GameSpot has posted some first impressions of The Sims 2, from the E3 convention in LA. The exposition starts today, and we're hoping for some more screenshots. Until then, you can read this:

"First of all, The Sims 2 looks really good--at least that's what we thought based on what we've seen. It features a fully 3D engine with realistic lighting, as well as far more detailed character models for the sims themselves, who now can be seen making realistic facial expressions and moving about in an even more lifelike manner. The game's interface appears nearly identical to that of the original, though a few new "motives" (the statistics of your sims that you need to keep track of) have been added. The "social" motive from The Sims has been broken up into "family" and "friends," and a "mind" motive has been added, representing mental stimulation. The gameplay remains fundamentally similar to its predecessor--you can create and control your very own mundane little people, encouraging them to interact with each other and their homes in various ways. You can also build houses for them from the ground up and then fill those houses with all kinds of things you might find in a real home. And some weirder things, too. The Sims 2 isn't trying to mess with success. From what we've seen, the game is squarely trying to extend the original game toward logical conclusions."

It also tells about the six stages of life: from a "wee baby" your Sim will go into his "toddler years" to become a child, teen, adult and finally a "geezer". For those who don't like their Sims to age and die, there's good news too: you can turn off the aging option keeping your Sims the age they started with, like in The Sims 1.0 we know. The whole preview (which in fact tells some other things too), can be read right here. More E3 news will quite likely be seen later today, or else tomorrow or friday.