Digital divas. Review

Digital divas.

Long before the dust settled on the first copy of The Sims,

Maxis has been tossing out expansions to the game with the unerring frequency

of offers to enter the Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. While some of these expansions

(i.e. Hot Date) have scored bullseyes, others

have flown less true, been less fun, and may even make a person yearn for a visit

from Ed McMahon to liven things up.

The

Sims: Superstar, the sixth expansion, definitely leans toward the

latter variety. Although this expansion strives to add an element of glamour

to the neighborhood by allowing your more “creative” Sims to pursue careers

in the entertainment industry, it comes off as more of an exercise in frivolity.

It also begs the question, “Is this what the game really needed?” Going

out for celebrity status is simply one of 15 or more career paths and none of

the others are supported in any kind of depth whatsoever. However, if your neighborhoods

are filled with ambitious, attention-hungry glory hounds in desperate need of

head-gassing and ego-bashing, Superstar should preoccupy you for a couple

of weeks.

As with all the other expansions, players can expect the obligatory array

of new walls, floors, furnishings and building materials, enough to satisfy

the Builder Bob in anyone. There are also a host of new luxury items; everything

from mud baths and wind chambers to massage tables and scuba tanks are at your

disposal. Of course, these items are priced out of the range of your average,

everyday Sim, but since this expansion is geared towards the elite, sod the

proles!

Superstar also includes “Studio Town,” a new location for your Sims’

universe. In Studio Town Sims can try to get discovered at karaoke bars, act

on sets, record at studios, perform in front of audiences, schmooze at oxygen

bars or just break down and pig out on smoothies. Like all locations in The

Sims, the lots here can be expanded, obliterated, or created from scratch

at the whim of the player.

The real innovation in Superstar is the concept of celebrity. Sims

now vie for superstardom in acting, music and fashion in ways that involve the

player to a greater degree than merely commanding your Sim to talk to a mirror

to gain Charisma, for example, or just get to the carpool vehicle on a regular

basis. Players help their Sims by obtaining an agent, perusing the daily tabloids

and urging Sims to perform at the right venues, in front of the right crowds,

and directing them to suck up to the right people – just like in real life.

Some

of these activities are not quite as involving as they may at first seem. Securing

an agent, studying the tabloids and even performing before a small crowd won’t

give anyone much of a charge. As your Sim gains in fame, however, and obsessed

fans began stalking them – well, that adds a bit to the interest.

Your Sims’ popularity, of course, is essential in the fame game. Sims who

can maintain a hectic social life while still managing to shower and go to the

bathroom on a somewhat frequent basis will find the most success. This is still

The Sims, after all, and meter management takes supreme importance.

If your Sim hits the big time and can afford to shell out $500 per day, a

Butler is just what the doctor ordered. The addition of the Butler is definitely

a highlight of this expansion, much more useful than the maid who comes and

does her thing half-heartedly for a couple of hours a day or the glitchy robot

that spends more time in doorways changing hats than actually cleaning anything.

Butlers can actually prepare satisfying meals for your Sims, tidy up, and phone

in for more staff when the need arises. But then again, only the wealthiest

Sims will be able to sample this guy’s wares.

Superstar is very much a trot along the treadmill, with no improvements

in control, graphics or sound. One of its most glaring faults is that it doesn’t

fully incorporate previous expansions. Here I refer specifically to the fact

that “Superstar” was already a career objective introduced in Livin’

Large. And do not think that simply because you have a Sim who had previously

advanced to the rank of “Superstar” that same Sim will be anything but a “Nobody”

in the Superstar expansion. While Superstar has its own method

for advancing the aspiring star (including a new system of ‘star points’ which

Sims earn by basically making asses out of themselves in public), some acknowledgment

of the superstars of Livin’ Large would have been a good thing. And it

ain’t in here.

The Sims: Superstar is yet another thumbsucker meant to whet the appetites

of Sims aficionados until Maxis obliterates this shallow but entertaining universe

with The Sims 2.

Sure, it’s got plenty of new items and toys, but unless the majority of your

Sims have an interest in a show biz career, this star-studded expansion is somewhat

hollow and does little to bring the rosiness back into this old game’s cheeks.