The Sims: Superstar Review

Have you ever wanted to be a film-star, or famous rock musician (like me) with an army of fans chasing your forty-foot limo while you're inside with two voluptuous blonds doing things we shouldn't mention in a video game review? Yeah, that's a nice pipe dream, but now it can come true (well, certain parts of it) in the latest (sixth) Sims expansion pack - The Sims Superstar! Maxis and EA brought us this in order to keep us busy until the revolutionary The Sims 2 appears, and it will let us see what our little virtual people are doing when they're at work; a feature long desired by many fans of the game.

Keeping my eye on those lovely appetizers.

Hey, isn't that illegal dude?

The Sims Superstar will give you a chance to become a movie-star, music icon, or a top fashion model, or in other words, a big shot in Studio Town. Sound great, but the question remains - how? The answer is not at all simple, but it's worth a go. At first you live the standard Sims life torn between your duties to work, friends and family, and then you turn to show-business and the path of glory. But remember what they say: Per aspera ad astra... (Uhm...What? - Ed) It's LATIN, Six. Through Endeavors, The Stars. (Okay...uhm...What? - Ed) Oh never mind. Play the game, okay?

In order to make the transition to show-business, you have to fulfill several conditions: First, keep in mind that you're a nobody without an agent. You will have to visit Studio Town daily, and improve your skills, and if you fail to appear there for a couple of days, your agent will give up on you and find somebody else. Apart from live practice, you will also have to work on your skills at home, otherwise, no one will like what you do at first. Sure it's a sacrifice, but do you want to be famous or not?

As you advance though your career, you will start getting stars (half by half) and the more stars you have, the easier it will be to find work and make more money, and in turn, become even more popular. Still, another important thing you have to care about here is your social life; Superstar introduces one important novelty here - hanging out with big shots helps you advance faster through your entertainment career, and some jobs will require you to have influential personal friends. In the later stages of the game, even your attitude towards your (sometimes frustrating) fans will be an important element of gameplay.

One of the main problems on your road to glory will be balancing between your private life, public life and career activities. Long absences from home, not enough proper social life, and the weakening of your private relationships can badly affect your business activities. My future virtual star refused my command countless times saying familiar lines like: "I'm too depressed..." Then you have to work hard on your relationship to others in order to even make him practice the piano. This made me give up on several occasions, but the game was too catchy to make me give up completely.

Many may ask why there are so many Sims expansions, and why does Maxis keep producing them. The best answer would be something along the lines of: "They want more easy money", but regardless of that, I have to say that Superstar brings enough novelties into the serial to make the game fresh, interesting and likable both to serious fans and casual players alike. Apart from the new gadgets with which you can equip your humble abode, (exclusive plasma TVs and satellite dishes, etc.), now you can take some time to enjoy things like a professional massage, bathing in mud (yuck!) saunas, etc. you can also install the overly expensive Oxygen Bar for additional relaxation and impressing your neighbors and friends - vanity is a funny thing.

This is one way to help pass the time.

The life of a superstar can be lonely.

You can begin your singer's career by singing in karaoke bars. Actors will have to take their first steps on a casting stage, and models will star from a local catwalk, and the reaction of the audience will be enough of a sign to see what you are to do later. In later phases of the game, you will work in famous studios (where you also gain additional experience), and hang out with professionals, whilst being haunted by the autograph fiends. All in all, the life of a star. What about home? You will want it to become a resting sanctuary, as you expend energy much faster in the studio than you would at home.

Superstar also features new characters. Throughout the game, I ran into people like Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears, Christine Aguilera, and I heard that even Andy Warhol can be seen, but I somehow never bumped into him - we obviously don't hang out in the same circles. Some of the NPCs in Studio Town can be quite useful, like the paparazzi who can take pictures of you if they really want to, and thus earn you another half-star.

Technically, Superstar brings nothing new. Scrolling around the map is still as jerky as it was, regardless of the machine you own, and the loading time is very long. The sounds and visuals are (with a few exceptions) exactly the same as in the original game, and after three years, they look a bit outdated. If you want to see something new wait for The Sims 2, which will change the entire concept of the game and introduce full 3D surroundings with a rotating camera, improved playability and aging of your character, which will turn the game into an entirely new experience.

Until 2004, we can still have some fun with The Sims Superstar expansion pack and try to become more famous than Brad Pitt or Eminem, at least in the Studio Town. With one new rich location and a lot of opportunities to enter show-business, playing Superstar can be an interesting venture. Those of you who would like to see something new, and are not really hard core Sims - expansion-pack players (and preferably, not even interested in show-business), can wait for the beginning of the next year and The Sims 2. As for the fans, they have to buy this expansion pack... well, what are you waiting for?