Finally console owners get a decent version of a Sims game -- and this Wii version makes the most of the machine's controls.

You can spend hours just creating your people -- bodies, clothes and a seemingly endless list of personality traits.

Then you send your family out into the world, switching between them as they explore their lakeside town and get to know other people.

You can be a goodie or a criminal, chat, flirt or fight with other townspeople, and work in a wide variety of jobs or just chill.

There are lots of goals to achieve, from life ambitions to micro-goals, as well as witty, imaginative or downright nasty extra powers.

The game isn't perfect: designing your house is a bind, gameplay can be slow, the graphics aren't brilliant, and there aren't many other Sims to interact with.

But Sims 3 is definitely great fun -- when you sit back and watch your creations or get stuck in and micro-manage their lives.

David Knights