Game On: 'Sims 3' creates ultimate in alternate worlds

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"The Sims 3"
Platform: PC
Genre: Simulation
Publisher: EA Games
ESRB Rating: T, for Teen
Grade: 4 stars (out of 5)

With each release in "The Sims" franchise, you really get the sense that you are creating a person in a living, functioning world and can control (to some extent) the character's destiny. The problem is that you will need to spend countless hours of your own life making sure your created one stays happy.
By no means am I going to get into a discourse on virtual life versus real life, and whether technology is stealing our time. If you are into games like this, or video games in general, you already value this form of entertainment over others. That said, "The Sims 3" is an outstanding life simulation game.
From the moment you create your sim, you are off on an adventure that will span decades (in Sims time, of course). It will bring loads of interactions with other characters and a variety of life experiences unmatched in the franchise's previous games.
The hardest decisions in "The Sims 3" are at the beginning, when you must choose your characters' looks, traits and knowledge/career path. It will be easy to change many of these aspects along the way, so don't feel like you are hemmed into any one track. But this speaks more to the ease in which the game presents you with tons of options for work, exercise, recreation and relationships.
The controls can be complex in the sense that you have a lot to manage at certain moments of your sim's life. Also, while the game is rather deep in experiences, it is surprising to see that elements of the expansion packs from "The Sims 2" are missing here.
Still, "The Sims 3" is one of the best sim games on the market. If you are a fan of the genre, you should have no reservations about making this purchase.

"Help Wanted: 50 Wacky Jobs"
Platform: Wii
Genre: Action
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
ESRB Rating: E, for Everyone
Grade: 3 stars

My co-worker Laura easily rivaled me in glee over "Help Wanted." It's not because it is the greatest thing ever created; it's a fun game, but we're not talking about a new "Mario" release or anything.
No, what got us laughing so hard was the game's premise. Earth is being attacked by meteors, and the only way to save the planet is to work a variety of typical jobs and use the money to -- wait for it -- buy items off shop-at-home channels that can defeat the meteors. Yes, Laura and I are closet home-shopping-channel fanatics. I've never bought anything from them, but for 15 or so years I have reveled in their idiocy, the boundless joy over faux diamonds and hand-knitted women's wear. Upon discovering Laura's love of the channels, I knew I had a new friend.
But back to the game ...
As the title says, you get to work in 50 different jobs to earn money to save the world. These jobs are wide-ranging, from dentistry to skydiving to working the red carpet at a celebrity event. The jobs are just minigames, so you won't have to pull teeth too long, plus you won't get bored with repetitive gameplay.
Not all 50 jobs are great. Some of them, naturally, are not the most fun, and there are some breaks in the action that help drive the story along but also make the game less enjoyable. You can level up the jobs you like to make more money, and the game does a great job at limiting the jobs at any one time. That way, you at least give them all a try.
There are certainly more technologically savvy ways of saving the world, but "Help Wanted" gives you perhaps one of the more courageous ways. I can't imagine that shopping channels could get better marketing than this.

(E-mail Chris Campbell at game_on_games(at)mac.com.)
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