The Sims Life Stories

The latest Sims is excellent for beginners.

	Version PC	Developer Maxis	Publisher EA	Genre Sim

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Riley's story involves a Sim who has lived in Sim City all her life. After falling on hard times she now returns to her Aunt Sharon's in the suburb of Four Corners and that's where her story begins. Vincent on the other hand is the wealthy CEO of an IT company. After a business deal in Sim City he returns home to his modest mansion in Bitville to find that his girlfriend of three weeks has gone ahead and planned their wedding! Vincent's reluctance at this turn of events surprises Samantha and you are left to help him pick up the pieces of his love-life.

Guiding these Sims through their daily struggles soon leads you to understand their different goals and needs that have to be accomplished to help them achieve their Lifetime Want, be it becoming an entertainment mogul or perhaps even a master criminal.

To achieve these high-level goals, there are a number of smaller tasks that must be completed, such as checking on email, finding a job and buying a stereo. However you must also keep in mind your Sim's basic, lower-level needs, such as feeding them when hungry, playing games when they are bored and using the bathroom when they need to. Failure to do so means that it becomes much harder to get your Sims to follow your guidance.

And this, in a nutshell, is it. It's probably easier to understand now why there was such initial reluctance on behalf of EA as whilst this might not sound like so much fun, explaining the game is not the same as experiencing the game, and it is in the latter where the magic lies.

The game shines in its implementation and polish. Its stories are fun, enjoyable and challenging. The interface is clean, slick and comprehensive, without being unduly complicated. The game's depth is unrivalled, with play lasting for many hours and with many unexpected twists, turns and Easter eggs - such as the social bunny who visits if you don't meet your Sim's socializing needs.

Admittedly there are only two stories to the game, but should these be completed or should players want more of an open game experience, there's also the free play mode, which will no doubt be familiar to regular Sims players too.

At its core, this is another, simpler version of The Sims, yet despite being dumbed-down it is thankfully as much fun as ever. While the series generally has been about free-form, open gameplay, Life Stories is more of a pre-scripted game suitable for those who may be overwhelmed by the possibilities that present themselves when there are no boundaries.

EA might be chided at times for milking a cash cow but they are not flogging a dead horse just yet.

Graphics Sound Gameplay Depth Presentation OVERALL 7.5 7.5 8.5 8.0 9.0 8.5

THE VERDICT: Regular Sims devotees might find this version a little simplistic, but for newcomers it is undoubtedly an ideal introduction to The Sims. The stories are engaging and fun, there's plenty to see and do and - best of all - in today's demand for the latest and greatest graphical fidelity, here is a quality title that easily runs on low-end PCs and laptops - perfect for those commutes to work.

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