After several hours of housework, cooking, bathing and watching TV, it's time to put the computer away and clean the house, grab a snack, take a shower and watch TV before turning in for the night. That, my friends, is exactly what playing The Sims feels like. Have you ever dreamed that you were working? You know the dream - you work and work and work, waking completely tired only to face nine hours of real work at your real job. After five hours of The Sims, I rise from the chair feeling depressed and unhappy with my meager existence, yet eager to play again. After playing five hours of Unreal Tournament I rise from the chair feeling slightly bouncy with a heightened sense of excitement. Which is a bit strange - The Sims is almost certainly not a game. If you enjoy an occasional foreign film and aren't already on anti-depressants, The Sims may be the perfect game for you. Young average-looking character faces insurmountable challenges, meets an angst-ridden girl/guy and one or both die. While this can be great entertainment, it's certainly not art. Young good-looking character challenges all odds yet manages to win the girl/guy and live happily ever after.

Most movies coming out of Hollywood follow a familiar theme (no wonder John Grisham books are so easily translated). One: this game finally creates interactive French cinema and two: that we all live very sad TV lives.

I have developed two analogies for understanding The Sims.

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