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Wouldn't pay a penny for the game!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 42 / 74
Date: December 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I am a Sims fan. My daughters and I have most of the expansion packs with the exception of Unleashed which just recently came out. That will be under the tree. What will never be a part of our collection is The Sims Online. It is a slap in the face to all loyal Sims players who waited patiently for Simville (cancelled)and bought all the other expansion packs. We have all dreamed of being able to play online with our Sims but not at the price Maxis is asking. It should have been an expansion pack with two options: the multiverse (the current version) and a free, limited multiplayer for up to 8 players like other PC games offer.

You can take a good thing too far

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 19 / 20
Date: December 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

They should have left the Sims where they were. I'm an avid Sims fan. I have all the expansions and love them all. If you liked any of the Sim's games, you'll hate Sims Online. It takes away all the "real life" freedoms that you had and confines you to a boring, never ending cycle of pursing money through boring ways (no jobs), and constantly working on skills. It has a terrible feel to the whole game...you'll find yourself getting frustrated and asking yourself why am I playing this? Stick to the original sims, unless you want a chat room with a face.

Expense chatware

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 15 / 21
Date: December 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Sims online is an example of expense chatware system.
Good points: you can be somebody else, have your own home, build your skills.
Bad points: You can't have a job, trade with people, sell your stuff to someone else, modify your sim once you make it, time clock on the sims doesn't make any sense, bugs, bugs, and incomplete features.

A Sham of a game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 47 / 48
Date: December 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Being a Sims fan since Day One, I bought this game on the first day
it was released to the public just like how I did when all the expansions of the offline version came out.
I was aware of some of negativity surrounding The Sims Online but I dimissed it because I have always been satisfied with the Maxis/Electronic Arts products I have purchased.

After playing this game on an off for two days I have to say I am not only disappointed in the product but I feel like I have been ripped off.

This is *not* an actual game where Sims can stroll through neighborhoods and downtown areas and play with other players in an actual Sim World.

The game has a similar design to several online 3D Virtual World-Skin/avatar chat places I frequent.
And in some of those places for a nominal fee, you can actually buld your own world that people can explore.

This doesn't seem like an actual, legitimate MMORPG. Because in a true MMORPG, interacting with others is one aspect of the game
which you can particpate in at your discretion.

The foundation of a good gameplay comes first, then socializing and interactivity follows.

What the developers of the game did is create a chat room, and
then try and add psuedo, half- hearted content in order to promote
chatting.

A bunch of adults playing with musical instruments, kissing other sims and engaging in crass potty humor does not make a game.

There simply isn't enough gameplay in it for it being justified in being called an actual game and to con people into paying monthly to particpate in what is essentialy a giant chatroom is positively dishonorable.

Great Game, if You Give it a Shot

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 13
Date: December 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

It takes some time to get the hang of it, but the game is great to play, and stays true to its word for the most part. Having playtested it since early November, and played it after the commercial release, I've really enjoyed the time I've spent on it. Some people have mentioned not having businesses, but this is not true. The player to player sales system has not been created yet, but a restaurant and many other businesses are possible. In addition, it has great social aspects, and unique ways of making money. But, as we all know, in the Sims it was not making money that was fun. It was building your house, your alter-ego. This brings you all the fun of creating your luxurious palace, or your seaside shack, or whatever you want to create, with roommates to help you, and people to visit and admire it. All in all, this is a great game, with few shortcomings.

Also, I have seen many people saying that they beta tested it early and were disappointed about the lack of objects promised by Maxis. It was in the testing phase! That's what you should expect when testing a game, in any phase. Of course there will be bugs, and not everything will be done, but it's all being worked on. The reason that some things are not complete is because of play testers and the general public pushing for a quick release, and pressure to get it out by Christmas, causing E.A. to release an unfinished version of the game. I still love it though, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the Sims, and has a little patience.

The Sims Online in a Nutshell

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 86 / 94
Date: December 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I was hoping for so much more from this game, but I found myself extremely disappointed. Before spending your money on it, here is what you can expect.

You will start out in a city with very little money, maybe enough to buy a lot and some walls. So, you will need to raise some cash. In order to raise any significant cash, you will need to build up a skill or two.

