Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 45

45: The Sims (series, but 2 in particular) (PC and then, like, some version on every friggin’ console, ever)
Developer: Maxis
Year: 2000 and beyond!

It would be had to really talk about The Sims 2 and review it without a comment upon the first game. Since the first Sims game really created everything the second game had – and perfected! – its really unfair to classify them as different games. Its really just a fresher, prettier version with a few refined aspects. And the third game, while fun and pretty as hell, too, is just a more refined version of the second game (just with a few missing elements or altered aspects). And so, the second to last game on this list to be (basically) plotless, The Sims series, with the second game in particular being the crucial game in the franchise, makes its appearance.

One of the reasons I hate writing these things is because one of my favorite things in video games is narratives. A game allows for a story to take more hours than a film and, if told right, can be equally as captivating. Silent Hill 2, for example, features on the best stories I’ve ever experienced in my life. So having a game with no real plot makes me loathe writing about it, somewhat. But not the case with Sims 2. Being able to create any character you want and then messing with him/her allows you to create a story of your own, if you want, and – while its a huge time waster, for certain – having that kind of control allows you, if you so desire, to become far more immersed in the game and your character. Pathetic or wealthy, strong or a likely sex… I mean Woo Hoo-offender, the choice is yours. The speed of play is in your control, too, meaning you can hold sway over your length of life. Its handy for quick characters or people that take forever to play the game.

But let’s talk about the game, shall we? As someone who figures himself to be a creative sort, Sims games really speak to me, allowing the player to create – as mentioned – a character (or plural characters), their home, and their lives. With such customizable features like personality traits, likes and dislikes, and – in the later installments, anyhow – the ability to control weight and muscle mass, the game provides unlimited replayability and possibility. No two players of the game will have the same results… similar, yes, but never will they match up, because of the connection to the individual characters and their lives. Its addicting, once you’re made someone, to keep running (or ruining) their lives for hours and hours on end. Hours can come and go without notice, all the while a Sim gets a job, gets a significant other, and gets a kid. The old cliche about having no life so your Sim can have one is generally true.

Each game in the series increased the visual and musical capacities of the game, as well as some of the general features. While the first game started as a simple just-in-the-house game, with later expansions taking place in other locations, the subsequent games have towns on the spot, meaning further adventures outside of the home. The second game, though, added colleges (something that is present at the start in the third one) by means of expansion content, creating a more “full life” for Sims. These additional features that expansions provide are meant to assist in the “realism” of the game, and they do – to a degree, I guess – by adding variety and unique items and places that aren’t as standard as “park” or “movie theater” and that’s all to the benefit of the player.

All in all, one Sims game or the other is essential gaming at some point. You may not find it as addictive as other might, but I really feel like everyone has had a chance to play this game. And that’s no shock, because the franchise is one of the top selling in the history of video games, period. With numerous versions, ports, expansions, and the like coming from Maxis in a constant stream of titles, and with players gobbling up each new product without a care in the world, the Sims legacy is never-ending, likely. I’m OK with that, too.

Classic Moment:
Since each player has a personal experience with their Sims, its only fair to share one of my own, from the first game: Drake Vampo had it all – a great job, a great life, and a great girlfriend. But all it took was putting Free Will back on (an option that lets the character run themselves if left unattended, which I usually turn off) to run his existence into the ground… literally. In no time at all he’d lost his job, had his girlfriend leave him, and then I had to sell all of his stuff just so he could eat. Eventually I had to sell his fridge and everything, leaving him foodless. I’d decided to let him die, and he stood there and waved at me, demanding foodstuffs, but with only $15 left, I could get him nothing. So what happened? Free Will kicked in and he ordered himself a pizza. Never before and not once since has a Sim out-thought me. Well played, Drake. Of course, you died in the middle of the street, having starved to death in a puddle of your own piss. But still… well played.

Why The Sims > Mario Kart 64:
One word: creation. There’s a thrill in seeing something you made – even with in-game tools – in a game. Its why the 360’s avatars and the Wii’s Miis are so popular. We like to see the things we make. Also, the games are simply too damn addictive. So, you know, there’s that. 

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Added March 8, 2017
Still need to get into a routine with Sims 4… but between FFXV, Mass Effect: Andromeda coming up, and – oh you know – fucking ZELDA ON THE SWITCH I don’t think I’m getting to it anytime soon.
I did play the shit out of 2 the most, though.