That, my friends, is exactly what playing The Sims feels like. Have you ever dreamed that you were working? You know the dream - you work and work and work, waking completely tired only to face nine hours of real work at your real job. After five hours of The Sims, I rise from the chair feeling depressed and unhappy with my meager existence, yet eager to play again. After playing five hours of Unreal Tournament I rise from the chair feeling slightly bouncy with a heightened sense of excitement. Which is a bit strange - The Sims is almost certainly not a game.
If you enjoy an occasional foreign film and aren't already on anti-depressants, The Sims may be the perfect game for you. Young average-looking character faces insurmountable challenges, meets an angst-ridden girl/guy and one or both die. While this can be great entertainment, it's certainly not art. Young good-looking character challenges all odds yet manages to win the girl/guy and live happily ever after. Most movies coming out of Hollywood follow a familiar theme (no wonder John Grisham books are so easily translated). One: this game finally creates interactive French cinema and two: that we all live very sad TV lives.
I have developed two analogies for understanding The Sims.
