Installation:
This game installs in two parts. First is the somewhat lengthy game installation. After you click install, you might as well grab a snack. Luckily, no restart is required, yet. After the game is installed, there is a chance for another installation upon launch. When started, The SIMs checks for QuickTime 4.0 and OpenGL 1.1.2. If these components are not present, it will install them for you, and force a restart.

Usage:
Some people may not like the outside-the-box interface that this game uses, but I loved it. Whenever you move the mouse over something you can use, there will not only be a graphical hint, but also a test box if you hold the mouse there long enough. These little sudlties are the backbone of this game.

The start of this game is a little different. After the somewhat lengthy startup sequence, you see a bird's eye view of a small town. This view provides the controls for making new families, using existing/saved houses or families, evicting families from their homes, bulldozing houses, or purchasing a plot of land for your dream house.

No matter how you decide to start out, you will need to furnish your house to keep your family happy. With your limited starting funds, you need to purchase objects for food, hygiene, bladder control, comfort, fun emergency, lighting, sleep, and more. Trying to balance all of these factors can be very difficult.

When you first furnish you house, make sure not to splurge too much. You will need spare money for food and services. Also, don‰t forget to get a job. This is the one thing Sims won't do on their own. By either surfing the net, or looking through the newspaper, you can find a job of your liking. But don't stop there. By studying skills, playing chess, working out, talking to yourself (in a mirror), and more, you can better yourself and be promoted.

By working your way up through your career field, you can get better paying jobs, with better hours. This will allow you to buy brand new stuff, increase your relationships, or add-on to your house. But watch out, the more money you make, the more you will have to pay out in taxes.

Although most of your time is spent living life like real families, there are certain events that can really spice up the game. Just the the previous games from Maxis, The SIMs has its disasters. From robbers, to fires, to repo men, to death, your people have alot to watch out for. Not to mention getting depressed, wetting themselves, or collapsing on the floor from lack of sleep.

As if these disasters weren‰t enough, it can become very difficult to juggle every family member's needs. None of these is more evident than the social needs. Your Sims needs friends, or they will become so depressed, they won't want to do anything, and will constantly be crying. The best way to keep the social needs fulfilled is to talk with other family members. But sometimes, this isn't enough. In that case, you will need to invite neighbors over to talk, play games, or party. Just make sure your friends don't eat all you money away.

Just like the other games in the Sims Series, there is no winning condition for this game. So how does The SIMS keep you coming back for more? Two ways. First, this game's unique game play will keep you interested for a long time. There is always stuff to be done, people to meet, or new families to start

The other way is through the Internet. Because this game is so hugely popular, thousands of downloadable objects, skins, houses, and house improvements have been created. By downloading and installing these little gems, new and existing families get a little more life pumped into them. These things can theoretically expand the game play indefinitely.

Problems:
I had one crash during the 200 + hours of playing this game. I don't think it was caused directly by The SIMs though, as it only happened once. The only other minor problem is the performance hit taken when there are a bunch of people at your house. But, increasing the memory helps that out tremendously.

Conclusion:
This game can be summed up with one simple word, addicting. Hours seemingly disappear as you control your people, making nearly every decision for them. Everything you do just gets you more and more involved in the game, keeping you from leaving. Of course, you could let the people decide what to do themselves, but where's the fun it that?

Pros	Cons
Excellent Graphics Wonderful sounds Great AI Thousands of variations for everything Downloadable objects, skins, houses, etc. Interaction with members of other households Simulates real life events	Steep system requirements Sometimes slow with very large families
Rating: 8 out of ten Mac Faces.