also you must make friends in order to get promotions when you converse with another sim your level of friendship goes up; the computer will tell you once you reach friend status. In order to maintain these friendships you must keep in contact with your friends; the more friends you have the higher the promotions that you will receive.