8 posts tagged “linktastic”

Give yourself some awesome : Bookmarks And Coffee.

http://www.glubdub.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=8&Itemid=10039

Booga and Brody - Collaborative Works In Progress.

Just because this is The Internet, you get the disclaimer.  If your place of employment doesn't care if you surf it at work, then it's probably okay.  There are some nudie bits in the drawings though... but they're just drawings.  

Gahh.  Their work (collectively and separately) is so GOOD.  I love it.  Michelle proves that there's more to life than just drinking your way through the weekend.  If any of you people are in the PA/Ohio area, please go check their stuff out and support it.  

::wayne's world moment::

I'm in a weird place at the moment.  Jason has headed off to visit the family until Saturday night.  The outlook seems favorable, as always.  Speaking of favorable, it's not too shabby over here either. 

boardwalk life

It would be so nice if my neighbors just let me enjoy this view, and kept it nice and quiet.  But they don't.  They are obviously not the types who just sit still and enjoy life. 

You know why we pay $1250 a month for six hundred square feet of cat-fluff-covered space (plus one cramped parking spot)? 

lawn

Because when I step outside my front door and turn right, this is my front yard.

I want to love it. There are times when (like now!) the waves just compliment the ambient-electro soundtrack playing from CafeCody or Live365 or SomaFm.  Or even falling asleep, it's a very nice hypnosis.

What sucks is the cookout that occurs right outside my window (no, they're not double-paned), or the drunken after-bar conversations (almost every night), or the construction that's been going on for WELL over a year.  Do you understand where I'm coming from?  Why can't people just enjoy what we've got?  Are you really that numb to where you can't enjoy this without alcohol?

::breathe::

--- --- ---

I never want my blogs to be those that just give you the laundry list of chores and activities, but that's what happens, isn't it?  My year so far has been going pretty well, so why not chronicle it?  I suppose it's all the fault of Leo Babuta.  The day when zen through minimalism truly turned my head seemed to be late September 2007.  ZenHabits had been one of those sites that my monthly need-for-inspiration websurf took me to.  It had been quite awhile since my last visit, but shortly after posting about The Entertainment Beast, I wandered over that way, and this article cropped up.

There may have been a random link somewhere, but it led me over to Unclutter's Workspace of the Week... and the lightbulb came on.  It was more of a buzzing, bare, swinging, slightly bug-filled lightbulb, but hey! It was on!  That article prompted me to go on a mass cleaning spree, and actually start taking care of myself again.  I was so excited about all this, that I tried to joint the October Zen Habits challenge. However it didn't work.  Technical difficulty foils me again!  However the habits and inspiration stuck with me, so I feel that my 2008 has started off on a nice solid foundation.  Down the road will be a self-interview of sorts, that allows me to go on a bit in more detail on all this, and hopefully inspire someone as I was.

What's really tough about trying to keep things clean is this: I Own A Cat.  Not just any cat, but a mediumish-kinda-long-haired White Fluffy Cat.

brakalicious

I love my cat.
I hate his shedding.
I hate his litter.
I love my cat.

It's like a mantra.  Something to keep me sane in the impossibility that is Dark Wardrobe Versus White Cat.

Also: you may have noticed I'm a fan of links.  There's really nothing to fuel the fire of my OCD-ADD like de.licio.us.  That site caught my attention a long time ago, but my sign-up was pretty recent.  In saying that, I'd like to present:

http://del.icio.us/larissayoung

That should give you something to do while I'm out payin' the bills.  [No seriously, I have to go to the bank and then to AAA.]  Next time on Vox, we'll cover why you should never sign up for anything EVER, and why I had to get a new bank account.  Woohoo!

Hearing:The Waves, SomaFM - Secret Agent

http://www.cracked.com/forums/topic/29725/a-forum-game-if-you-laugh-you-lose-not-56k-friendly

Several are NSFW. Most are rather entertaining.

http://disgruntledhousewife.com/ has been one of my favorite sites since ....who knows.  98 or 99.  I have no idea why I love Nikol's site/blog so much, but I do.

So... partake!

