Bringing Simplicity to The Sims 2

Most of the reviews of The Sims: Life Stories found on the net are always comparing the game to Sims 2, and most end up in TSLS looking bad in comparison. So let's take a different approach, and look at it as the separate game it is.

First of all, what is The Sims: Life Stories? It is a brand new Sims game and the first in a series. Although made to look just like The Sims 2, it's made so you can use it on computers with lower specs, specifically laptops so you can play on the go. No, that's probably not worth the money for the average Sims player, but there's more. Maxis has added a new style of gameplay to make it worthwhile.

In TSLS, there are two preset stories that you can play through, almost like Sims console games. They're pretty okay, if you like soap opera plots. I thought I would do okay with that, since I like alot of drama in my Sims' lives, but the stories weren't actually that interesting. The plots are good, but there was too much time in between the events, and the characters are annoying, to be honest.

There is also a Free Play option, where you get one neighborhood, Four Corners, to play with however you want. It is a small neighborhood, but there are plenty of options to choose from. The CAS option has considerably less outfits, though, which is a shame, because the ones that are left are the ones I don't like so much. The lot sizes are also smaller. That means no mansions, guys! However, family sizes changed to fit with this. The maximum amount of sims you can have in a family are now 4.

I personally don't mind these changes. Mansions were too much upkeep, and I wasn't a huge fan of big families anyway. Besides, many things were improved in TSLS. All the cool items from the various expansions were incorporated into the game without all the other stupid things that came with it (eg. The pool table in Uni was here, but we don't have to bring our Sims to university every generation). And remember all the annoying things we had to make our Sims do just to keep the garden beautiful? This time, we don't need to do any pruning or watering, or waste valuable Simoleons on a gardener. The hedges stay just as they are without tending.

I know I'm comparing TS2 and TSLS now, but for my playing style, TSLS suits me more. It cuts down on the unnecessaries, but keeps the fun of leading the day-to-day lives of pixel people.

I recommend this game to:
- people who can't afford TS2 and its growing string of expansions... that's more than $500 in the cash register!
- beginners to the world of The Sims
- people with laptops or computers that couldn't handle TS2 very well (the graphics in TSLS are very smooth, even with the settings cranked up!)
- people who would just like a simple playing experience and want to play Sims but not bog down their computer with the sheer massiveness of TS2 and its expansions