The Sims dynasty continues with the release of Sims 2, the first real overhaul of the popular series in a long time. There are so many improvements, it's hard to know where to begin!

First, the graphics have been enhanced greatly. You begin by making your family, including all ages. You can tweak every aspect of your sim's appearance, from hairstyles to tattoos to a huge range of clothing. You can have your sims in love with each other, married, have kids and more.

The Sim world is no longer four-angled - you can do full rotation around in circles. The graphics are extremely impressive. The starting selection of items and decorations is extensive, but you know that in short order there will be millions of add-ons coming down the road :) So this is only the beginning.

I am THRILLED to find that they finally give you days off from work, and even let you earn vacation days, so that you can rest and relax in between your hard working day hours. The entire pace is much more balanced than the original game - you feel like you have plenty of time to enjoy your house and throw parties, as well as putting in the required hours at work.

Your computer in the game is far more useful now, letting you chat with friends, send email, order groceries, and even play SSX.

For hard core sims fans, the real glory comes in the fact that your characters actually go through a life cycle. They age (very slowly) and as they have kids, you watch the kids grow up and age, too. The kids even have the traits of the parents! So you can literally go through generations of sims, raising each one up.

In addition, each sim has one of five "lifestyle goals". Maybe your sim is after knowledge - or maybe they want the happy family life. Your sim could covet money or romantic encounters. Whatever it is that makes your sim happy, by hitting goals in that area the sim earns bonus points. So those sims who aren't happy with the 'career track' can still achieve kudos by working towards other aims.

Highly highly recommended for any Sims fan. It's just as good as the original Sims in playability - and far improved in many ways!

BTW: Check your PC against the game requirements before buying. Newer PCs should have no problem - in fact I'm playing it on my laptop - but ancient PCs might be unhappy.

Buy Sims 2 from Amazon.com

Sims 2 Walkthrough and FAQ