I have not played it no, I have had a quick burst on The Sims and decided it's not really for me. Depends what type of game you're into - you're more of a thinking man, like myself, but I just don't have the time to give to a Sims type game (though that said I devoted a lot of lunch hours to Sim City 4 earlier this year) so I just don't know. If you're into the type of game then definitely buy it, it looks slick and funny and highly involving. But if you didn't really enjoy The Sims then I don't think Sims 2 will be drastically different in terms of style of play. I know that you can choose your own genes and then those genes follow you throughout the game - so if you start as a ginger then your kids might well be ginger and so forth, but if you're abducted by an alien you're kids may also have tentacles. Also, your Sim can die, but you then follow on with any off-spring you've had, so there's more avenues to the gameplay than ever before. Sims Fans will love it, it will be the best thing they've ever seen, ever. For me, just a question of time not being there. I will probably have a stab at it here, but won't necessarily get too involved back at home... So to sum up, definitely buy it, it's great.