The Sims™ 2 UK

A Guide To The Sims Life Stories

As time goes by there’s more and more to choose from when it comes to The Sims games. The Sims 2 is hugely popular, and then there are the expansions which add new gameplay and Stuff packs for even more items to decorate your house with. Now there’s The Sims Life Stories; it’s a new game and something a little bit different from what you’re used to. So, is it for you?

First and foremost, Life Stories has been designed to be more accessible than The Sims 2. It’s designed with new players strongly in mind, with an engaging story to be a part of rather than simply “playing god” over the lives of your Sims, so if you’re already enjoying The Sims 2, Life Stories may seem to be a bit simplistic by comparison since the endless options in The Sims 2 are exactly what you love about it. Life Stories is more for people who are new to the Sims, or who have less time to get really immersed into their own Sim families. It’s also designed to run well on laptops, and that means it will run well on lower spec PCs too.

Instead of dropping you right into a house to decorate and a family to run, Life Stories focuses on the story of Riley as she returns home to start a different life with new friends, experiences and unexpected surprises. After a helpful tutorial you’re taken through her story as she meets all kinds of new people and progresses through each short term goal such as hugging a friend, making dinner and so on. There’s also a second story to play through involving Vince, a slightly geeky but likeable guy. There are handy keyboard shortcuts to get them to do things like greet neighbours , shower or clean up her house so there’s less clicking around to do things. You can also use the W, S, A and D keys (for up, down, left and right) to move the camera. Very convenient! And of course once you finish their stories you can continue playing – the life of a Sim only ends when they do after all! You can also IM and browse the net while playing since it automatically runs in a window.

The gameplay in general is more directed and less daunting than The Sims 2 and its expansions – in particular, Fears have been removed to make things a little easier. The interface always shows you a goal so you can work out what to do each time something new happens. So it’s basically a more accessible The Sims 2 with an entertaining story to play through!

You can also enjoy some Sims-style creative freedom in Free Play mode. In Free Play you can enjoy some traditional Sims sandbox gameplay where everything is directed by your choices and actions, including house building. The focus is definitely on the story here though. The Sims Life Stories is a great way to get your friends and family into Simming, so if you know someone who thinks that The Sims is a bit complicated, who likes the challenge of completing an adventure or doesn’t have a massively powerful PC to play on, The Sims Life Stories might be just the thing they’re looking for. Even better, Life Stories is the first in a series of Sims Stories games – after all, there are plenty of stories to tell in the world of The Sims.