"Go on, give it a go. Just try it !"
With those words I rolled my eyes, took the game off my girlfriend and installed The Sims 2 onto my hardrive.
Me ?! Playing the Sims ?! The sequel to the game that had hogged the charts since forever and had always ( as far as I'd been concerned ) been the epitome of gaming.
I'd never played the original. I didn't want to. I mean, what could be so fun about guiding gibberish talking computer people through their everyday life ? Give me a plasma rifle and some zombies anyday.
"Pfffft, The Sims !" I sneered. "I'll try it, but I warn you right now I'm not going to like it."
And so it began. After a few short tutorials to bring me up to speed I settled into one of the preformed adventures.
Enter Dina and Nina, two young well-to-do socialites with a nice three bedroom detached house somewhere in Simland. It was most likely one of those suburbs I created back all those years ago in Sim City 2000. There was probably an industrial area or military airport just off screen.
Dina, the buxom blond haired beauty has a thing for Mortimer. Mortimer is a rich old man. You can kind of do the maths on that one.
Auburn haired Nina on the other hand has a thing for Don. Don's a young socialite too and probably quite a catch.
The simple aim you're presented with is to get the girls to realise their wants and desires. Dina wants Mortimer. Nina wants Don. Sounds simple, but as I was to find out just like real life things are seldom straight forward.....
The scene opened with Dina and Nina lounging around on their roof garden, mixing drinks, sunbathing and chatting in the Jacuzzi. They idled the day away gossiping before the sun went down and it was party time. Dina got on the phone and called round the only two guests that were needed. Enter Mortimer and Don.
Things started well. Dina got talking to Mortimer. There didn't appear to be any awkward silences.
Nina started talking to Don. Things looked to be going great.
And then it went pear shaped in the most unusual fashion. For you see, it appears that the well-to-do socialites house had been built on some kind of Indian Burial ground. Something ghostly was stomping around the house.
When the ghost burst into the party it was guaranteed to be a killer to the proceedings. But I didn't expect Mortimer to piss himself with fright before legging it, full tilt out of the door.
Understandably Dana was upset and started crying ( but then it wouldn't be a party unless there was a girl crying at some point ). Perhaps she was upset so much because Nina and Don were paying tonsil tennis right in front of her and far too preoccupied with one another to see either the ghost or the pissing incident. Dina stormed off to bed leaving Nina to mop up Mortimers puddle of rancid piss.
Much to my surprise while Nina was cleaning up, Don snuck up stairs and into Dina's room. The dirty sod was standing in the corner of her bedroom watching her sleep !! Afraid of where this was going I tried to intervene. The spirit-world beat me to it.
The ghost appeared, shouted "Boo! " at Don who promptly pissed himself in the corner of the room. Nina barely saw him as he fled down the stairs and out the door, screaming in terror. Now well into the early hours of the morning, Nina decided enough was enough and decided to turn in for the evening too.
As if random hauntings weren't enough things got even worse when the burglar turned up. The thieving git snuck into the house while both girls were asleep, taking most of Dina possessions. Alerted by the burglars numerous trips up and down the stairs, Nina made a dash for the phone to call the police. Typically the nefarious burglar was long gone by the time they arrived.
Hearing all the ruckus Dina woke up. If having your intended sugar daddy piss himself in front of you thanks to ghostly activity isn't going to spoil your evening, having all your stuff nicked when you've got an extreme fear of burglars certainly will. That, and awaking to find there's a mysterious piss stain in the corner of your room.
It was all a bit too much for Dina. She simply went straight off the deep end. Young Nina could only look on as her house mate went doo-lally and turned into a jibbering wreck. Fortunately a psychiatrist was soon on hand to sort the problem out. After some quick hypnotherapy, and what appeared to be getting Dina to act like a monkey, she was right as rain for what remained of the night.
The next day eventually dawned. Taking a break from watching Nina bathe, I was alarmed to find that Dina wasn't completely over last nights trauma. I found her standing at the road outside the house in her night clothes begging for money. After a quick berating and a change to some more suitable attire it was clear that Dina had too much time on her hands. She needed a job, something to teach her to be a bit tougher and to bring in some cash to pay the psychiatric bills.
A check of the job ads revealed some interesting prospects.
Pickpocket ? Hmm, Dina was far too pretty to be dabbling in the underworld.
Medical Test subject ? The thought of Dina coming home with a beard or a supperflous third buttock disturbed me a little.
Working as a Hospital Nurse ? Bingo. Character building and well paid too. Without hesitation I signed her up to start the next day.
Meanwhile the phone was ringing. Nina slipped out of her bath to answer. Delighted she found that it was Don. Angered, she found that he only wanted to speak to Dina.