See also:  http://disgruntledhousewife.com/wordpress/ for further reference to proof of her ....zing.  I believe she is still selling random yarn-and-knitting-related things, which I keep wanting to buy but do not.  Much like reading her blog always makes me want to knit, but the embroidery is failing and spending $80 on knitting supplies that will go unused is just not smart right now.  Or maybe ever.

For those of you following along and deciding to cook your own appetizers to munch while you watch the show: if you ever decide to bake a veggie mix*, take it easy on the olive oil or be prepared to spend some time with a nice big bottle of Pepto Bismol.  Yergh, I have no idea what happened, exactly, but Jason is making me some tea and these crunchy SunChips (mm!) seem to be soaking up the evil in my bowels.

Actually the evil is more of a lurching in my stomach, I just like to type the word bowels.

Today the Amazing Rent-A-Psychic stopped by our work to give us free five-minute readings.  More on all this later, when the beast in my stomach has hushed up a bit.  My mind needs to not focus on anything, so that means it's time to go play some GOLF!

*chopped mexican squash, green beans and bella mushrooms. just raw veggies chopped up and baked for 15 minutes in olive oil at about 375.  it was a great idea in theory, i suppose.

I was trying to dig up some of my old band-nerd photos (no, they haven't been burned to a crisp) and came across a presentation from pre-Cali days.  It appears to be from December of 2000, which means it was possibly for some class... but then again it could very well have been a random essay.  My memory fails me yet again.  Not surprisingly there was a lot of gaming then, mostly to keep my mind off reality. By saying "a lot" I mean.... that was pretty much all I did.  LAN parties, pizza, homework, art.  

In a sick way I sort of miss those days, but you have to sleep sometime.  Yes, for the ENTIRE month before moving here I played the Sims.  Sleep - wake - take a walk - eat quick breakfast - Sims/email/chat-with-J - eat - Sims/email/chat-with-J - Repeat.  For a month, maybe even six weeks.  And it's not much different now except that Sims has been replaced with WoW, Myspace and blogging.  Oh, and that whole having to work thing.

Anyway, here you go, copy-pasted without edits. Christ, this makes me want to ship out my Performa. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hyper-violence In Three Dimensions: The Fine Art of Gaming
Larissa R. Young

December 22, 2000

Bleep.  Bleep.  Bleep.  Bleep.  "Arrrgh!!"  Bleeeeeeeepp…

Apparently Pong doesn't cut it in the "intense frustration" category. 

From Atari to Playstation 2, from Commodore 64 to Pentium IV gaming has evolved incredibly.  Gone are the 8-bit shoot-'em-ups of yesteryear, welcome to the world of Geforce and VooDoo accelerated graphics.  We've retired the choppy, pixilated battle tanks and gone on to super charged, anti-aliased plasma guns.

So many games, so little time.  This paper (and my presentation) is going to cover only five of the thousands to choose from.  In no particular order, they are: "Soldier of Fortune", "Half-Life", "Unreal Tournament", “Sheep”, and "The Sims".  A list of helpful links can be found at the end of this paper.  But before the games are discussed, the ratings must be brought to everyone's attention.  No one wants their new-to-the-pc-six-year-old engaging in hyper-violence, do they?  No.  There needs to be a detailed list of what's good for whom to play.  Thanks to ESRB (dotcom), the Electronic Software Rating Board, there is just such a list.  This can also be found at the end of this paper.

After one gets past the ratings, there's got to be some basic knowledge before you even begin to play.  Layout is a key part of the game, and some people refuse to play certain kinds of layouts.  My personal favorite is the 1st-person shooter, and the occasional aerial.  Here's a brief rundown of the types of game layouts:

1st-person shooter: You are the player; you see through their eyes, handle the weapons, and make the rights or wrongs.

2nd/3rd-person shooter:  You are usually behind the player, and follow him/her around, although you have control over them.  Classic racing game style; think "Midtown Madness".

