The Sims

You've electrocuted yourself on a light bulb, poured so much espresso inside you that you've fainted twice and wet yourself, and there are three auburn handprints on your face courtesy of some sub-standard 10am flirting at work. To top it all off, your monkey butler has disappeared off to his tree house again. For some people, this is a normal day. For most of us, though, it's simply a typical few hours at the helm of The Sims, the life simulator beamed to us from the same minds responsible for SimCity, SimEarth, SimAnt and more, and now updated and improved for Nintendo GameCube.

The Sims' 'Get a Life' mode is where your virtual existence begins, after you've chosen the physical appearance of your on-screen alias ('Sim') - and inevitably given him or her a face, hair and clothes to match yours, you vain thing. You start this mode with no cash, no skills, and a bed sitting proudly in the living room of your mother's house. The aim over seven levels is to Get that Life, starting with learning enough about repairs to fix the TV, and ending with a job, a spouse, kids at the top of their class in school, and - yes! - a power shower all your own. Finally clambering out of mummy's pocket is a case of juggling your Sim's basic needs - hunger, hygiene, comfort, social - with a number of set goals. So while Mr or Ms Sim is reading up on the cooking skills they need to avoid setting the kitchen on fire, they'll also need to be sent to the toilet, the shower, the bin and the bed at appropriate times to avoid sliding into depression and squalour - something unlikely to tempt future spouses. That's the core appeal of The Sims - here, at the command of your fingers, is a proper life, sparkling with humour and detailed down to the music from the living room stereo.

There are few limits or omissions - in this virtual life you can order pizza, sleep all day, refuse to pay your electricity bills, play pinball, sell your fridge, and even choose 'burglar' as your occupation. There are fixed routes to Get a Life goals - earning a promotion means regular showers and telling jokes, throwing a raging party means good music, good food, and maybe even a visit from the cops - but otherwise you're free to mess about in a way you simply can't in real life. Unless you're stinking rich.

With simple mini-menu controls and the ability to pause and fast forward time with the L and R Buttons, you can order Sims about with the bare minimum of hassle. Your virtual person's incoherent babbling won't tell you what to do next - but icons inside speech bubbles and nicely realistic sounds will. If your Sim 'speaks' a tiny bed icon, they need sleep. If you hear buzzing, that's the flies hinting that you should scoop the rotting food off the kitchen floor.

'Get a Life' is the focus of The Sims - but also on offer is a freeform, goal-free 'Play the Sims' mode where you can play the puppetmaster with up to four Sims in one house, making them eat and play and clean and marry until your real-life friends send out the search party. The two-player modes are a great bonus, too - the main game itself in co-operative form, plus competitive challenges to test your flirting, begging or cleaning skills. Whether your life is a bed of roses or a mattress full of stinging nettles, give it another go with The Sims - where life really is a game.