Nice But Flawed...A pretty looking book, looks nice and thick when you first receive it, but when you open it up, you're in for a surprise.
The first nine chapters speak about the original game only. While it's very interesting it's somewhat pointless since most players know the score and you have to turn to Chapter 10 to get to the new data. You get a review of the new lots, the new items and general information about the new features offered by the expansio pack. It just feels "tacked on" and is nowhere near as comprehensive as it probably should be. Okay, it has great long lists of interactions and so on as do the other books but in this Unleashed title it just seems to outweigh the rest of the content re: Unleashed. I'm much more interested really in learning how to, say, decypher the Crystal Ball as opposed to when I get to be able to tell Sim A whether to get into bed with Sim B, for example. :)
Bit of a letdown really, though it's still fascinating to read but can't say it's anything to write home about. One star for the blatant waste of paper that is the first nine chapters and two stars for the new material. Very disappointing IMO. Might be worth it if you bought the original game and jumped straight to Unleashed but otherwise nothing to shout about, really.
USELESS
I bought this guide because I previously bought the 5 - in - 1 package of miniguides which covers the basic game + living large / house party / hot date / vacation and i found it REALLY useful ( OK pictures are very little but anyway in the large book they are blurry as well, so that's no real improvement to buy the large instead of the little one) .
So I hoped that this book would have been helpful too, but unfortunately I was wrong.
The 1st part of the book is devoted to the basic game, as usual; this means that 60% of the book is obsolete or anyway well known by everybody.
The 2nd part contains a detailed description of the downtown buildings, furnitures and characters + a chapter about pets + few pages about gardening. The only useful tricks I could obtain out of this part are the following:
- if you grow more that 3 plots of carrots, bunnies will arrive
- windmills, gnomes and scarecrows limit the damages that pests can do to your garden to 1 single plot
- by using the tonic there's some chance to burn out the vegetables as well as to obtain a super-yield, which can be sold for 150$ to the gardener
- scold your dog when it pees on the floor to get it housebroken
- if your pet does not have a very high obedience score + a high tricks score + a good moode, it's not worthwhile trying to compete for the blue ribbon and you'll only receive the booby prize
- all tricks abilities of your pet need to be trained periodically otherways they decrease in time
OK, now you know all and you don't need to buy the book anymore ( I already sold mine ).
Not necessary for experienced Simmers
I have bought the Strategy Guides in the past, but felt this one was not needed.
The only thing I have used it for really is for career skills, and the meaning of the Fortune Tellers messages, plus a few gardening hints which didn't answer my questions. That is not much out of 238 page book!
The first part of the book is dedicated to the original Sims game. This is obsolete with expansion packs like Livin' Large or the Deluxe version.
If your only experince of the Sims is this game, then it is good for you to get the hang of things, but anyone who has played a couple of other expansion packs should be able to pick up most things from the guide that comes with the game.
The sims unstuck!
the sims is such a great game, but like real life it has its sticky situations! This book will guide you through all your problems and you'll come out the other side MUCH happier and satisfied that you've done it! You may still think that you don't need this book (i thought the same) and i overlooked it for weeks, but when i finally dared to open it it was fantastic! even if you're not stuck its a great read for ALL sims lovers! Buy it NOW NOW NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Prima's official Strategy Guide to the Sims Unleashed!
This book is great, helping you with pretty much anything you need and want to know. It is great for any first time players trying to adopt the Sims way of life. Just read the book and you will be miles ahead of everyone else. This book is well laid out and very clear and easy to understand. Great for kids and don't forget, great for adults aswell. My mum loved it also. So if your stuck on anything, give this book a go and your problems will be sorted. I rate this book 5 stars. But it's not just useful once, you can use it over and over again. It always comes in handy and it's worth it! A great summer holiday present.
Hide Reviews
Buy used for 
