ART S
The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 7, 2001- 11
New Sims brings interior
design to the 'House Party'
By Jim Schiff
Daily Fine and Performing Arts Editor
Courtesy of NB
"Lost" contestants Joe and Courtland just can't find their way back to Kansas.
NB Cs newc realit
show Lost fails to
eXcite its vlew 'ers
If you've never heard of "The Sims," then you've
either been living in a cave for the past two years, or
your idea of an exciting computer game is
"Minesweeper." Maxis Games, creators of the huge
success "SimCity 2000," ush-
ered in the video game "reali-
Grade: B+ ty" genre in March 2000 with
the release of "The Sims."
The Sims: "House Party" is the second
House Party expansion pack to the original
game, and it adds even more
For PC depth to an already innovative
EA and addicting experience.
The basic premise of "The
Sims" and its two expansion
packs is that the player controls a family of up to
eight people, and dictates nearly every facet of their
lives. You can either build a house from scratch, or
pick from nearly ten of pre-installed homes. After
doing so, you pick the furniture, wall coverings, and
outdoor landscaping of your choice. When the play-
er turns the simulator on, he or she has free reign to
control their "Sims"' actions. And while all Sims
need to eat, sleep and use the bathroom, you can
control which skills they develop, which job they
choose, and which Sims they date and marry.
"The Sims" is so widely popular, in part, because
of its unlimited replay ability. There are endless pos-
sibilities of situations that you can engage your Sims
in. "House Party" adds variety to this game by pro-
viding more objects, social opportunities, and
ascetic pleasantries for your home. Like "Living'
Large," the first expansion pack, "House Party" pro-
vides decorating themes, such as a country-western
design with wooden furniture, barrels of hay to sit
on, and a mechanical bull. The "island" theme is
also a welcome addition, and with the "Survivor"
characters available on many of "The Sims" fan
sites, you can recreate your own Kucha and Ogakor
tribes.
One complaint with the "Livin' Large" expansion
pack was that it didn't bring any new concepts to the
game. "House Party," however, allows your Sims to
host parties, bringing all the neighborhood people to
your house and permitting you to make new friends.
The party kit comes with a buffet table, a giant
stereo system, and a color-changing dance floor.
With the costume trunk, you can throw almost any
kind of party, from a '70s disco, to a toga party, to
an underground techno rave. And who can leave out
the go-go cages and the psychedelic four-person
bubble-blowing machine? No party is complete
without them.
"House Party's" graphics are first-rate. The cos-
tume designs for each of the party themes look
Courtesy o1EA
With Sims newest game, It's YOUR party. Cry if you
want to.
authentic and are intricately detailed. With each new
expansion pack to "The Sims," the wallpaper and
floor patterns become more stylish and sophisticat-
ed, allowing for some truly spectacular homes. Prob-
ably the game's strongest feature is its soundtrack -
when building your home you can listen to some
gorgeous piano melodies, and the party music is
consistently funny because it's sung in the gibberish-
like Sim language.
The only major drawback to "House Party" is its
price tag - for $30 you don't get a ton of new fea-
tures that the original game or downloads from fan
sites cannot provide. But if you're a dedicated
"Sims" fan, like thousands of others, then "HQuse
Party" is sure to satiate your gaming needs.
By Melissa Gollob
Daily Arts Writer
It's just a race. That's how NBC
describes its new reality show
"Lost," which premiered Wednesday.
The show boasts
a simplistic
premise: Be the
first team to
Lost reach the Statue
Grade: C of Liberty and
c o l 1 e c t
NBC $200,000
Wednesdaysat8p.m. (without even
passing go).
Unlike all the
other reality
game shows
there are no
challenges or
mind games
being played. The only obstacles the
teams face are each other and the
world they encounter on their jour-
ney. The opening credits talk about
this being a test of will and
*endurance. The only will and
endurance being tested is the view-
ers; having to tolerate "Lost."
The game begins in Ohio where
the six-member casts. meet and pair
up. The first team consists of make-
up artist Carla and student, Lando.
These two seem to work well togeth-
er in the beginning and are the lead-
ers up to this point.
Team two contains two very dif-
Mferent women. Celeste, the fashion
designer, and Tami, mother of four,
find it hard at the start to carry all
their belongings and lost valuable
time.
The third team has too much.
testosterone. Graphic designer, Joe
and artist, Courtland spent most of
the first episode trying to figure out
where in the world they were.
For the first time, "Lost" showed
the viewers the preparation for the
race. Latex glove-wearing officials
-searched each cast member before
taking off for the destinations. These
officials looked for any cheating
device that would give that team an
advantage. This emphasis on the
rules was overkill even with the con-
troversy over how real other reality
shows actually are.
The contestants cannot take credit
or ATM cards, use their frequent
flier miles, have contact with any
family or friends and only use the
money given to them by the show.
They must take care of the camera
person following them so they must
watch how much they spend careful-
ly.
The six also were given some sur-
vival gear including coloring books
and water to use and barter.
After being blind folded and
flown to their destinations the teams
collected clues from the surrounding
area to deduce their location. Once
they had an idea, they were instruct-
ed to call the producers of the show
to confirm.
Team one and two successfully
guessed while Joe and Courtland
struggled. Everyone seemed to
struggle throughout the episode and
the lack of action slowed the pace of
the show.
Watching six people walk around
remote areas of the world for a half
hour had really no point other than
to help me decide to turn the chan-
nel. After they began to interact with
locals, "Lost" was a little better but
the contestants just do not have
enough appeal to make anyone care
if they ever find their way to the
Statue of Liberty.
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