Load up (after the lengthy install process) Makin' Magic and a "starter kit" will appear on your sims doorstep - containing a magic portal (handy!) and pretty much everything you need to begin a career in the magical arts. The idea is to practice at home and then warp to magic town, where you can make money by impressing people.

In addition to the obvious new gameplay mechanic (hint: the magic stuff), Makin' Magic adds a lot of new items to The Sims experience. From the new Magic Town (complete with new housing areas) to the new currency (Magic Coins - primarily obtained through performing magical feats to an adoring crowd) which you can use to buy property and so on, there is LOTS of stuff here to keep even the hardest core Sim-er amused for many more hours. Want to bake a cake? Now you can, thanks to the new baking oven. There are also heaps of new textures and art items and furniture and... you get the idea. There is heaps of new stuff to freshen up the basic Sims experience.

Those new to the series would do well to play some standard "The Sims" (required to play this expansion) before cutting their teeth on the new Magic dynamic - you need to know how to manage relationships and keep a happy home before you can even think about practicing the dark arts! Be careful with your spells - whilst turning the neighbour into a toad might seem compelling at the time, you might end up regretting it. Not only can magic come back to bite you in the bum when it backfires, you might get a spell or two cast back on you. That said, it's nice to be able to coerce a sim into falling in love with you or maybe take care of some of that annoying housework with just the wave of a wand! Junior can even conjur up an invisible friend to take care of all of his social interaction needs.

The bulk of the game revolves around obtaining the ingredients necessary to mix up the various magic spells. Whilst you can get a lot of the ingredients around the home (from various items, which you may or may not already have - off to the shops with you!), the bulk of the really good stuff is only available in Magic Town. There you can purchase (using magic coins) many of the more obscure ingredients but even then, some are not available to buy. To get some of the really obscure things, you will need to complete challenges or tasks set for you by the various inhabitants and traders of Magic Town. Additionally, like in Harry Potter, you can duel other wizards for rewards and the esteem of those that watch the battles.

Graphically, there's not much to say. It hasn't improved markedly since the original but then, the game design doesn't require spiffy graphics and the fact that it will run on (comparatively) low specced machines as a result is a definite plus. That said, the fancy new spell effects are pretty decent and definitely very colourful. Just don't buy it with the express purpose of thrashing out your new super computer. They are up to the task but certainly won't wow anyone.