The Sims: Livin' Large // Livin' It Up - PC Games

The Sims--Livin it up expansion pack has more swings and bells on it than a Christmas tree in a castle, and of course in true "Sims" style all this is possible.

Whether or not you choose to be the king of the castle, with your turrets, armoury, banqueting hall and dungeon--skeleton in cage on application-or a hip funky Austin Powers-esque man in your retro 60s psychedelic bachelor pad is up to you.

The range of new gadgets and gizmos to play with is just as impressive, and although a number of the extras have been available to download to the more adventurous Web searcher, there are still plenty more to make this package worthwhile.

New Career paths with over 50 jobs have now been included. Become a psychic investigator or a musician, a slacker or a journalist and they all come with new toys to play at home with. If this wasn't enough, the game also includes new neighbourhoods to try out if you've run out of space in the current one, although the only drawback is that you can't move from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

The Sims--Livin it up expansion pack is a great addition to the original, making you completely hooked again in no time, and saving up for those ever elusive expensive items, in this case the automatic robot maid.--Stuart Miles