The Sims Online

THE GOOD:
-An online version to the Sims!
-The ultimate Sims 1 version game!
-Has most features from all Sims 1 games and expansion packs.
-Option of increasing lot size.
-Roommates!
-An option of Private Messaging other Sims Online Players.
-Can create online shops, casinos, clubs, love houses, and more!
-Group Skilling credit!
-Online Trading with others.
-New Sims Online only objects, never before seen in any of the previous games.
-Cities!

THE BAD:
-Scammers!
-Not enough current updates.
-Limited to only three Sims.
-Houses can only get to two stories tall at the max.
-Skilling become recklessly hard as time goes on.
-Not enough moderators to look over the Sims Online, the cities, and players.
-$10 Fee to play, for each month.

SUMMARY:
The Sims Online was released in North America on December 17, 2002. It was one of the very first Sims games for me to play. I was so overjoyed to figure out that it wouldn�t just be me playing the game but other players from all around the world would be too. As I became more adjusted to the game�s many features I soon began to notice that the game itself felt like an ultimate package to the Sims 1 games. Having only played a few of these previous games but also having heard about the others from friends, I soon realized that not only was the game online but it had most features from the previous Sims games and expansion packs all packed into the game as well.

The Sims Online had many features from previous games but also many features that were completely new to the Sims series itself. One of those being the option of having roommates on your Sims lots. This feature fit the online style of the game perfectly and it only made the game five times better. I loved the idea of being able to ask other player�s Sims to move onto my lot, not only would they be living on your lot, but they were also there for you to chat with. Never again would you become lonely when playing the Sims Online. Another addition to add to this feature was the fact that you didn�t have to move out of your lot to bigger lots themselves, but you could, instead, upgrade your own lot to a bigger or smaller size, whatever fit you best. So whenever you felt it getting cramped with you and your roomies there wasn�t any need to pack up and leave but simply paying a small fee was enough to make your lot bigger, large enough to once again fit your life style.

Before actually ever inviting roommates though, it would probably be best that you use another new feature to the Sims Online game called private messaging. Private messaging was also another one of my favorite features to the Sims Online. Basically it was a system used to send online or offline messages to other players when contacting them from a distance. Usually when you would talk to another Sim player you would just type and your script would appear on the lot so other players could see and respond. Well the best part of the private messaging feature was the fact that you no longer needed to be on a lot to chat with others, but you could chat with them from distances and in private! This system enables players to get a chance to get to know each other better, exchange interests, build friendships, and much much more! Including inviting them to be your roommate!

When building your own lot in the Sims Online many players would get really creative with their styles and looks. The common style to lots was a lot of business, entertainment, skill, or just welcoming. Another few features that the Sims Online had enabled players to do was build their lots in such a way that they could become shops, business, and stores. The feature of buying and selling objects was such a great thing and probably a must have! Without it, many players may have become bored quickly and just where were other players expected to buy their items at discounts and such? Other lot styles consisted of casinos where many players went to make money by playing the slots or cooking jams; the skill lots were places for Sim players to converse while skilling. And when skilling with a group of sims, determining on how many sims were present doing that certain skill, a percent to gain a skill was raised making it easier to gain a skill, faster for the higher percents, slower for the lower percents. There were also love lots where sims who were romantically involved would go to get married. These lots were also good for sims who just wanted to have some fun, whether it was playing truth or dare, or just interacting with other sims. Another lot that is very similar to the love houses was the entertainment lot. These lots were great for holding contests, giving out prizes, and, best of all, entertaining guests. A sim player who just wanted to win a prize while meeting other sims and being entertained the whole time would go there. Other lots that remained were the less popular lots such as welcoming lots. At this lot you would just sit around and talk with other sim players, whether it was just about life in general, the Sims Online game, the game�s many features, etc. The possibilities of chat topics were endless. The fact that there were so many possible ways to build a lot, in it�s so many styles was out-standing to me and really helped me to enjoy the game even more.

Like I have said above, there was indeed buying and selling of objects in the Sims Online but this wasn�t all. There was also the feature of trading objects and money between players as well. This other feature also helped to make the game better but also more enjoyable and fun for players. When I played the Sims Online I realized that trading with other players was mainly used to give contest winners their prizes, to sell objects manually, to give gifts, to have someone hold your objects, or to just trade in general while your reason does not apply to any of the other suggestions. Trading became fun for a while to players but every once in awhile when someone would get scammed it no longer was. The game itself wasn�t even fun anymore. I have had quite the experience with being scammed by scammers and all I have to say is that not only do they ruin the enjoyment in the game but also they crush your hard work. What I would suggest you do, if you ever play the sims, is to never fall for something that sounds �too good to be true�, most times, 9 out of 10, what someone is offering you is a scam. All that scamming is, is bad, bad, bad!

Some of the few downsides to the Sims Online that I would really have loved to see change was the fact that you could only have three different sims in three different cities, while you had to pay ten dollars each month to continue playing. In my mind this was just ridiculous, even though, I kept continuing to play. If you ever wanted to play as different sims you could ether recreate and start over as a new sim, fresh, or you could have subscribed another account to allow you to play as six sims and so on, but while considering the fee each month. There were many cities for you to choose from to have your sim move into, even though each city wasn�t different in anyway except for layout, players, and name. Each city had it�s own description and looked different with the way it was shaped, whether it had a mass of many islands, a small river running through it�s base, etc. But the fact of it�s actual game-play features, they were all the same in everyway.

The Sims Online had many objects, since of course it had most objects that appeared in the many previous Sims games before it. The game itself also had a few of it�s own, original and new objects. These objects were ones such as yearly objects, an object given out to a member who had been playing the game for a whole year, construction objects, objects made manually from a construction bench by sims, and many others. These new, improved, and cool looking objects also helped to shape the Sims Online into something better. Overall, with the Sims Online�s many ups and downs, I consider it to be one of the best games of it�s time and I would really recommend you try the game out for yourself, you may just find out that it�s a great game you been missing out on for so long.