The Sims

Copyright: KBkids.com 2000

This program is absolutely not to be missed. It will be on everyone's best of the year list come the end of 2000! Maxis has taken their original SimCity concept and gone ten steps further with it! This is a truly original concept that your teens (and you!) will enjoy for a very long time. You know things are good when the tutorial is enjoyable enough to play all afternoon.

The basic idea is that you create and control the lives of families in a small neighborhood. Easy to use controls tell you how each character is doing, and what needs he or she may have. Your Sims must get good jobs, purchase things they need for their homes, and have meaningful social lives. The interface is extremely easy to use. You will not want to try this on a bogged down computer, however. The more complex your neighborhood becomes the more power you will want to keep things from getting choppy.

While some will be content to create functional families with happy lives, most teens will want to see just how far they can push the envelope. Admittedly, adult testers wanted to see how much they could botch things up as well. This is where some of the 'adult' themes come in to play. This is not an obscene, or highly objectionable program. Just be aware that, as in real life, some things are unpredictable. There is no 'true' nakedness, but when your Sims use the bathroom they are covered by those blurred shapes used to disguise criminals and witnesses on television. If you do not take good care of your Sims they will go the path of least resistance in most cases, creating real messes of their lives.

The Sims is a breath of fresh air in the software world. If you can handle a bit of soap- opera-like socialization from time to time you will not want to miss this program. Make sure to visit http://www.thesims.com to download lots of new items for your program and chat with Sim fans.

Note to parents regarding teen rating:

Although the program does not automatically generate objectionable themes, it is possible to create them. Some may develop on their own if your Sims are neglected. Unfortunately Sim fans who understand programming are creating many patches that you would not want as a parent (undoing the nude fog for example.) It is advisable that you keep an eye on your teens if they visit the Sims site often and are doing a lot of downloading. Make this a family project! The Sims can die, and come back as ghosts. They can get angry enough to have real brawls, and have even been known to kill each other off. This is due to lack of care on your part in most cases. You can keep things upbeat, or stoop pretty low. Your Sims marry and have children, but there are not illicit sex scenes or anything of that nature. It is possible to allow your families to have affairs, or to create homosexual relationships. There is no offensive language, because Sims speak their own concocted language. Be aware of this as a parent if your child tends to gravitate to things you may not be pleased with.

Bottom Line: A superb new program that is not to be missed if you can handle the teen rating.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 4

BrainGain: 3 (actually there is quite a bit as you have to make real life decisions)

FunFactor: 4

EasePlease: 3 1/2

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