Later that afternoon Don, the bedroom creeping lothario, called over to see Nina. They kissed. They chatted. Then Don found his wooing skills were being put off by the stench of the garbage that had accumulated in the front room. In a bid to put him back into his stride, Nina rushed to clear it up.
Dirty Don seized the opportunity to make a break for it and burst in on Dina in the bathroom. I should imagine he was as shocked as I was to find that Dina was standing fully clothed in an empty bathtub dancing and singing at the top of her voice. Clearly the girls head still wasn't right.
Dina told Dirty Don to get out. I guess the dancing and singing was far more enjoyable than anything the urine soaked Casanova could offer.
Speaking of urine, what of Mortimer ? Had he ran off into the night only to suffer a heart attack and collapse in a hedge row ? Dana gave him a call to see. Everything was fine. They chatted for a small eternity.
Another day broke, and Dina got up for her first day of work. She had a quick bath and got changed before hitching a lift to work in a passing ambulance. Nina had the day off and took advantage of the empty house to call Dirty Don over. It wasn't long before the two of them were all over one another on the settee like a pair of animals.
Nina slipped upstairs with only one thing on her mind. Dirty Don only had one thing on his mind too. He turned on the TV.
Nina stripped to her undies and lounged seductively on the bed. She called to Dirty Don to join her. Prising himself away from the TV he sauntered into the bedroom and just stood there, probably taking in the view. Just as it looked like something was finally going to happen between the two of them.......... Nina's phone rang !
And so ended my first experience with The Sims 2.
I looked at the clock. I'd been engrossed in it for two and a half hours without realising it. And despite trying to hate it, I just couldn't.
"See, I told you that you'd like it "
Its funny, and engaging and for some reason you can't help but care for those on screen little computer people and their adventures. For all its criticisms for being a runaway smash and an out of control cash cow, the original Sims sold like it did for a reason and the sequel is bound to do the same. The array of possibilities, options and outcomes, are simply mind boggling.
There's so much I've yet to experience such as my Sims getting old, having kids, a full blown career and evetually shuffling off their mortal coil.
For me playing the Sims 2 was going to be a dirty little secret, but instead I felt compelled to talk about it. I might have to go and play a nice `manly` game like Burnout 3, or a `hardcore` one like Ikaruga to reassure myself in a moment. But assured I'll be going back pretty soon for another slice of Sims life.
The closing message is simple - try it, you might like it.
With those words I rolled my eyes, took the game off my girlfriend and installed The Sims 2 onto my hardrive.
Me ?! Playing the Sims ?! The sequel to the game that had hogged the charts since forever and had always ( as far as I'd been concerned ) been the epitome of gaming.
I'd never played the original. I didn't want to. I mean, what could be so fun about guiding gibberish talking computer people through their everyday life ? Give me a plasma rifle and some zombies anyday.
"Pfffft, The Sims !" I sneered. "I'll try it, but I warn you right now I'm not going to like it."
And so it began. After a few short tutorials to bring me up to speed I settled into one of the preformed adventures.
Enter Dina and Nina, two young well-to-do socialites with a nice three bedroom detached house somewhere in Simland. It was most likely one of those suburbs I created back all those years ago in Sim City 2000. There was probably an industrial area or military airport just off screen.
Dina, the buxom blond haired beauty has a thing for Mortimer. Mortimer is a rich old man. You can kind of do the maths on that one.
Auburn haired Nina on the other hand has a thing for Don. Don's a young socialite too and probably quite a catch.
The simple aim you're presented with is to get the girls to realise their wants and desires. Dina wants Mortimer. Nina wants Don. Sounds simple, but as I was to find out just like real life things are seldom straight forward.....
The scene opened with Dina and Nina lounging around on their roof garden, mixing drinks, sunbathing and chatting in the Jacuzzi. They idled the day away gossiping before the sun went down and it was party time. Dina got on the phone and called round the only two guests that were needed. Enter Mortimer and Don.
Things started well. Dina got talking to Mortimer. There didn't appear to be any awkward silences.
Nina started talking to Don. Things looked to be going great.
And then it went pear shaped in the most unusual fashion. For you see, it appears that the well-to-do socialites house had been built on some kind of Indian Burial ground. Something ghostly was stomping around the house.
When the ghost burst into the party it was guaranteed to be a killer to the proceedings. But I didn't expect Mortimer to piss himself with fright before legging it, full tilt out of the door.
Understandably Dana was upset and started crying ( but then it wouldn't be a party unless there was a girl crying at some point ). Perhaps she was upset so much because Nina and Don were paying tonsil tennis right in front of her and far too preoccupied with one another to see either the ghost or the pissing incident. Dina stormed off to bed leaving Nina to mop up Mortimers puddle of rancid piss.
