The Sims: Livin’ Large

Introduction

Genre: Human life simulator.
Developer: Maxis
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Price: $29.99
Review System: PII, 400MHz, 128 megs RAM, SQ2500 sound card, Guillemot TNT2 Ultra video card with 32 MEGS ram, 4x DVD ROM.
We Recommend: PII, 400MHz, 64 megs of RAM, 16 meg video
Homepage: The Sims
Bugs encountered: Whoa! None!

It’s more of The Sims, and that’s good. It’s more of the Sims, and that’s bad. Not bad as in “not good,” but bad as in “oh dear Lord, I have no more life.” Yep, if you thought that playing The Sims was addicting, wait until you install the new expansion Livin’ Large. Lots of the new features will mess with your Sims, and with you, but all in all, I think you’ll like it. Old timers will find it refreshing, and those of you who have yet to try the Sims should be convinced that it’s time to buy.

A new feature of livin’ large… cockroaches! Oh joy!

Very Simulating

Fist of all let’s talk about The Sims. This is a game that tries to simulate real life. Imagine going to the store and buying a hamster, but when you got home it was a little person. Now, you drop that little person into his new home and you start to care for him or her. That is The Sims in a nutshell, but under that nutshell is a lot of meat. A big meaty walnut that begs you to play and play and play some more.

The premise of the game is to create an environment in which your Sim can thrive. Keeping him/her happy, fed and comfortable is the challenge; do this and they will succeed. Marriage? Work? Play? Family? It’s all in there, and it is all frighteningly alluring. It’s kind of like digital voyeurism. If you want to know more, check out the Ars review of The Sims. Since Livin’ Large is an expansion pack, the remainder of this review will assume you know something about the original game.

The veil of reality gets thinner

With Livin’ Large the gameplay hasn’t changed at all, just the options — but this in effect, changes the gameplay. There are far more career paths, objects, skins and furnishings with which to bring your Sim’s universe alive (125 items in all have been added). All the downloads from The Sims homepage have been included, too — even the lethal killer guinea pig! Woof woof! Graphically it hasn’t been changed either.

But now you can add all sorts of “fantasy” elements in your “real-life” Sim world. You can purchase a robotic housekeeper who will go as far as entertaining your guests if they seem bored (low social rating). You can try to be clairvoyant and peer into a crystal ball, but beware, messing with arcane forces can have a dramatic effect on your Sims. My Sim, Thor Odinsson, has lost two points from his neatness score because of this little crystal contraption, and he can’t seem to win them back. You can even summon a genie from its bottle and wish for love or money. But as the old saying goes: “Be careful what you wish for.”

All of these new “fantasy” items add a new dimension to the game. If you like having more precise control over the lives of you Sims, or if you like to have more predictable effects from your choices, don’t toy with these new gimmicks. I think some people will love the randomness and element of chaos that these items bring to the game, while others will just become frustrated. I am personally enjoying The Sims like I never have before. That vibromatic bed is my favorite spot now… I think I’ll call another cute neighbor over for some stimulating conversation. Got a quarter?

The game now lets your Sims deal with death, as in the grim Reaper, if one of your Sims dies. This is getting serious, folks.

After having sex, your Sims leap from the bed like Olympic gymnasts.
I give this dismount an 8.25, they didn’t stick the landing.

Expansions

The best part of Livin’ Large is the sheer number of new items and elements that are included with the game. Your home can now literally be your castle. To touch on the “fantasy” elements again, you can build a stone castle and live in it as an armored warrior or even a robed wizard. New carpets, wallpapers and exterior coverings makes home-building more enjoyable than before. You can also install the optional art creator and make paintings and wall hangings from your favorite porn site downloads… er.. I mean of your family dog. Yeah, that’s it.

One problem I had with the original game was the lack of variety in art. There were only a few pieces of art to hang on your walls, and only a single choice in any given price range. Now, with several more paintings and sculptures available, your decorative choices don’t have to duplicate themselves from room to room. This is definitely a welcome addition. My neighbors kept wondering why I had a 4 clown paintings in my house. I just shook my head then juggled those beanbags that I always carry around for entertainment emergencies. This would distract my neighbors enough to make them forget about the stupid clown painting. Whew.

And for those of you who like to manage a few Sim families at once, you’ll be happy to know that you now have five neighborhoods to populate. The original game offered a single neighborhood with several lots, which got filled up rather quickly. Right now, I am in the process of building a neighborhood populated solely with comic book super heroes. I downloaded Batman & Robin skins, Wonder Woman and Superman skins plus Spiderman, the Punisher and a bunch more. I moved in the entire Justice League into one of the houses I built – including the Wonder Twins. Now, all I need are some criminals whose asses I can kick. “Wonder Twin powers… activate!”