PC Magazine Gives The Sims 2 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Editors Choice Award
"The Sims are back and they're better than ever."

Read The Review

Pros:
Excellent cinematic graphics and viewing options. Sophisticated life cycles for Sims. Fun and addictive.
Cons:
Slow startup and high system requirements.
Bottom Line:
The Sims are back—and they're better than ever. The Sims 2 is just as addictive as the original. Now bring on the expansion packs.

If first-person shooters don't exactly knock you dead and racing games make you feel like you're going around in circles, we have good news: The Sims are back—and they're better than ever.

For those unfamiliar with the PC universe's most popular game ever, the Sims is an alter-world in which you create characters and live their lives for them, guiding their careers, looking for romance, and upgrading their homes. The original spawned several expansion packs as well as console, handheld, and online versions.

Now those virtual people have made a giant leap forward with The Sims 2. We're happy to say that it's as much fun as it is great-looking. The first things you'll notice are the cinematic graphics and the ability to change the viewing angle in any way, including zooming in or out. Creating new Sims is a blast with the completely customizable controls, which let you get the exact look and personality you want. Create a family and the kids will inherit genetic traits from their parents. Sims now grow old and eventually die.

You choose from five aspirations for your Sims—wealth, knowledge, family, romance, or popularity—that give you targets to strive for and stop the game from feeling random. Your aspirations determine what you'll see on the new Wants and Fears Panel, which provides short-term goals. Fulfilling wants also improves your Sims' mood.

The game includes three neighborhoods: Pleasantview (which houses the Goths, a Sims staple), Strangetown (the place for UFO encounters and unusual medical experiments), and Veronaville (where a familiar romance has bloomed between two teens in the feuding Capp and Monty families). There are dozens of odd characters to play if you don't feel like creating your own.

Starting up The Sims 2 is slow, since there's so much information to load, and the system requirements are high. But we found it just as addictive as the original. Now bring on the expansion packs.