Description:
Sex and aliens. That's really all that was missing from the amazing original edition of The Sims, and the expansion Livin' Large delivers these new treats to liven up your beloved Sims existence. New characters (including a gladiator and Xena-like warriors), and, more impressively, new decorations are the reasons to buy this game. The furnishings are mostly grouped by theme, with the medieval dungeon option the most authoritative of the bunch. (Little Cassandra Goth has been longing to read by torch light all along.) Our personal favorite is the futuristic theme, with an optional, but expensive, maid/gardener robot to take care of the fabulous modern furnishings. Clearly the Sims team has been doing its research over at Herman Miller, and you'll have a bright red, flowing-foam sofa to show for it. But it wouldn't be The Sims if only good taste prevailed. Bring on the mai tais with a tiki-heavy islander theme. There's also a startling collection of carpeting and objects best grouped under the design ideal we call "demented clown." The attention-getting rarities include: a lame fortune-telling ball (our advice mostly centered around hiring a maid), a voodoo doll for hexing roommates, and a genie who delivers as much bad as good (dead plants, anyone?). And, yes, there's a vibrating bed to give your Sims the spice they've been missing. While the expansion didn't blow us away, it did provide more of the humor and novelty true Sims die-hards will appreciate. With even more attention to detail than the original offering, EA deserves Sims-like applause for this edition. --Jennifer Buckendorff
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