The Sims: Makin' Magic (preview)
Do you believe in magic?
by Libe Goad

I thought my sims had seen it all. They’ve been on better dates, thrown better parties and owned cooler pets then I could dream about. Then they went Hollywood. Sheesh. Now that I’m nursing a serious inferiority complex compared to my pixilated counterparts, EA and Maxis announce that The Sims are going head-to-head with Harry Potter in the upcoming expansion pack, The Sims: Makin' Magic.

Set for release in October, the seventh expansion pack for the grossly popular people simulation series, will take your sims to Magic Town, where they will duel and perform magic to acquire ingredients, which can be used in various combinations to create various spells. Once inside the township, your sims can perform at a side show, spook show, magic dueling arena and the magic trick table, wowing the audience by pulling a rabbit from a hat, summoning spirits and levitation, to name a few.

Your industrious sim will also be able to build a customized haunted house and fun house (complete with — we hope — a large selection of funhouse mirrors). Hungry sims out on the town will be able to satiate their appetites with popcorn and cotton candy — everything a virtual body needs to grow up big and strong.

Taking notes from Master Potter and the ladies of Charmed, your sims will be able to use magic for more practical purposes. They will be able to cast spells that clean the house, change relationships, bring objects to life and turn a pesky neighbor into a frog. Like Spidey’s Uncle Ben said, with great power comes great reasonability. In this case that means every time a sim casts a spell, they will have to deal with the consequences, which can range from lightening strikes to reptilian plagues.

Makin' Magic will also take a snippet from RPG games, featuring non-player characters (NPC) that will assign your Sims quests — performing tasks and solving puzzles — which will unlock the most difficult and powerful spells the game has to offer.

Other tidbits to look forward to include new household magic items — magic crystals, a wand charger, a faerie toy box and a dragons nest that will allow you to harvest your own Puff the Magic Dragon. Personally, I can’t wait to get my peepers on the Vampiress and gypsy vendors that inhabit Magic Town. Or to acquire domestic minions to keep the house in order — the skeleton closet that houses a maid, a flamingo that turns into a hostess and a garden gnome into a gardener.

Let’s hope this expansion will be devoid of the bugginess that plagued an otherwise enjoyable Sims Superstar. Then you and your sims will be free to make beautiful magic together.