I haven't flown a single flight sim since getting The Sims. Very annoying, very addicting.

Addicting as you want your little sim to advance and have fun; annoying in that they have a mind of their own, and don't always do what you think they should.

Here is a sample 'game':

Create a single bachelor, gets job with military as recruit (hey, gotta be an astrosim when I grow up! Home is small, but has nice things in it. Can't cook worth crap, so study up on cooking to get cooking points. Work out, too tired, take a nap on the sofa. Didn't get the 'body' point, but that can wait till next day.

'Social' scale is reduced after two days...how the heck am I supposed to build up my 'points', sleep, keep up with baths and toilet breaks, work, eat, play, AND have a social life?

Crap.

Ok, wait for neighbor. Hmm, she's married, but it doesn't stop you from flirting, hugging, backrubs, kissing....oh, in this game you can marry more than once with no divorces. BEG Bring on the babes!

Go Back to neighborhood, create "Sorority" with lots of nubile coeds that my sim will 'love'.

Back to sim's house, call over the girls. Flirt, backrubs, kisses, gifts...

Crap.

Missed my ride to work.

Oh well...

Flirt some more, make dinner, made a 'family friend'. Social rating up! Take a shower, crap, sleep, and play on the computer.

As an aside..that's when the real life wife comes in.

Wife leaves, shaking head. I put myself in her place, seeing her husband playing a game of a guy playing a game... now I know why she thinks I'm nuts and drive her crazy! That, and watching the "Plane Show" on Discovery or Learning Channel. "Isn't that the same show as last week?" "No, this week it's the F-18, last week was the MiG-29" "But they look the same." "They're not." "Whatever....I don't know how you can watch planes and war all the time..."

Anywho, Back to the game.

Sorority girls are over, but once I start to flirt with the second girl to get her 'friendship rating' up, the first one gets jealous, and her rating goes down! Oh, so you've gotta play them one at a time...

All 'zones' are in the green, except sleep, so sim goes to sleep. Accelerate time; energy bar rising too slow because bed isn't the best at 'recharging' the sim's energy. Gotta buy a better bed...

Wait a sec; the carpools here.

Sim's still sleeping.

CRAP! Get up you lazy %$$$#^#

This is more like it!

Sim gets up, throws a temper tantrum 'cause he's not rested yet. He's gotta pee, goes to bathroom, toilet breaks down. Water everywhere. Hungry, goes to kitchen, 'cooking points' aren't high enough, sets fire to house. Carpool leaves. Fire department comes and puts out fire.

Phone rings. Missed two days of work in a row; FIRED!

Mailman comes, bills to pay, but no money or job. Gotta fix the toilet, get my energy up, find a job either in the paper or the simnet computer, shower up, and then, when too tired to do anything, gotta get that damn 'social' meter up to the green or I'll be too depressed to find the job, study for 'points', or perform well enough at work to get promoted past 'recruit'.

Delete sim, start over.

Hehehe... but this time I've got the cheat codes... think I'll invent a rich old aunt who passed on and left me a bundle...

So, does this sound like 'fun?

Sam Garito