Aerial: Think "Legend of Zelda".  You are hovering above a portion of the map, still in control of your character, just with a much broader range of view.  This can be helpful sometimes.  Lately it's become a semi-trend to do a weird sideways aerial angle, where you're about 45 degrees above and/or to the side the player, and follow them.  Think "Sheep", "The Sims", or "Lemmings".

Non-character 1st-person: It's you, you and only you.  You play, you die, and you start over.  Think "Myst", or "Riven".

Side-scrollers: Old school, 2-d.  Think "Super Mario Brothers".

Now that you understand the basic layouts, how far can gaming really go?  Far.  Being a professional gamer is something some kids only dream of, but hard work can get anyone there.  Angel Munoz, head of the CyberAthlete Professional League has proved that gaming can be an actual sport in her recent interview with PC Gamer.  Here's a snippet from said interview:
" PCG: How big do you expect CPL to get, and what are your goals for the future?
AM: When you look at the world of sports, you encounter a number of activities that are considered sports but do not appeal to the general masses and still are very huge industries. For example, in the US there's bass fishing. Here's a "sport" that is covered on ESPN, that has millions in sponsorship and has created an entire industry, all because people wanted to brag about how large their fish was. I think the CPL computer game tournaments are much more interesting than bass fishing and therefore our potential should be greater. The meteoric rise of the CPL to worldwide prominence is a direct result of market dynamics that now exist to support our business model. We think that the gears of these diverse market dynamics are just starting to spin and should assist the CPL organizers in elevating computer game competitions to the level a professional sport. Therefore, we think that the CPL has the potential of impacting millions of people worldwide through the weekly broadcast of our events, through the perpetuation of the high standards that all traditional athletes adhere to and through the quest of being the best that all of our competitors strive for. So the CPL's overriding goal is to be at the same level as any other professional sports league in the world.
PCG: When do you think you'll be able to achieve these goals?
AM: Tomorrow! Ok maybe it will take a bit longer than that. :)   Our business plan clearly outlines a progression of 10 years with major landmarks at yearly intervals that will get us to our final goal. But interestingly enough, we are now almost two years ahead of schedule so it may take less time than we originally anticipated. "

But what makes a game a GAME?  Something worth shelling out cash for?  Graphics are big right now.  Good, excellent, otherworldly graphics…and a good plot.  With cheat codes.  There is too much detail to go into, so without further adieu, I present

The Games.

Soldier of Fortune:
With the password-encrypted violence lock at the beginning, you can tell that this isn't a game for the faint of heart.  It is, however, a great stress-reliever.  Raven has added a brutal edge to the action genre, resulting in probably the most violent game ever to come to the PC.  Starting off as the mercenary John Mullins, you begin with a hostage situation in a New York subway system and move on to locations all over the world.  As you progress with the 31 vaguely connected missions, you learn that something big is going down, and you're the only one who can stop it.  Which isn't pretty.
Headshots result in a blood sprays and leave behind the stump of a head, brain matter fully visible. Gut shots cause intestines to spill out, and limbs can be blown off with ease. Every bullet leaves behind gaping exit wounds from which blood gushes out by the gallon. Your victims scream and writhe in pain, clutching their wounds in a futile attempt to stop the blood flow. Cops and hostages get blown away, and the sea of blood grows.
Parents and sensitive gamers should be wary; the ESRB has given Soldier of Fortune an "M" rating, and it deserves it. Raven's violence lock enables you to set the gore to a more timid level, for those who can't deal.  Thankfully, Soldier of Fortune is not just about the violence, but has some brains, too. You're rewarded with survival for understanding the value of patience and cover, and penalized with death for rashly charging in to every gunplay situation.
Lastly, watch your back. You never know when some fool will get the drop on you.   There are some inspired levels. One of them has you fighting from one end of a train to the other while a gunship peppers you from above. Another level has you gunning through a run-down hotel full of hostages.
So despite the high praise and great design decisions, why doesn't it get an Editors' Choice Award? S. O. F. is a good game with some real inspiration, but it's not an instant classic. Sure, it's deeper than the average shooter, but not by much. The last few levels start to get tedious as you survive ambush after ambush. Also, there are too many button and switch finding puzzles.   This is quite a spectacular game.  But once the initial eye-opening effect of the game's violence wears off, you're left with a shooter only slightly better than the rest. Ultimately, it's an entertaining and memorable first-person shooter with a healthy serving of bone and gristle thrown in.