To build up a skill such as mechanical, your sim will sit down and read a book for hours. If you are lucky and find a large group also studying mechanical, it might only take 6 or 7 hours to maximize this skill. All the while you have the exciting pleasure of sitting in front of your screen watching your sim study. Occasionally you will get a chance to break up the monotony by having to make your sim use the bathroom, eat and sleep. Oh, you can also chat with other sims while your sim studies, but most of the other players have figured out how boring it is and go away from their keyboard (AFK) to do more interesting things like laundry or watch TV while their sim studies. Most likely you will be talking to yourself or maybe one other person.

Now that you have a skill, you can make some cash. This is done through group objects such as the code machine, pizza machine or maze. All of which are fun for maybe the first 10 or 20 times you play them. You can also use solo objects, such as the gnome workbench to raise cash. Essentially these work the same as studying, everyone goes AFK and you watch your sim do the same repetitive task for hours on end.

Now you have enough money to start building your home. However you have a 100-object limit on what you can buy. After you have reached that limit, which many have already done, you have essentially "completed" the game. You can then try to attract visitors to your property so that you can run around acting as their personal maid service, feeding them food, cleaning the toilet after they are done, making beds, etc. You have now hit the peak of excitement and entertainment in the game! Congratulations!

In my opinion, there is no inherent fun to this game. Most people who love the game will tell you that the fun of the game comes from what you put into it. I can find ways for a piece of string to be fun too, and I don't have to spend $50 to buy it and pay $10 a month to play with it.

The only hope for this game is that in the "future" additional content will be released to make the game more fun. (No exact or even estimated dates are provided by Maxis, it could be two weeks or two years) In my opinion, this is still a beta quality game that people are being charged to play while the bugs are worked out. It still may turn out to be good in the "future", but right now it is about as entertaining as watching laundry dry.

Also, if you purchase this game and find yourself upset with it, do not complain on the official Sims Online message boards. Anything other than praise and raves can now be considered a violation of the terms of service and your account can be revoked for it. Several threads expressing dissatisfaction have already been shut down and locked by Maxis administrators.

PRICY!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 28
Date: December 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Okay, the sims online and other sims games are all cool, in fact i'm totally obseesed with the game. And it's all fitting together, but BUY THE GAME IN STORES!! I mean~It's worth your money, but SERIOUSLY! You can get it for fifteen bucks at a Wal-Mart! Trust me, It's not worth running your bank account thin.

If you liked the sims, you will love the sims online

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 31
Date: December 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is such a great game! you can play as if you were someone else. Make new friends! I am playing with all my girl friends and we are having a blast. There are many games within the game. There are many cities to explore. My favorite is Jolly Pines. I have been dancing in a night club all night long with my friends. I hope to see you there.

Disappointing, Boring, Time Consuming.. ugh!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 27 / 28
Date: December 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I can't tell you how disappointed I was with this game. The chat system is horrid and rather than being a nice place for social interaction, the game seems to revolve around who can get the highest skill (and it can take you literally HOURS to go from one level to the next) and make the most money... and if you don't have 16 hours a day to devote to the game.. well, you can just go ahead and assume that you will never get ahead.

Those who buy this game for the social interaction will be disappointed. Those who buy this game for their children should think twice - there is graphic language and actions. Those who buy this game for entertainment.. well, if you find staring at the screen for hours watching your sim do some boring task to slowly up a skill level that will help you make more money when you are doing other boring tasks then perhaps you might get something out of it.. but the one thing you won't have is a life!

In my opinion, this game is NOT worth the money for the initial purchase nor is it worth the additional monthly fee they charge you play it online. Your money would be better spent buying an expansion for your regular sims game.

Just Wait and See

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: December 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I wish to remain anonymous but let me say this. I am serious in the online Sims community, have all the Sims related expansion packs as well as Deluxe. And also have a hobby of making things as a 3rd party user. Concerning The Sims Online. Wait 6 months to a year to buy it. If the game survives (I have serious doubts) a year it will be completly different then it was when it was released and it will be a hit. The ideal of The Sims Online has so much to offer. But I am in awe that the quality and attention to detail is just not there in the finished product that was released recently. It's almost as if Maxis wasn't in complete control of it's baby and was forced to release The Sims Online and hope for the best. The simple suggestion to a person thinking to buy is that the product as it stands is just lacking. So wait 6 months to a year. And if The Sims Online is still going and a hit, then go for it. I am crossing my fingers that it will be a hit as I want to see Maxis have success with this. But saying that, I will be counting down the days until the 6 months and then I will be here reading the newer reviews and making my mind up myself.

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