User Reviews (31 - 41 of 236)

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Don't waste your money on a buggy chat room!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 17 / 17
Date: December 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

It gets very boring very quickly, it's not worth paying for in my opinion. Don't believe the false advertising they are doing!!! There are NO jobs, only objects you can do for a little money. There are no rosebuds, no cheats of any kind. It takes many real hours to get a skill built, and you have to have skill to earn money. Then when you do get it built, it drops back down and you have to keep studying. The price of everything you need for your house is outrageous, and they don't start you with enough money to even get the basic necessities. Save your money!!! Buy something fun!

Very Disappointed

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 27 / 33
Date: January 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

After waiting anxiously for this to be released for a gift for my daughter, I was extremely disappointed to see that there was a monthly internet fee involved in addition to your own internet fees. It was very slick of the manufacturer to release it right before Christmas so you wouldn't get a chance to read the cover and see that there was an additional fee involved with the game. Needless to say, this has been returned to the store.

An Animated Chatroom with some boring game elements

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 22 / 25
Date: May 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was an early beta tester for The Sims Online and I stayed with game for a good six months until I couldn't take the boredom.

The further we got into the test, and the closer to the game's release date the more the beta testers tried to warn Maxis their game was just not ready. The response was more would be added throughout the game's release so I decided to stick with it as did some of the friends I made.

And yes while there has been additional elements added to the game, it took forever for them to be implemented, yet there are still countless add-ons that have yet to be activated and the game is nearly 5 months old.

Basically the goals of the game are to become the wealthiest and the most popular yet the stringent rules make that nearly impossible so the majority that play wander around building their skills while trying to earn extremely meager amounts of money. The way the game is designed limits and discourages any sort of creativity and the only way to acomplish anything is to have a multitude of roommates. And yes in the beginning, this game was great fun and I truly feel grateful for meeting some great friends but chatting is just not enough incentive for me to continue.

I am one of the last of my friends who finally unsubscribed due to boredom. Down the road, I might try the game again if I hear it has changed for the better because in its current state there simply isn't enough to do that makes it worth the monthly fee.

They released the beta version - Not a game for children!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 26 / 32
Date: January 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I beta tested this game and was shocked when they released the beta version to grab those Christmas sales. The game is lacking SO much. You are paying to beta test!! They will not listen to the cries of their players who really want to love this game. For ever request they go in the opposite direction making this game a boring, mind numbing waste of money. Believe me folks.. I really want to love this game.. would do anything for them to add some fun to this game. Maybe in a few months we might see a turn around but until then, save your money! It's a complete failure.

*** Parents - take my advise PLEASE do not buy this game for your children. Prostitution, runs rampid! It is NOT and I repeat NOT for anyone under the age of 18!

Come back in a year!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: January 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game has great potential. Unfortunately due to game releases being driven by upper management (people more concerned with sales), the game was released far too early.

While the game is fun for awhile, there are currently only 3 aspects to it. Skill building, money making and socializing. Skill building and money making are tedious and boring, so you're only left with socializing. Many of the items and features discussed on their website have yet to be implemented.

This will always be a game in progress and always evolving, but it's not quite evolved enough to warrant [what they're charging].

Good for chat. Overall game was not ready for release.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: January 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I wish wish wish I could say positive things about this game.
I want to SOOOOOOO much.
I WANT to love this game.

But, alas, Maxis released this game too soon. And not just a little too soon -- a lot too soon.

It is good for about a month's worth of fun, and meeting people... but the problem is you really have to play consistantly (and nearly every day at least) to be successful in the game. As the game stands now, at least.
And, a bigger problem is, the game is too boring to want to do that.

As I write this the release version of the game has been out a bit more than a month.
I -- as a beta tester -- began playing in October.
Since October very little has changed in the game play -- despite what players report and suggest to Maxis.
It seems game designers either don't WANT to alter the game -- or don't know HOW to alter the game.

My personal theory is that the developers envisioned users playing the game in an entirely different way, with different goals, and different methods.
But, it hasn't evolved that way.
Instead of trying to adjust to what 90% of the players say -- Maxis keeps trying to push players in other directions by imposing different rules and limits.

In time, I think this will be a good, fun, game with decent goals and rewards. Unfortunately, because of the way Maxis does business (don't get me started on just about ANY department of customer service)... players are dropping like Raid-injected flies.

Waste of time & money - wait until next version

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: January 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I beta tested TSO and then bought the Charter Edition. I was disappointed when I first started in the beta at how different TSO is from the offline The Sims games. You can't get a job, you can't get married and start families, you can't build multiple houses, etc., etc. But there were times when I had fun. Over the subsequent 3 months, I saw Maxis drain every ounce of semi-fun out of the game. They made money harder to earn, objects more expensive, and motives harder to maintain. They promised us new objects and interactions week after week, and none of those ever came to fruition.

Attempts to role-play were met with dismal failure, mostly because of such shoddy support from the game itself. It's pretty hard to roleplay a space station, for example, if you can't afford most of the sci-fi themed decorations, or you aren't allowed to have a DJ booth or other item on your lot due to property category restrictions. Today the game is a glorified chat room that hogs up almost 2 gig of hard drive space and inexplicably lags and/or crashes with alarming frequency. I would NOT waste money on this game, and when my three months (included with the charter ed.) is up, I'm not renewing. If you love The Sims - you'll hate The Sims Online. If you're 12 and sending IMs is the highlight of your existence, you might enjoy it, but it's probably too expensive for you.

I might give it another try in 2004, if it's still around. Until then, I highly recommend the Unleashed expansion pack for The Sims.

Unfinished

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: January 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

EA released this game way too eary. What they promised on the box and in the ads is not what the game is. The game lacks any player driven economy. Content that is promised in the game has not been developed. The game is based on sitting a sim down and studying a skill for hours on end (you don't even need to be at the keyboard and a lot of people arent). Then you can go and do job object for hours and hours to have enough money to buy a single bed. There is no creative way to make money in this game other than doing job objects. Searches don't work correctly in the game either. Unless you plan on spending a good 20+ hours a week in a chatroom, you are better off with the Offline Sims since it's actually a game and not a chatroom. Horror stories of users on the messagboard and an unscientific poll by a user came back with 65% of responses not renewing their subscription after their first 30days free are up.

Don't waste your money. If you really must have this game, wait a good 6-12 months then check some reviews to see if it's what is promised by then or if anyone is still playing.

The worlds most expensive Chatroom

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: January 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game with the anticipation of it being as fun as the offline version.

After playing the game for about 26 hours, all I
discovered was a giant chatroom filled with crass and obnoxious teens and immature adults who considered playing with the bodily function noise to be roleplaying.

I was expecting an actual game with downtown areas and a real economy.

I am not going to invest [money each] month for a game thats really just a chatroom. If I want to chat, I can do it for free anywhere on the Internet.

This game is a far cry from how its advertised and its obvious its going to take many expansions to deliver the game that was initially promised.

What a let down! And since I lost [money]. I can guarantee its going to be a long time before I purchase anymore games from Maxis.

Anti-game just doesn't have enough compelling content

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: January 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I love the idea of a non-competitive, social game. However, Sims Online isn't it. There are only two activities in the game, making money (or developing skills to assist same), and socializing. The problem is that there is no in-game reward for socializing, so no one chooses to do it. Most houses are empty with a few houses filled to capacity with people trying to earn money. The game becomes quite dull since building a house is futile if you cannot keep it full.

I like the idea, but there's just not enough interesting things to do in the game.

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