The Sims 2 is as close as you can come (in this country, anyway) to keeping people as pets. In the sequel to the biggest PC hit of the last five years, you manage every aspect of a virtual family's intricately detailed livesꦿ as they eat, sleep, go to work, make friends with the neighbors, fall in love, get married and have children. It's a lot like running your own reality show, but with more believable characters.

Each Sim has a unique and complex set of genes handed down from their parents (or assigned by you in the Sim creator) tha🐲t determines their looks and behavior. In addition to basic personality traits, they are born with deep-seated aspirations, such as success with romance or m🌜oney. Helping them achieve goals while avoiding their fears makes them happy and unlocks the special things in life that money can't buy, like a money tree.

Sims go through a lot of interesting events during their lifetimes, from throwing birthday parties to sexy misunderstandings in hot tubs to alien abduction. Most of it is done with a great sense of humor that will have you laughing the whole time, even the sad things like when a badly depressed Sim starts seeing hallucinations of clowns and psycholo🃏gists. It's worth abusing a Sim sometimes just to see how he'll react.