The Sims Value Pack (Prima's Official Strategy Guides) [Box set] (Paperback)

The book on the original game is good on its own. The only problem is it's repeated word for word in two of the other books which makes it obsolete in a way.

The House Party book is the thinnest book of the lot. As well as the reprint of the original text, it doesn't seem to have a lot to say about the basic mechanics of House Party and is practically useless to all intents and purposes. The checklist might be useful to new players.

The Hot Date book is the thickest book in the set. It's much more detailed than House Party and is a much better read, though this may be because House Party didn't offer anywhere near as much expandibility as Hot Date does so there's much more that can be said about it. Can even read on how to build a good downtown area too.

The Livin Large book is the best book of the lot. It contains loads of extra tips and original material that IMO should have been in the original book. Most of this general information is missing from the other books. As a random example, nowhere in the other books does it tell you about the conversation items that appear when Sims talk - the Livin Large book tells you which ones are adult only, which are kid only and which are cross-age. The book is packed with all kinds of statistics as well - did you know, for a random example, that the odds of conceiving a baby in the Heart Bed are 8-1 yet if you kiss with passion the odds fall to 5-1? :) All this and much much more.

The Vacation book is more helpful than House Party yet not as helpful as Hot Date. It's a shame really because Vacation is an interesting expansion pack but doesn't seem to have the guide to complement it here. It has a few highlights but again, nothing really to write home about.

Overall some of the captions in the various books are well written but the pictures aren't very good. So then, four books, one of which is complete tosh, two that are above average and one that's excellent. One star for House Party book, three each for the Hot Date and Vacation Books and five for the Livin Large book = average of 3 stars.

Fron the content point of view, they're just GREAT ! The best ones are certainly those devoted to Livin' large and Vacation.

Without the help of these guides, you simply cannot:

- solve the riddles of the crystal ball to modify your sim's personality
- catch and heal the terrific Indian pig disease
- make your Sim be kidnapped by aliens ( this is really funny ... )
- transform your sim into a Frankestein through the chemistry set
- get rid of the tragic clown
- earn the special prize for the best vacation by maximising the moods of your sims in the proper hours
- build a nice snow man
- let your Sim discover with the help of her girlfriend the hidden pleasures of a dressing room in a downtown shop or of a renting hut on the beach ( ... he he he ... )

So buy it and enjoy the Sims !