Half Life:
It was another stimulating day at the subterranean Black Mesa Research Facility. The loyal staff of privileged scientists at the Sector C Test Labs arrived for work in anticipation of another in a series of attempts to create a "resonance cascade." A mysterious "sample" delivered that morning by military escort created quite a buzz, and the lead scientists were under pressure from the administrator to deliver success. Pressure, it seems, that was applied too hard. Stark pandemonium struck the facility when a malfunction opened a pan-dimensional rift through which hostile aliens entered our world. Gordon Freeman, a scientist who aided in the dreadful incident, awoke from unconsciousness to a Black Mesa wrought with destruction and chaos. Aliens were terrorizing - and mutating - his fellow humans. Armed with a crowbar and whatever weapons he could scavenge, Gordon slowly crept toward the surface. Eventually, the cavalry arrived in the form of a crack military unit sent to rescue the Black Mesa stuff.
Or so it seemed. Before his astonished eyes, shadowy US marines assassinated Gordon's innocent colleagues. The armed grunts were not there to rescue, but to cleanse and silence. Stunned, terrified and enraged, Gordon silently calculated his escape strategy. Trusting no one.
The rest, as they say, is gaming history. Gordon, with our help, evacuated the facility, traveled to the alien world of Xen, conquered the alien threat, and saved the world - and his own neck - in the process. A final cryptic encounter with a mysterious government agent served to draw the curtain on the story, leaving unanswered questions and a neon vacancy sign for a sequel.
Although violence is a key factor in Half-Life, the game keeps the player focused enough on the plot to concentrate too much on the bloodshed.  Gordon rolls nicely through the levels, making you a bit nervous at times, while pulling off alien kills in a wonderful way.  Good game, good plot, good waste of time.

Unreal Tournament:
My current favorite 1st-person shooter, this game is up there with the classics…Quake, Super Mario Brothers, and the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series.  When the day at the office is just a little too long, when the phone rings just a little too shrilly, it's always good to snipe off a headshot or two from a high window.
Unless the multiplayer function is on, this game is not complete without the bots.  Artificial Intelligence at its' finest, these are what make a good game a great one.  You don't progress through a linear storyline; instead you fight your way through a series of firefights with increasingly ferocious bots. (U.T. also has the capability to change their settings anywhere from "Beginner" to "God-Like"…and oh! the glee!)  In a single-player tournament you'll have to defeat bots in Deathmatch, Domination, Capture the Flag, and an innovative Assault mode.
The deathmatch level design takes full advantage of the Unreal engine's powerful editing tools. Thanks to this wealth of geometry, you'll fight battles in futuristic Space ships, atmospheric Space-Galleons and creepy Space-castles. Each level is extremely detailed, which makes the game look great, though occasionally the complex architecture gets in the way of game play. For instance, in the deathmatch level called "The Peak," you'll occasionally run around the outside of a building on narrow passageways. If you drop off these walkways and die just by accident, you won't care very much that the architecture looks cool.
This is an overall problem with Unreal Tournament. It seems as though many of the levels were designed with aesthetics taking priority over game play. In comparison with prior games of this type, you can notice how often UT sacrifices substance for style. You'll appreciate a beautiful level the first few times you play, but you'll appreciate quality game play design every single time you play.
In the excellent Domination mode, you and a squad of friendly bot-buddies fight to gain control of three strategic areas. Domination allows you to really appreciate the bot's A.I. Even if you don't tell them exactly what to do (you can command them very easily if you so desire), they still play intelligently. This mode is the most frantic of all because you simply can't win it on your own, and you have to learn to trust.  Coordination between you and your team's bots seems a little strange until you realize that the bots are conforming beautifully to "human" responses in the firefight. It's amazing.
Capture the Flag is maybe the weakest game play mode available, if only because it adds nothing to this very familiar style of play. For what it is, though - a standard Capture the Flag variant - it's still great fun.
Assault is not as innovative as some people tend to think…unless they have a preference for a timed game.  The game gives you several objectives and you have to solve them before the clock runs out.  Not as easy as it sounds…especially underwater fights.  The quality of these levels is often hit or miss. Levels like the high-speed train, the Normandy assault, and a boat attack are great fun, while a few of the others are a bit too complicated to provide the same thrill. They're more examples of too much visual flair and not enough solid game play justification in the level design.
The bots also give the UT single-player game a longer life than any previous single-player mode in a first- person shooter. Long after you've finished the final chapter in Half-Life, you'll still be having fun playing against these bots. By changing any number of their properties, you can make a botmatch play like an entirely new game. But no matter how good the bots are, they still can't beat real, live competition. And thankfully, the Internet play in Unreal Tournament is dramatically better than that of its predecessor. No matter how well you play against bots, you'll find it an entirely more enjoyable experience to take your skills up against humans online. While the online game play is not quite as fast as that in some of the current competition, it's fast enough that it won't drag down your deathmatch experience.  Overall, this is an excellent game, and kept me busy for… a long, long time.

