Ups: Plenty of new things for your Sims to buy and play with. Some rather novel items which are highly amusing. Multiple neighbourhoods allows for a greater number of Sim families. Downs: Its really just a collection of new things for your Sims to buy. Only minor improvements to game play. Bottom Line: Livin' Large is an expansion pack aimed squarely at hardcore Sims fans. It offers little to those who dabbled with the game and does little to improve on the gameplay of the original. A must for those who love their Sims, though.   Good

advertisement LIKE MANY GAMERS I fell victim to the fiendish addiction that is The Sims. However, after a reasonably long period (about a month) of thrashing it the addiction was overcome and I haven't touched it since. Now the expansion pack Livin' Large is out and again I felt the urge to start meddling in the lives of little computer people. Would the expansion pack be enough to rekindle a full blown addiction, or would it just be a brief encounter? Ultimately for me it was a brief encounter but those who never gave up tending to the affairs of their Sims will have to have Livin' Large. Read on to find out why. If you were to sum up the Livin' Large expansion pack in two words those two words would have to be "more stuff". To be fair it would really have to be "a lot more stuff", as there is plenty crammed into the expansion pack, but ultimately it does not change the way the game is played or introduce anything radically new. There is certainly nothing in Livin' Large that is likely to bring those who tired of The Sims back to the game, or attract those who found the concept unappealing in the first place. Fans are likely to do backflips for the expansion though, as it does introduce some nifty new decor and entertaining household items. One change which fans will appreciate is the ability to have up to four neighbourhoods at a time. The new decor is certainly a lot more wacky than the original game. Your Sims can now settle down in a spooky castle or a '70s style pad (which you can design to look alarmingly similar to some of the Boogie Nights sets). There are also a stack of extra tile sets included that have been available for download at www.thesims.com. This actually takes a little of the sheen off the expansion pack as the extra tile sets provided are not really that much better than the ones that are available for free download. There are also plenty of new nik-naks to brighten up your Sims house. Again these are not a great deal more exciting than the items that have been freely available at www.thesims.com.

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