You’ll need to own a copy of the ground-breaking The Sims (see our review) in order to benefit from this expansion pack. This pack adds a whole slew of new things – new skins, household objects, and career choices – to the game. New catalogue objects range from functional to tacky to peculiar. Some of these introduce new gameplay elements, such as the pricey robot maid, Robo, who helps your Sim family enjoy life a little more as she takes care of things like toilet-cleaning and picks up plates your Sims have carelessly left on the floor. Notable and new is the tacky Vibromatic bed. Selecting a Sim and clicking on this heart-shaped bed brings up the option "play in bed". Sims get naked (with the trademark Sims blur obscuring private parts) instead of twirling into their pajamas before hopping into this bed. New themed furnishings and walls/flooring, coupled with such "knick-knacks" as the floating head curio, allow players to create some truly bizarre homes for their Sims. There are also plenty of new "skins", some of which were user-created, to outfit and add character to your little people. Five career paths have been added, along with new objects that present ways for Sims to improve their skills. Potions can be concocted with the new chemistry set, and when your Sim rubs their new genie lamp, a sometimes inept genie appears to grant wishes. Our least favorite addition is the cockroaches that raise their ugly little heads a little too often for our liking, and the new option we like best is the extra neighborhoods. Now there are 5 neighborhoods possible, and though they are stand-alone, they make it easier for the whole family to play the game. There’s a House Party expansion pack coming in March which should be fun, but we are most looking forward to Simsville, due out later this year.

UPDATE 2003: This expansion pack is now available in the super-value title, The Sims: Double Deluxe  which includes the original The Sims game, The Sims Livin' Large expansion pack, and The Sims House Party expansion pack.