The Sims is a nice timekiller game for me, I liked playing a bachelor and falling in love with a neighborhood female I created. This is another game where you get to develop your character(s), which I like. I do wish there were more skills, I suppose the sims 2 might have something more to this. It is possible to create a character who has max skills in the categories of cooking, mechanical, logic, body, creativity and charisma. There is also a cool social structure where friendships, romances and hatreds can be formed.

The skills are gained by studying, working your speech in front of a mirror, playing chess etc. I enjoyed getting my mechanical skill up by making gnomes (available in the Livin' Large expansion) then selling them! I managed to have a self-employed sim which was pretty cool. You could pretty much do what you want. Buy a big stereo, invite your girlfriend over and dance the day away. Bring up your cooking skill by studying or making preserves (again, LL) and feed her a good meal :)

I don't know about the replayability because I haven't owned it long. I also would like to be able to play online, which a later version of the game covers. There are many expansions; I own livin' large and hot date. Livin' Large adds tons of new furniture, appliances and entertainment devices to the game. Hot Date adds the Downtown area and many social interactions. On my system the Downtown area is kinda laggy but if you turn down the graphics a bit it's acceptable. I didn't really notice the graphics settings changing much in the way of appearance anyway.

Overall, I can definately recommend these games and after doing some research, The Sims Online looks like a good buy when I can afford it. The Sims Mega deluxe expansion includes: The original Sims game, House party, Livin Large and Hot Date. If you like games with many options and a laid back feel, definately buy The Sims.

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