SHEEP:
They’ve traveled vast distances through space They’ve colonized countless star systems They’ve forgotten why they’re here...  and it’s your objective to guide the lovable - but soooo stupid - Sheep to Mt Mouflon without getting them bashed, boiled, blown up or blow-dried.
Trying to wrangle 4 increasingly stupid breeds of Sheep through 28 levels is not easy, especially when Mr. Pear and his evil hench-cows aren’t having any of that bunk.  The wonderfully imaginative levels prove to be more difficult than one would think, and the Sheep seem to become dumber with every step.   Technopolis, armed with anti-gravity and laser blades is more eye-candy than actual “Game”, and things become frustrating quickly.
Four different herders can be chosen: Bo Peep, Adam Half-Pint, Motley and Shep.  But it doesn’t matter which herder you choose, the Sheep have a mind of their own. 
With the release of this game in November, I’ve only been playing it for a few days as a Christmas present and don’t really have much to say on it.  Congratulations are due to the Empire staff for their creative way of the resurrection of the wildly popular “Lemmings”. 
Being a fan of sheep in general, I was both enthused and curious when this title was released, and the stupidly amusing Sheep on the box cover was enough to make me beg for the game.  A cross between your average smiley face and a cotton ball, these little guys practically scream, “Buy me or I’ll die!” much like Squee (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac’s special friend) does.  (slavelabor.com – the ultimate in comic book oddities.) 
Sheep brings back memories of waiting impatiently in line, quarters packed into my sweaty little hand, hoping that I was the next one to vanquish Pac-Man’s evil friends, the multi-colored Ghosts.  You chase around a maze, being careful not to get harmed, and pick up several friendly One-Ups along the way.  Much like the Fruit of Pac-Land, the 28 danger-filled levels drop a few cute bonuses (Sheep treats: peppermint candies, Golden Goodies: Oscar-looking things that give extra lives) that keep both you and your flock happy. 
This is the point where I’d disclose the end, but I haven’t made it there yet.  In fact, Level 2 is proving pretty challenging.  Sheep manages to be imaginative, cute, and puzzling as all get-out all in one fluffy little package.  Baa!

