IGN came to EA and got a close-up look at Livin' Large and other upcoming EA games. Take a peek into the future of gaming with this great article!
Go to IGN.com, or click read more below to read the story and see the screenshots!
Our Day with EA
Electronic Arts shows us more of Alice, The Sims: Livin's Large, and Red Alert 2.
August 17, 2000
The staff of IGN loaded up the tour bus today and headed down to Redwood City, California to check out Electronic Arts' fall game lineup. There were only three games for the PC, but they were all doozies. We got a chance to see American McGee's Alice, The Sims: Livin' Large, and Red Alert 2, and EA sent us home with plenty of new screenshots and info.
The Sims: Livin' Large
Although we've already been playing the gold version of The Sims: Livin' Large for about a week now, Maxis PR guru Patrick Buechner showed us a lot more of the game today than we've be able to explore on our own.
In case you don't know, Livin' Large is the first Sims expansion. It adds 125 new objects, five new career paths, five new NPCs, and multiple neighborhoods. One of the coolest new objects in the game is the chemistry set. You can use it blow up the house, create antidotes for your Sims, or, if you're not careful, to create a potion that will turn your Sim into a monster that will tear up your house, but will eventually settle down and start to paint pretty pictures. Oh, them wacky monsters. Is there anything they can't do?
The five new NPCs add a lot of new gameplay situations to The Sims. For example, you can buy a magic lamp and summon a Genie to grant you a wish. Of course, the results aren't always what you expect, and while he can make everyone in the house happy, he may also set your favorite bear rug on fire. The Grim Reaper also makes an appearance in Livin' Large, and if you ask nicely, he just might resurrect one of your dead Sims. But our favorite NPC by far is the chain smoking Tragic Clown. If your family is sad and you have a picture of the sad clown in your house, the Tragic Clown will show up at your house to cheer your Sims up. Unfortunately, he's just not that good at tricks, and he mainly just walks around in his dirty, disheveled clown suit and cries a lot. How do you get rid of him? Well, you either have to get your family happy again or, as we saw today, you can set your entire kitchen on fire and let the flames take care of him the old fashioned way.
While we were also hoping to see Black & White and Clive Barker's Undying at today's event, we certainly weren't disappointed with what we did get to see. All three games are looking sweet at this point, and while The Sims: Livin' Large is already complete, we only expect that things are going to get better and better with American McGee's Alice and Red Alert 2 before they're released this fall.
-- Tal Blevins
Carla has a mean streak. She regularly insults her "useless" husband Henry, and when the neighbors visit, she does nothing but brag and tell crass jokes.
Henry doesn't dare confront her. She makes good money at the lab, much better than his psychic hotline "job". Plus, well, she can kick his butt.
At a psychic's convention, Henry finds the ultimate passive-aggressive weapon: a voodoo doll! He knows that such things really don't work, but at least he can vent some frustration with it.
Henry tucks the doll away in his shed, alongside other worthless "collectibles": the "psychic" crystal ball, the "talking" moose head, the "magic" genie lamp.
The next time the neighbors visit, Henry makes dinner for everyone. Carla immediately lays into him. "How can you possibly have burnt my hamburger and served our guests raw meat?!"
Henry hangs his head. After clearing the dishes, he goes into the shed to take out some frustration. He grabs the doll out of its box and starts shaking it angrily. "Burnt? That burger was PERFECT!"
Out on the patio, Carla is right in the middle of a really scathing remark. Suddenly, she begins flailing about, as if tossed into an invisible spin dryer.
Henry's jaw hits the floor. Can it be? The Voodoo Doll is REAL? He gives it an experimental poke.
Carla doubles over. "Ohh, my stomach! I told you that burger was no good!"
As Carla recovers, Henry hastily puts the doll away and returns to the party. "Are you all right, dearest?" He is not cruel, and genuinely loves Carla. But Henry is intelligent, and he knows that people can be...trained.
Now, whenever Carla's mean streak shows itself, one of her strange "seizures" occurs. The doll, meanwhile, has moved to a more convenient location -- right next to Henry's beloved chess set.
Life takes a turn for the brighter, as quiet, friendly Henry now lives with quiet, friendly Carla. They say long-lasting marriages never lose that special magic. But they never said where it comes from...