celebration of The Sims 25th anniversary and include several of The Sims packs for each title.

For many longtime fans of The Sims, myself included, these games were where it all started. The original launch of The Sims was a unique and amazing experience that introduced a new audience to the gaming world. I was a senior in high school when the first game launched, and despite regularly playing games like Civilization, Warcraft 2, Diablo, and many others, The Sims felt like a place I could truly escape to. Even my non-gaming mom became hooked on The Sims, having to set the egg timer to remind her to log off.

The Sims 1 & 2 Legacy Collection Is Not A Remake

Re-Released To Run On Modern Systems, With Some Additional Packs

Hearing the news that The Sims Legacy Collection for both the first and second games were going to be released brought a wave of memories for me, even before trying the games. I was worried at first that the new editions of The Sims and The Sims 2 would be dramatically changed and end up feeling more like The Sims 4.

Though I love The Sims 4, any big changes would have ultimately defeated the purpose of bringing back the originals, in my opinion. At the same time, I knew from social media that many people were hoping the exact opposite, wanting the games to be entirely remastered.

That said, the first thing prospective buyers need to realize is that The Sims 1 & 2 Legacy Collections are not remakes or remasters. This means that nothing is fundamentally changed in the graphics or gameplay from what was experienced back in 2000 and 2004. These re-releases only changed as much as had to happen for the games to function on modern PCs and have graphical enhancements only enough to work on wider or larger monitors.

There are several extra game packs included in each Legacy Collection in addition to the base games. ScreenRant has articles giving more information on everything included in The Sims 2 Legacy Collection.

This lack of serious changes or updates to the games is something I enjoy, but I can also see how many people could feel frustrated with the price tags associated with these Legacy Collection versions. Currently, on Steam, The Sims Legacy Collection is listed at $19.99 USD, while The Sims 2 Legacy Collection is $29.99, or they can be found in a bundle for $39.99. While this could be considered steep for older games with no upgrades, it's still worth noting that each release comes with almost all the expansion packs and additional content, for the price of a single EP for The Sims 4.

The Sims 1 Legacy Experience Is Filled With Nostalgia

A Classic Game With A Lot Of Memories

The Sims original game back in 2000 was a groundbreaking experience. It opened the door to many life sims to come, but the series has remained the hit title in the genre for 25 years now. I being a teenage girl who struggled with the concept of being a player of Quake and Magic: The Gathering, while also trying to fit in with other girls my age. The wild popularity of The Sims was an unforeseen bridge that provided a bit of a lifeline for me at that time, and I invested hundreds of hours in the experience.

Therefore, The Sims Legacy Collection instantly brought a flood of memories to mind as I loaded the game for the first time. While I know many players have struggled with the re-release having glitches and frequent crashes, my experience playing through the EA app had none of those. The Sims Legacy Collection ran just as I The Sims running in 2000, although with some initial difficulties getting the game to work with my ultra-wide monitor. In fact, for me, this first title ran much smoother than The Sims 2 Legacy Collection did.

The Sims 2 Legacy Experience Had Some Issues, But Is Still A Fun Throwback

Game Crashes & Awkward Camera Angles Caused Some Issues

My problems arose when I next logged in to The Sims 2 Legacy Collection. Where the first game ran flawlessly, the second was an entirely different experience. The nostalgia was still there, yet within moments, the game crashed. Then it crashed again. Finally, it somehow let me get far enough to build and decorate a house and create a single Sim and her dog to move into it.

The character creation screen was difficult to use, perhaps an issue with my screen size, although I could not seem to make it work any better with any changes. The character model was consistently either covered up by the menu or strangely cut off the screen, which defeats much of the purpose of being able to design a character model.

Once I got into the game, it didn't feel quite right. Somehow, it was as though a master difficulty was selected. All on the first in-game day, lightning set each of my trees on fire one at a time, three burglars came at once, and the microwave spontaneously combusted while my Sim was asleep. Somehow, the dog chewing up the sofa seemed like a minor issue compared to the strange and frustrating apocalyptic situation that was occurring for this poor Sim. Just when I thought things were calming down, the game crashed again, and I didn't even mind.

From my memory, The Sims 2 was never that difficult, nor did it crash as often as The Sims 2 Legacy Collection does. Whether my Sim and I were just having incredibly bad luck, or something was amiss, is yet to be determined, but I certainly enjoyed my experience in the first game better than the second.

Old Mods & Cheats Still Work On Both Games, Giving Even More Memories

The Sims Is Where I First Learned About Mods

During my time playing both of these Legacy Collection titles, I tested a variety of mods and cheats for both. There are many mods available for The Sims games that were created back when they first released, and I wasn't sure if they would still be available or work. To my surprise, every mod that I installed worked perfectly. Many of the sites that were active back in 2000 are no longer around, but the ones that are still active have many mods for cosmetics or functions that can add to the game for a unique experience.

Always be careful when ing and installing mods and make sure they are from a reputable site.

For me, the fact that modding worked was just as nostalgic as playing the game. My mom was not one for video games, yet when The Sims was released she not only started playing the game, but taught herself how to and install mods, and learned a lot about how the computer worked in the process. She and I would excitedly tell each other about the mods we found and share decorating ideas. Surprisingly, many of the mods available today are the same ones she and I talked about 25 years ago.

Additionally, using the CTRL + Shift + C to open up the hidden interface for cheats still worked, as did each cheat that I could . As someone who always preferred decorating in these early games to actually worrying about making money or building relationships, using cheats in The Sims was common.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

ScreenRant Gives The Sims 1 & 2 Legacy Collections A7/10

These re-releases are certainly not flawless. Glitches and game crashes seem to be happening for many players on both games (Editor's note: at the time of publishing, crashes with The Sims 1 and 2 are now largely resolved due to post-launch patches, at least for me!) Whether the titles are worth the price will be a personal decision for players, and ultimately, these games are not for everyone. They are very different from The Sims 4, both in graphics and gameplay. While they are not flawless, that doesn't mean they're bad games or should not have been re-released. They are authentic to the originals, and provide nostalgia and a chance to experience the history of the series.

The people who will get the most value out of these Legacy Collection games will be those who, like me, have fond memories of playing the originals two decades ago, or fans of the series who may have missed out on experiencing these and go into it knowing that it will be more of a retro gaming experience. The Sims 1 & 2 Legacy Collections have a lot to offer, and hopefully the game crashes will be nonexistent soon.

ScreenRant was provided with a PC code for the purpose of this review.