The Sims:
Some people call me an addict.  Not true: I can stop anytime I want…it's just more fun than my real friends.  Come on, who doesn't want to play God for a few months?  Reminiscent of “Catz” or “Dogz”, this virtual game of playing house is so incredibly catchy it’s crazy.  Whoever would’ve thought that the simple tasks of cooking, sleeping and even peeing could take so much precedence in a game?  Even as this is being typed out, the need to go back to building my eclectic little twisted neighborhood is almost undeniable.   
It was perhaps inevitable that if anybody was going to take the next step in "people simulation" it would be Will Wright, the designer who has done so much to pioneer the idea of the software sandbox with the SimCity series. And that's exactly what he's done with The Sims, a game that allows you to create and control the lives of virtual suburbanites. But it’s not so much a next step as a giant leap.  Wright's Sims are powered by a complex set of emotional and behavioral variables. They're affected by both nature and nurture; five key personality areas (Neat, Outgoing, Active, Playful, Nice) can be defined prior to their "birth", and from then on, their happiness and success are determined by how competently you manage their lives.
The lives of the Sims under your control are faceted and detailed enough that you'll actually find yourself believing that you're living somebody else's life. Your Sim (or Sims) becomes a virtual alter ego through which you can attempt to make real your dreams - or, perhaps, nightmares.
The Sims is essentially divided into two sections - a "Live" mode in which your Sims work, play, and interact, and a Buy/Build mode that freezes time to allow you to change the environment. Starting with a meager 20,000 Simoleans doesn’t give much allowance by way of purchases, but if you’re a fan of cheat codes, the “Rosebud” maneuver is more than helpful.  With time frozen and such a powerful and easy-to-use design tool at your fingertips, it's possible to create virtually any kind of domestic abode you can imagine. Every aspect from aesthetically pleasing carpet to zany window placement is available, and just building the house itself can be quite fun.
After becoming the ideal decorator, the action starts in the "Live" mode, in which your happy (initially, at least) little band of characters gets down to the business of living their everyday lives. This being more of a computer toy than a game proper, the user is free to define their own objectives, but as in real life, you're encouraged to achieve social and professional success, which in turn are the key factors in determining overall happiness. After putting your Sim on a career path, either by perusing the newspaper or online job listings, career advancement becomes a major goal - after struggling up through the low pay and long hours inherent to the lower ranks of whatever career you chose (everything from medicine and politics to sports, entertainment, and a life of crime is possible), you can start earning some serious money, which can be ploughed into life-enhancing home improvements.  If you’re looking to just slack off and collect friends, skills and fine art exhibits, “Rosebud” is once again the way to go.
The other key goal of The Sims is to develop an active social life, and it's here - interacting with other Sims in the neighborhood - that the game throws up some of its most satisfying treats. Socializing is mandatory if you want to get ahead, since a Sim's social rating is one of the key contributors to overall happiness and promotion to the higher career levels also requires that a certain number of Family Friends be maintained (which seems more a function of game design than an attempt to simulate how real life actually works, but never mind).
As you get to know the Sims in your neighborhood, you can call them and invite them over. Once you've gained the pleasure of their company, you can chat, play, joke, flirt... whatever it takes to get them to like you. Certain household items can help move things along - well, wouldn't you be more likely to visit a friend if you knew he had a big-screen TV, basketball court, and hot tub?
Get friendly enough and Sims can become romantically inclined toward each other, and pleasingly there's no preset gender orientation so you can do what you will with your Sims' love lives. You need to be aware of pre-existing relationships, however…neighboring Sims can and will “Attack”, dropping your Friend points dangerously low.  Once in the red zone, a fight is almost inevitable, although after hard work they can fall back into the Family Friend zone within a day or two.
