The Sims: Superstar (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Andrew Park
• Reviewed on: 05/27/2003
• Released on: 05/12/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: The Sims: Superstar (PC) Review

Maxis' unusual strategy game The Sims, which lets you control the lives of little computer people, rocketed to the top of the sales charts when it was released in 2000, and its subsequent expansion packs have done the same. And just like the others, the latest expansion, The Sims: Superstar, doesn't change the basics of the original game, or fix any of the inherent issues (it actually adds a few stability problems), but it does add enough new content to make it worthwhile. And Superstar has the added distinction of being the first truly challenging expansion pack for The Sims.

As its title suggests, The Sims: Superstar capitalizes on the new trend of fame-related TV shows, most obviously American Idol. The expansion lets you take your sims out of the house and off to work in a brand-new career track: the path to fame, as a fashion model, an actor, or a musician. Though these new jobs represent the first time The Sims players have ever been able to follow their sims to work, they also collectively represent the toughest challenge the series has ever offered.

In order to successfully become a superstar, your sims will need to fulfill a surprisingly stringent series of requirements, including improving personal skills (such as body, charisma, and creativity), increasing their new fame skill, and increasing their star power by making lots of famous friends. As your sims gain more fame, they'll have to deal with scandalous tabloid reports (which cost a great deal of money to buy up before they hit the presses), as well as the possibility of being stalked by an obsessed fan if they don't maintain a good relationship with the public. Fulfilling all these requirements can be exceptionally time-consuming, especially since, as always, you'll also have to carefully monitor your sims' current moods and needs (or "motives"). As always, if you let your sims become too hungry, tired, or lonely, they'll become depressed and uncooperative, which can make the already difficult task of increasing your sims' fame even tougher.

This difficulty is offset somewhat by some of Superstar's new features and objects. For starters, Superstar lets you hire a butler at a rate of a whopping 500 simoleons per day. The butler can not only keep visitors away from the house and cook sumptuous meals on demand, but he can also independently hire maids and repairmen as needed to clean and service the house. Superstar also lets you purchase extremely pricey recreational items, such as a personal scuba tank and a free-fall chamber that can be used to help fill your sims' fun motive quickly. However, when you're running your sims in and out of recording studios, photo shoots, and fashion runways, you'll still be hard-pressed to maintain your social connections and advance your career, since your sims' motives will constantly be running out in the new studio town area, where they pursue their careers. It's too bad, because at the very top levels of your sims' careers, you'll be able to star in appropriately over-the-top fashion shows, movies, and music videos.

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