Interesting Guides...A set of four mini-books these are, covering the original game, Livin Large, House Party and Vacation.
The book on the original game is good on its own. The only problem is it's repeated word for word in two of the other books which makes it obsolete in a way.
The House Party book is the thinnest book of the lot. As well as the reprint of the original text, it doesn't seem to have a lot to say about the basic mechanics of House Party and is practically useless to all intents and purposes. The checklist might be useful to new players.
The Hot Date book is the thickest book in the set. It's much more detailed than House Party and is a much better read, though this may be because House Party didn't offer anywhere near as much expandibility as Hot Date does so there's much more that can be said about it. Can even read on how to build a good downtown area too.
The Livin Large book is the best book of the lot. It contains loads of extra tips and original material that IMO should have been in the original book. Most of this general information is missing from the other books. As a random example, nowhere in the other books does it tell you about the conversation items that appear when Sims talk - the Livin Large book tells you which ones are adult only, which are kid only and which are cross-age. The book is packed with all kinds of statistics as well - did you know, for a random example, that the odds of conceiving a baby in the Heart Bed are 8-1 yet if you kiss with passion the odds fall to 5-1? :) All this and much much more.
The Vacation book is more helpful than House Party yet not as helpful as Hot Date. It's a shame really because Vacation is an interesting expansion pack but doesn't seem to have the guide to complement it here. It has a few highlights but again, nothing really to write home about.
Overall some of the captions in the various books are well written but the pictures aren't very good. So then, four books, one of which is complete tosh, two that are above average and one that's excellent. One star for House Party book, three each for the Hot Date and Vacation Books and five for the Livin Large book = average of 3 stars.
Indispensible
It would be foolhardy to attempt to progress in The Sims without these guides. They contain information which is crucial for your Sims' survival. Without this information, you might never know why your Sim is ill and how to cure him/her, or, if your Sim unfortunately dies, you would not know how to avoid repeating the same mistakes next time. The boxed set is very cute and takes up a lot less space than the original full size guides. And it's also great value. Inside, the books are not printed on the highest quality paper, but it's the information they contain that's important. I would not contemplate playing The Sims without these little books. Definitely recommended.
Sims value packs
This selection of strategy guides is fantastic value for the first few expansion packs. Even if you don't own all of the expansions covered, it can help you decide if you want to buy 'sims vacation' for example.
The individual books in the set can be repetitive as each cover the basic sims for over half the book, the 'Hot Date' version gets to chapter 10 before it even mentions 'Hot Date', but the extra information is worthy of skipping the introduction for. Don't rely on the pictures as they are small and in black and white but some of the captions are witty !
Each book also has a 'cheat' section to help you in the game if you want it.
VERY useful !!!
OK these miniguides are very little but I also bought the large one for Unleashed and there's no significant difference, since anyway pictures are B/W you cannot understand anything from them in any case.
Fron the content point of view, they're just GREAT ! The best ones are certainly those devoted to Livin' large and Vacation.
Without the help of these guides, you simply cannot:
- solve the riddles of the crystal ball to modify your sim's personality
- catch and heal the terrific Indian pig disease
- make your Sim be kidnapped by aliens ( this is really funny ... )
- transform your sim into a Frankestein through the chemistry set
- get rid of the tragic clown
- earn the special prize for the best vacation by maximising the moods of your sims in the proper hours
- build a nice snow man
- let your Sim discover with the help of her girlfriend the hidden pleasures of a dressing room in a downtown shop or of a renting hut on the beach ( ... he he he ... )
So buy it and enjoy the Sims !
Why have 1, when you can have 5!
The sims value pack brings together 5 of the best strategy guides and puts them all into 1 big box! The sims was great and the strategy guide was super, and the second one was excellent too. The third one was a mix of the first, with new bits added. The fourth was the same as the third, but bigger. The fifth was a bestseller, so I would highly recommend this to any sims freak, like me! Oh, and its good value too, pay for 1, get 4 free - almost!
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