You can hire a maid and gardener to take care of most household chores, but even then it can be a real struggle to maintain a career and a social life. As in the real world, the essence of The Sims is all about making decisions and prioritizing based on what you want out of life. A balanced life invariably works best, and achieving that balance is the game's toughest challenge. As the size of your Sim family increases, the game gets both easier and harder - easier because you get more income and you can divide tasks among family members, and harder because taking care of more than one Sim's daily agenda can be a real handful.
There are, as with every good game, a few minor drawbacks.  For example: Sims don't age; it doesn't take thirty minutes to feed fish; you have to do the dishes but not the laundry; you can't visit other Sims' houses, they have to come to you; you don't see what happens when you're at work, and you can be married to more than one person at once.  These are all, on the surface, valid criticisms, but the people who make them could use a little education in the limitations of game design, particularly one that deals with a subject so broad as this. Any simulation developer has to make tough calls on what to include and what to leave out - the omissions just seem more obvious when the simulation is of something everybody does everyday.  
The fact is that, a few quirks aside, playing The Sims is one of the most curiously engaging and addictive hobbies I've ever had. I've gone to bed at night thinking about my Sims, woken up in the morning anxious to re-acquaint myself with them. It has that oh-so rare appeal that continues to linger in your consciousness long after you've shut down your PC for the night. We've long known that the idea of wielding God-like power over a virtual universe is a compelling one, but I never imagined that doing so in such an everyday world would be so maddeningly consuming. The Sims has an indefinable relaxing, therapeutic quality, right down to its wonderfully soothing, melodic soundtrack.
My only real criticism is the lack of a multiplayer mode when it's not difficult to imagine how a good one might have worked. Right now it's soft of fun to interact with other Sims created by friends or colleagues, but I would've liked to be able to hook up with somebody online and become virtual roommates or something. Or perhaps I could become a burglar in an online neighborhood, stealing stuff from other people's houses and furnishing my own with it (it could be a real riot when I invite everyone over to my place for a big party!).  However, with the help of a few cheat codes and the brand new “Livin’ Large Expansion Pack”, a few of my worries are gone.  Build a renaissance castle or a jungle palace, complete with leopard-print wallpaper. Want to improve your love life? Buy a heart-shaped vibrating bed and ask that special someone to join you.
Livin' Large is all about choices. Over 100 new objects (including the best from the Web) are included, more decorating choices, some fun non-player characters, new neighborhoods with a total of 50 lots, and links to 50 new Web pages.  Some of the best new stuff includes a guitar for the musicians in the family. It's a fun group activity because you'll draw a crowd while you play. There are also objects for the paranormal crowd -- a genie appears when you clean the genie's lamp, and you can gaze into a crystal ball and get fortune cookie-type predictions. And for those of you that like the hunting lodge look, there are plenty of mounted dead animal wall hangings and animal skin rugs for decoration.  There's a ton of cool new artwork, too, although the guinea pig picture is slightly disturbing. Be wary of hanging up the clown picture because that creepy clown will come to life and bug your Sims.  If you download “The Sims Art Studio” from the main site, you can even take your own images and hang them up.  Also available: Face Lift Gold—enabling the user to take tiny jpegs of their friends and family and map them onto the Sims.  Tired of that coworker taking over your desk space?  Import them into a neighborhood and starve them in a specially made maze.  Watch them soil themselves, curl into a fetal position, and eventually become a beautiful urn or headstone…selling at a value of 20 Simoleans.
A few annoying things popped up in this expansion pack, however.  For one, they say you can kill the roaches that autonomously spring up tile by tile; this is WRONG!  Those guys never go away, trapping whomever tries to stomp on them in a 2-tile space warp, including you, your maid, and Servo the Wonder Robot.  They also never mention how the computer gets feisty and locks up if you try to make a mansion with every single object you can squeeze into two floors.  Far be it from me to try that.  There’s also still no “more than 2 floors” option, which is kind of sad.  Who doesn’t want a sixteen-story house, with just a staircase floating from the ground to the first level?

