The storylines is what sets these life Stories apart from the original Sims 2. There is Riley: she has returned for a new beginning, but there’s an ex boyfriend who changes her plans. And there’s Vince: a high-tech wiz who’s looking for his soulmate but has been unlucky so far. Next to playing this soap there’s still the possibility to play the classic way, so without storylines.

These stories are brought into the game by objectives that have to be successfully completed. If your Sims manage to fulfil these tasks, their mood will be improved together with some other advantages. Those who know the Sims series, know that little Sims are, to put it mildly, needy and probably wonder if it’s even possible to do other things in between the filling of the little meters. Luckily they’ve thought about this at EA, because once the needs of a Sim are fulfilled, it takes longer for the little one to be needing anything again.

Sims Life Stories was also promoted as ‘laptop friendly’. It’s not lied, the game runned smoothly on my laptop and loading times were minimal. Mind you, it’s not possible to play in fullscreen. Apparently you’re supposed to be chatting during the game, or visiting the Fragland site. Consequently the camera controls are a little different, it’s something you have to get used too.

Next to the lessened neediness there are some new neighbourhoods, some new objects and… that’s it. So apart from story lines, what’s new since Sims 2? Nothing! Actually you have to pay the full price for something that’s as worth as an expansion. By the way, those of you who want to make use of the real add-ons for this game: they’re not compatible.

Besides, it may be the first, but not the last part in this series. A flyer included with the game, announced ‘Sims Pet Stories’ and ‘Sims Castaway Stories’ (the Sims version of Lost), both games are to be released this year.