Whereas Travis walked from one place to the next or could have taken the advantage of the free taxi cabs, Chloe Parker went from place to place by helicopter. It caused quite a stir but if you want to be noticed, you may as well be noticed in style.

The Pearson 206 SimRanger is an ownable helicopter, comes in a choice of colours, costs §20,000 and requires a 14x12 helipad that will cost an extra §1,200. They come in a choice of colours, but you never get to see your sim in the pilot's seat. I don't just think that this is a matter of aesthetics. Perhaps the animations have not been sorted properly before it was released Anyway, in the Cove, there are currently just two houses that have a helipad and one of them is this one. Seriously, despite these minor failings, this is an addition I am pleased to see and if your sims have the spare cash and the space to put a helipad, then why not arrive in style?

In the neighborhood props, there is a busstop but there is still no public transport for your sims. It might have been nice with the more urban feel to AL if they had added buses as well. After all, a bus picks up those in the athletic career. If they could adapt helicopters from employment transport, then why not buses? Mind you, I suppose we can't have everything and a helicopter is something you can't really miss.

Whether you think it looks more like the house of the mythical Baba Yaga or an Imperial AT-ST scout walker pimped up with a timbered restyle, this is a very difficult lot to find and to get into. Personally, I have not been able to get inside and I have only been able to view it from the neighborhood using the free camera mode. If the default neighborhood camera settings are changed to allow access to all areas, then it should become accessible.

To have a look at it, go into the neighborhood view. There is an aqueduct running north-south on the east end of town. Activate the free camera mode with the TAB key. Follow the aqueduct south from the highway leading into town from the east and it should soon come into sight. On the left is a view of the house in perspective and on the right is a view of the house closer up where we see that the legs are in fact spiral staircases.

Before we meet the families of Belladonna Cove, let me take this time to introduce you to a new NPC service profession and that is the butler. For those of us who remember The Sims: Superstar, the more affluent could hire a butler. They were good at calling in other help and dealing with the obsessed superfans. Now, if you can afford it, the butler is back. Impeccably dressed, he sees to what needs doing. Cleaning, calling the Fire Department if there is a fire, cooking and even greeting guests, assuming that is what his "gentleman" wants. He doesn't come cheap, though. There is a §20 callout charge and on top of that, he is §25/hour. Arriving at 7am, he stays until about 7pm unless dismissed earlier.

If your sims have a busy lifestyle and have the funds to spare, this can be one very useful person to have helping them with their daily living. With any luck, if your sims get to know him "really well", he could even become part of the family and do it all for free.