Playing God, designing people

Playing "The Sims 2" the way I played it is like touring the major countries of Europe and only visiting the bowling alleys.

"Sims 2,' a life simulation for PCs from Electronic Arts, is not a game. It does not have a start, a finish or a definable goal. It is a comic simulation in which you guide virtual people called "sims" through rather inane lives.

It is also the sequel to the most popular computer "game" of all time. Electronic Arts has sold 13 million copies of the original "The Sims," 23 million copies of the various "Sims" expansion packs, and another 6 million copies of "The Sims" for every game console from N-Gage to Game Boy Advance to the Xbox to the PlayStation 2.