Who doesn’t fancy playing God every now and then? The Sims 2: Double Deluxe is like playing God, but with twice the freedom and creative options of earlier versions of the game.

For those not familiar with the series, The Sims is a life simulator. You create one or more people as part of a family, and build them a house on a vacant plot in Simsville. There are a massive number of customisation choices available to you when creating your sims – from the standard age/gender/appearance variables right through to setting their personality traits and selecting their star signs.

The options for constructing your sims’ home are similarly extensive – giving you great creative freedom in terms of both architecture and furnishings. When constructing a house you must provide the standard amenities like bathroom facilities, beds, kitchens and waste disposal, as well as buying and placing luxury items suited to your sims’ (that is, your own) particular tastes.

You can get your sim a job, send them to school, make them eat and interact, or just sit back and leave them to it. The Sims 2 is like a role-playing game for the masses, and immensely addictive it is too. There’s something extremely appealing about controlling a miniature virtual human whose life might not be too dissimilar from your own. It is very satisfying watching your sim grow, extend their family and expand their house as they get wealthier and progress in their chosen career.

The Sims 2: Double Deluxe contains the base Sims 2 game, Sims 2 Celebration Stuff (a bonus collection of furnishings for your house) and Sims 2 Nightlife expansion pack (which adds nightclubs and other pleasure-themed game mechanics), along with a bonus DVD. For gamers new to the series this release is an excellent and good-value starting point.