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Strategy and Simulation

The Sims: Unleashed

Oh, the joys of pet ownership! This amusing expansion pack for Electronic Arts' amazingly popular and addictive Sims series adds a furry dimension--and complications--to the basic life simulation game.

The people still have to get jobs, have relationships, shop, party, and improve themselves, but in this version they get the added fun of raising a pet. But watch out! If you don't train your little buddy well, he or she could end up a poor housemate, making "mistakes" all over the place or wrecking the house. Be prepared: Your new Sim pet will probably drink out of the toilet once in a while too.

--Ramon G. McLeod

Genre: Simulation

Price: $30 (add-on pack; requires full version of The Sims, $40, to play); check latest prices

The Sims: Unleashed

Earth and Beyond

If down-to-Earth fun with the Sims doesn't get your blood pumping, this massive multiplayer online role-playing game from Electronic Arts puts you in command of five space pilots of your creation, who complete missions that take them from one end of the galaxy to another in order to improve themselves and gain new skills.

Gameplay starts slowly with relatively simple training sessions that orient you in your spaceship's cockpit and give you the basic skills you need to navigate among solar systems. The pace rapidly ramps up to hectic battles with mean-looking space baddies (called "MOBs" by experienced players), portioned out with quieter moments as your ship glides through star systems to reach various destinations.

The beautiful graphics engine shows off in virtually every scene, as you fly through the rings of Saturn or sidle up next to a glowing asteroid ripe for mining. The online aspect of the game means that every month brings new and updated content, but we recommend it only to those with a broadband connection--the game is tough to play over a 56-kbps modem.

--Andrew Brandt

Genre: Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

Price: $30, then $10 per month after the first month

Earth and Beyond

BeamBreakers

When the year 2000 rolled around and I didn't have the flying car I'd been promised since I was a child, I was heartbroken. Finally, nearly three years later, my flying car has arrived: Jowood's BeamBreakers puts you in control of a hover car, racing through a futuristic Neo York City to establish your air cred, or delivering pizzas for a high-flying service.

If you've ever seen the taxi chase scene in the film The Fifth Element, you know this game. Down to the smallest details, the environment of the game interacts with your character (and car): Pedestrians to avoid on high, open walkways that hit the deck if you whiz past a bit too closely, and even planter trees or hanging light fixtures take it on the chin if you "break the beam" (drive out of proscribed air traffic pathways)--which happens with alarming regularity.

Its one weakness is the absence of online gameplay, but despite that, the manic speed and utter chaos of a city full of flying cars marks BeamBreakers as one of the truly unique high-concept games of the year.

--Andrew Brandt

Genre: Racing/flying

Price: $30 (free demo available); check latest prices

Beambreakers

Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs

Microsoft's Zoo Tycoon puts you in charge of building and maintaining a large zoo, in settings ranging from tightly packed urban locations to a large island.

The latest add-on pack, Dinosaur Digs, can help you turn the city zoo into a virtual Jurassic Park, complete with Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and even the gentle Brontosaurus. The pack also includes dinosaur-themed cage designs, shops and restaurants, and even special dinosaur caretakers who nurture the creatures from the time they hatch from their genetically engineered eggs (or chase them down with tranquilizer-equipped helicopters if they manage to escape their electrified cages).

Word of warning: In a fight between a large pride of lions and a single Tyrannosaur, don't put your money on the lions. Be afraid, be very afraid.

--Andrew Brandt

Genre: Simulation

Price: $30 (requires full $30 version of Zoo Tycoon to play); check latest prices

Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs

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