User:LostInRiverview/Test

Dusting off The Sims

I recently have had many conversations on the IRC Channel and Wiki Chat about the respective qualities of The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3. So much comes to mind when I think of each game, and they really are all great games in their own way. But The Sims (a.k.a. The Sims 1) will always hold a special place in my heart.

I own The Sims Complete Collection, just as I have owned every expansion pack in the original series. In fact, I've had The Sims installed on every computer I've ever owned, dating all the way back to 2000 with the very first game.

An extreme bout of nostalgia, brought on partly by ongoing conversations, and partly by listening to the music from the original game, has ultimately resulted in my firing up The Sims for the first time in many months. For all of you who have never ever played The Sims, I hope I can accurately describe to you the game in all it's 2-D, isometric-perspective glory. To those lucky souls who have played The Sims, I hope I can make you remember the good times, like your first Sim date, your first family vacation, your first house party, and so much more... maybe you'll even fire up The Sims for yourself and party like it's 1999 2000!

Starting off

• The music: The music! I can't talk enough about all the music in this game. Even the neighborhood songs alone are good enough to hum along to, and I've heard them hundreds of times. There's so much great background music too, in Build mode, Buy mode, and while Downtown or on Vacation Island or in Old Town... it's all great!

• Create a Sim: I was so happy when I opened up CAS for the first time - no waiting! I quickly remembered why it opened so fast, though... the CAS of The Sims is a far cry from what we're used to in the modern games. A few dozen pre-selected heads and a few dozen pre-selected bodies, in three different skin tones - that's it. Throw in a couple kids of each gender, and that's all there is to it. Each Sim comes complete with the personality points system (also featured in The Sims 2) - 25 points you can allocate however you want, to make for example an introverted clean freak comedian, or a slobbish and nasty athlete. Before long I had made a husband and wife pair, and it was time to move them in!

• §20,000 isn't what it used to be: After buying a house, I started to remember why it was always so tempting to cheat for money in The Sims - when you start buying the necessities (fridge, table, chairs, bed, TV, bookcase, hot tub, Servo, etc), you realize rather quickly that your money disappears long before your Sims' furnishing needs do.

• Falling in love fast: I realized after moving my couple in that they actually didn't really know each other; a fatal flaw in The Sims that fortunately is remedied in later games. The relationship score between them was 20, which is barely more than an acquaintance. If I was going to get past the first night, I'd have to beef up their relationship and fast; Sims won't share a bed with someone they don't like, after all.

• The first night: By the end of the first day, my couple was crushing, but not in love. "Good enough" I thought, knowing that Sims will share a bed if they have a crush on each other. By the end of the first day, I had gotten one of my Sims employed as a dishwasher (with a huge §90/day salary!) and was starting to beef up skills. So far I've had no fires, burglaries, broken kitchen sinks or strange phone calls (unfortunately, that means no free money over-the-phone either). All in all, a good first day back in The Sims, and hopefully one of many to come.

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I'm excited to continue to experiment in the game, and I hope you do too. I'll be documenting my play-through on my personal blog, and I hope to be back next month to write more about my new experiences in The Sims! Thanks for reading.