Genre:  Simulation
Platform:  PC

I had been a fan of SimCity since middle school, when we played SimCity original as a way to teach us the basics of city planning.  More SimCity versions came out, but you can imagine my excitement when a new level of granularity arrived, allowing you to actually control the people of your city.  This was Will Wright’s grand vision, and it was The Sims.

The original Sims still remains my favorite.  It seemed to me that you had the most items to play and create with and customizing your own wasn’t too difficult.  The concept of the Sims is this – you create people/families and control every single aspect of their lives.  You design their house, you buy them new objects, you decorate, you decide if they procreate, you choose when/if they use the bathroom or shower, you get them a job and help them excel at it.  You also control their social interactions.  If you are like me, you care for your Sims and try to make them as happy as possible.  Then again, there were always the players that chose this route…

So, so cruel.

I always recreated the place I happened to be living at the time and my family/friends.  It was a lot of fun, but the game got challenging as you progressed as your game always tended to focus on making and maintaining friends.  I find this hard in real life, so it’s no surprise that I found it difficult and stressful in a game.  And then there were the seemingly endless expansions that were just money sinks:

Next expansion: The Sims, Just Give Us Your Money Already

I played Sims 2 and 3, and each added their own unique twists.  It was pretty impressive how much of a likeness I could get to my husband.  I haven’t played Sims 4 yet.  But, as I said, the original was good enough to make my top 25 and I would suggest playing it if you haven’t.