The Sims goes to the dogs – well, werewolves

I’m a closet Sims fan.

That pretty much means I don’t tell my fellow video game aficionados that I enjoy the Sims – and I don’t tell non-video game fans because they won’t care either way.

Most people wouldn't understand how I can sit down to play 'Silent Hill' one second and 'The Sims' the next. I'm multi-faceted weird -- what can I say.

For those not familiar, the whole point of The Sims is to build a house, go to work, amass funds and discover a variety of different things around whatever city your Sim happens to be living in at the current time. There are also a host of tasks you have to perform.

On Tuesday, though, The Sims 3: Supernatural hits shelves and I can’t help but admit that I’m a little giddy with excitement.

Truthfully, I’ve been waiting for this for awhile.

The new Sims update not only creates a whole new town – Moonlight Falls – but a whole new selection of homes and Sim attributes. In other words, you can make your Sim a werewolf, vampire, fairy or witch. In addition, you can actually brew potions that can create zombies or even turn people into gold.

The Sims is not for everyone. It’s not action-packed. It’s more of a task-oriented game.

And, if I’m telling the truth, I cheat.

Yeah, I admit it. I have no interest in having my Sim go to work or (shudder) raise kids. No, I use cheat codes to amass endless funds and always make sure there’s no chance of any little ones bouncing around.

In truth, my favorite part of the game is designing the house. I know, I could probably get some architecture program for half the price and do the same thing – but I do actually play the game.

Back when it was just The Sims (before Sims 2 and Sims 3, in other words) there was a ‘Makin Magic’ edition that was supposed to be a lot like ‘Supernatural.’

‘Makin Magic’ was fun – but it didn’t have a Gypsy Caravan or Magic Mirror. Plus, the thought of designing a haunted house with a graveyard as decoration sounds like a lot of fun. Before, when I wanted a graveyard at my Sims home, I would have to make a huge family and then put eight of them in the pool -- pause the game so I could remove the ladders -- and then leave them in there for two days until they drowned. Once they drowned, they turned into urns and gravestones which I could then decorate with. Sick, yes I know.

For Sims purists, skeleton maid Bonehilda does make a return from a decade in the past – so that should make just about everyone happy.

Plus, the graphics for The Sims 3 are so much better than The Sims that it's like an entirely different world.

A couple of years ago, The Sims 3 unveiled a nighttime edition that did add vampires – even including a plasma fruit bush for you to grow in your garden. And, while I did find it fun to turn into a vampire, it got old pretty quickly because you couldn’t go out during daylight hours.

Honestly, I’m dying to try out all of the new characters. The first will probably be a witch, though. I'm a fan of the classics.

So, if you’re a serious gamer, I’m sure you’re not interested in 'The Sims 3: Supernatural'.

If you’re like me, though, you’ll probably be up until the wee hours of the morning Wednesday discovering all of the secrets of Moonlight Falls.

What do you think? Are you a fan of The Sims?