Much to my surprise while Nina was cleaning up, Don snuck up stairs and into Dina's room. The dirty sod was standing in the corner of her bedroom watching her sleep !! Afraid of where this was going I tried to intervene. The spirit-world beat me to it.
The ghost appeared, shouted "Boo! " at Don who promptly pissed himself in the corner of the room. Nina barely saw him as he fled down the stairs and out the door, screaming in terror. Now well into the early hours of the morning, Nina decided enough was enough and decided to turn in for the evening too.
As if random hauntings weren't enough things got even worse when the burglar turned up. The thieving git snuck into the house while both girls were asleep, taking most of Dina possessions. Alerted by the burglars numerous trips up and down the stairs, Nina made a dash for the phone to call the police. Typically the nefarious burglar was long gone by the time they arrived.
Hearing all the ruckus Dina woke up. If having your intended sugar daddy piss himself in front of you thanks to ghostly activity isn't going to spoil your evening, having all your stuff nicked when you've got an extreme fear of burglars certainly will. That, and awaking to find there's a mysterious piss stain in the corner of your room.
It was all a bit too much for Dina. She simply went straight off the deep end. Young Nina could only look on as her house mate went doo-lally and turned into a jibbering wreck. Fortunately a psychiatrist was soon on hand to sort the problem out. After some quick hypnotherapy, and what appeared to be getting Dina to act like a monkey, she was right as rain for what remained of the night.
The next day eventually dawned. Taking a break from watching Nina bathe, I was alarmed to find that Dina wasn't completely over last nights trauma. I found her standing at the road outside the house in her night clothes begging for money. After a quick berating and a change to some more suitable attire it was clear that Dina had too much time on her hands. She needed a job, something to teach her to be a bit tougher and to bring in some cash to pay the psychiatric bills.
A check of the job ads revealed some interesting prospects.
Pickpocket ? Hmm, Dina was far too pretty to be dabbling in the underworld.
Medical Test subject ? The thought of Dina coming home with a beard or a supperflous third buttock disturbed me a little.
Working as a Hospital Nurse ? Bingo. Character building and well paid too. Without hesitation I signed her up to start the next day.
Meanwhile the phone was ringing. Nina slipped out of her bath to answer. Delighted she found that it was Don. Angered, she found that he only wanted to speak to Dina.
Later that afternoon Don, the bedroom creeping lothario, called over to see Nina. They kissed. They chatted. Then Don found his wooing skills were being put off by the stench of the garbage that had accumulated in the front room. In a bid to put him back into his stride, Nina rushed to clear it up.
Dirty Don seized the opportunity to make a break for it and burst in on Dina in the bathroom. I should imagine he was as shocked as I was to find that Dina was standing fully clothed in an empty bathtub dancing and singing at the top of her voice. Clearly the girls head still wasn't right.
Dina told Dirty Don to get out. I guess the dancing and singing was far more enjoyable than anything the urine soaked Casanova could offer.
Speaking of urine, what of Mortimer ? Had he ran off into the night only to suffer a heart attack and collapse in a hedge row ? Dana gave him a call to see. Everything was fine. They chatted for a small eternity.
Another day broke, and Dina got up for her first day of work. She had a quick bath and got changed before hitching a lift to work in a passing ambulance. Nina had the day off and took advantage of the empty house to call Dirty Don over. It wasn't long before the two of them were all over one another on the settee like a pair of animals.
Nina slipped upstairs with only one thing on her mind. Dirty Don only had one thing on his mind too. He turned on the TV.
Nina stripped to her undies and lounged seductively on the bed. She called to Dirty Don to join her. Prising himself away from the TV he sauntered into the bedroom and just stood there, probably taking in the view. Just as it looked like something was finally going to happen between the two of them.......... Nina's phone rang !
And so ended my first experience with The Sims 2.
I looked at the clock. I'd been engrossed in it for two and a half hours without realising it. And despite trying to hate it, I just couldn't.
"See, I told you that you'd like it "
Its funny, and engaging and for some reason you can't help but care for those on screen little computer people and their adventures. For all its criticisms for being a runaway smash and an out of control cash cow, the original Sims sold like it did for a reason and the sequel is bound to do the same. The array of possibilities, options and outcomes, are simply mind boggling.
There's so much I've yet to experience such as my Sims getting old, having kids, a full blown career and evetually shuffling off their mortal coil.
For me playing the Sims 2 was going to be a dirty little secret, but instead I felt compelled to talk about it. I might have to go and play a nice `manly` game like Burnout 3, or a `hardcore` one like Ikaruga to reassure myself in a moment. But assured I'll be going back pretty soon for another slice of Sims life.
The closing message is simple - try it, you might like it.
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