Five new careers are available, and the careers are a bit more creative this time: musician, journalist, hacker, paranormal expert, and slacker.  (Imagine: paid to be a professional party guest.)  After a while, it becomes too much work to keep your Sims happy, clean, and well fed, especially when you have to go to work and maintain friendships at the same time (and don't get any weekends). The game play hasn't been changed or modified, and the new neighborhoods look exactly the same as the original.
There’s so much to be said for this game, but first-hand experience is best with this one.  Incredible amounts of first-hand experience.  And now, it’s time for me to go back to what I was doing before this wonderfully long review started…building a new castle, fine-tuning Servo the Wonder Robot, and watching evil neighbors trapped in my secret laboratory pee on the floor.

That’s it for my game review.  It took far longer than necessary, and basically the only thing really to be said is play, play and play some more.  Detailed reviews are always fun, but there’s nothing better than aiming that rocket launcher right between someone’s eyes, or starving your best friend in a moat.  And that’s the truth.

The following are quotes from avid players, not-so-avid players, and people who know me.  This is to help whomever get a little better look at the opinions of the aforementioned.

"I don't care about gaming in the next year.  Unless they fix it.  The
focus on the game is gone.  You know what made Asteroids cool?  The fact
that you didn't have to read a 300-page instruction manual to be able to
play it!  Why do you think people download NES emulators instead of
constantly playing the latest Direct-X laced, Force-Feedback enabled, 3-D
game that hit that market last month?  Because underneath the eye-candy
and technology, the game sucks."
      - Mike "Hobbit" Lambert

“Gaming is how I first lay my hand upon most young people.”
- J. "Satan" Demko

"[mumble mumble]…too much time playing…[mumble mumble]"
- Linda “I’m-Her-Mom-So-I-Have-To-Criticize-Constant-Playing” Young

“I’m waiting for the day when games will be projected directly onto your retina and there will be no need for any other hardware or software.  That’s all.”
- Matt “Tribes-Made-My-Friends-Queer” Scala

“Who needs friends when you can play the Sims all day?”
- Panther “Drama” Q’een

THE ELECTRONIC SOFTWARE RATING BOARD SAYS:

Early Childhood
Titles rated "Early Childhood (EC)" have content suitable for children ages three and older and do not contain any material that parents would find inappropriate.
Kids to Adults
Titles rated "Kids to Adult (K-A)" have content suitable for persons ages six and older. These titles will appeal to people of many ages and tastes. They may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (for example, slapstick comedy), or some crude language.
Everyone
As of January 1, 1998, the new "Everyone" designation will replace the "Kids to Adults" rating. Titles rated "Everyone (E)" have content suitable for persons ages six and older. These titles will appeal to people of many ages and tastes. They may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (for example, slapstick comedy), or some crude language.
Teen
Titles rated "Teen (T)" have content suitable for persons ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violent content, mild or strong language, and/or suggestive themes.
Violence
Mild Animated Violence
Contains scenes depicting cartoon/animated/pixilated characters in unsafe or hazardous acts or violent situations.
Mild Realistic Violence
Contains scenes depicting characters in unsafe or hazardous acts or violent situations in photographic detail.
Comic Mischief
Contains scenes depicting activities characterized as slapstick or gross vulgar humor.
Animated Violence
Contains depictions of aggressive conflict involving cartoon/animated/pixilated characters.
Realistic Violence
Contains realistic or photographic-like depictions of aggressive conflict.
Animated Blood and Gore
Animated/pixilated or cartoon-like depictions of mutilation or dismemberment of body parts.
Realistic Blood and Gore
Depictions of mutilation or dismemberment of body parts in realistic or photographic-like detail.
Animated Blood
Animated/pixilated or cartoon-like depictions of blood.
Realistic Blood
Representations of blood in realistic or photographic-like detail.
Language
Mild Language
Product contains the use of words like "damn".
Strong Language
Commonly referenced four-letter words.
Sexual Content
Suggestive Themes
Mild provocative references or materials.
Mature Sexual Themes
Contains provocative material; including depiction of the human body in either animated or photographic-like formats.
Strong Sexual Content
Graphic depiction of sexual behavior and/or the human form (i.e., frontal nudity) in either animated or photographic-like detail.
Early Childhood
Some Adult Assistance May Be Needed
Reading Skills
Fine Motor Skills
Higher Level of Thinking Skills
Other Descriptors
Gaming
The depiction of betting-like behavior.
Use of Tobacco and Alcohol
Product contains images of the use of tobacco and/or alcohol in a manner which condones or glorifies their use.
Use of Drugs
Product contains images of the use of drugs in a manner which condones or glorifies their use.
Informational
Overall content of product contains data, facts, resource information, reference materials or instructional text.
Edutainment
Content of product provides user with specific skills development or reinforcement learning within an entertainment setting. Skill development is an integral part of product.

Helpful Links and Sources

http://astalavista.box.sk
http://www.ditto.com
http://www.empireinteractive.com
http://www.epicgames.com
http://www.esrb.com
http://www.gamecopyworld.com
http://www.maxis.com
http://www.mirc.com
http://www.pcgamer.com
http://www.ravensoft.com
http://www.search.com
http://www.sierra.com
http://thecrack.net/8080
http://www.thesims.com