Covers The Sims, Livin' Large, House Party, Hot Date and Vacation

On the plus side, these books each do a pretty good job of explaining the details and nuances of playing The Sims and the various expansion packs. In-depth explanations, detailed inventories, and exhaustive matrixes can give the semi-obsessed player some valuable information. However, and this is a big however, this collection has some fundamental problems.

First, the books are shrunk-down versions of the original books, and are printed on newsprint-type paper. This makes it difficult to see some of the illustrations. The small print, which looks muddy on the paper, is also difficult to read.

Second, the first 60% of each of the guides to the expansion packs is nothing more than a condensed version of the first book. The result is that half of the material included in this set is repeated. Had someone taken the time to do this right, they would have edited it all down to one, big book that consists of the entire first book, and the last 40% of the other four books. Maybe they could have saved enough paper (as well as the cost of the box) to print it at a decent size.

I’ve devoted a lot of space to what’s wrong with the set, but to put things in perspective, this set sells for a low enough price that those faults can be overlooked. It really isn’t such a big deal to skip the first 60% of each of the additional books. It’s just that it’s so obvious how this could have been done better. If at some point after I write this review they decide to compile this set into a single book, I would suggest looking at that in place of this. In absence of such a single book, this set is at least worth it’s price.

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This is the latest in the Prima's series of Official Strategy Guides for the Sims and it's expansion packs. As with the previous books for the expansion packs, the first half of the book deals with the basic strategies of playing The Sims regardless what expansion packs you have. If you've bought a previous book in the Prima series, you'll want to go right to the second half of the book.

There's not a lot of earth-shaking information here. A Sims junkie with any Internet skills can probably find all the information that's in this book. But if you depend only on what you find online, you'll find lots of incorrect garbage as well. What you find in this book you can take to the bank as being correct. You also won't find all this information in one place online, and it won't be organized as well.

If you're looking for some previously unknown secret to be revealed, you won't find it in this book. If you want a little more insight into The Sims, and the Unleased expansion pack, you'll find it here. The insight I gained from this book has helped me enjoy the game a little more. I have no regrets about buying the book.

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