Kudos 2 - PC Game Review
Kudos 2 is a life sim.
The first game I played in this genre (and as far as I know the first in the genre) was Jones In The Fast Lane, from Sierra, in 1990. Funnily enough, some aspects of the VGA graphics are probably as good as today, while there was actually more movement (although mostly in a game board format).
Kudos 2 is similar in many aspects - you have a number of activities you can take, including work (required, every day of the week - you can choose your method to arrive, such as walking, bus, bycicle or car), solo activities (reading book, baths, cleaning, jogging, taking classes, etc) or activities with friends (eating at restaurant, bowling, museums and many more). Extra activities unlock during the game, and sometimes depending on what you buy (such as chess sets, video games, cars, etc).
You can only have an activity per work day, and two in the weekends. You have a whole bunch of stats, with various effects, such as loneliness, happiness, kudos, excitement, etc that are affected by activities and work.
One big aspect of Kudos 2 is your friends. You must spend some time with each of them, or you lose them. Group activities tend to have less of an effect, too, so this ends up being quite time consuming.
The first game I played in this genre (and as far as I know the first in the genre) was Jones In The Fast Lane, from Sierra, in 1990. Funnily enough, some aspects of the VGA graphics are probably as good as today, while there was actually more movement (although mostly in a game board format).
Kudos 2 is similar in many aspects - you have a number of activities you can take, including work (required, every day of the week - you can choose your method to arrive, such as walking, bus, bycicle or car), solo activities (reading book, baths, cleaning, jogging, taking classes, etc) or activities with friends (eating at restaurant, bowling, museums and many more). Extra activities unlock during the game, and sometimes depending on what you buy (such as chess sets, video games, cars, etc).
You can only have an activity per work day, and two in the weekends. You have a whole bunch of stats, with various effects, such as loneliness, happiness, kudos, excitement, etc that are affected by activities and work.
One big aspect of Kudos 2 is your friends. You must spend some time with each of them, or you lose them. Group activities tend to have less of an effect, too, so this ends up being quite time consuming.
You have a couple of ways to learn stuff on Kudos 2 - courses and books. Courses have more effect and can either advance you on your career (law, programming, network admin, doctor, etc) as well as some interesting sidelines. You can learn Kung Fu, for example, which allows you to fight off the recurrent muggers.
You also should look for better jobs once in a while. These do depend on your stats - including confidence - even if the job doesn't mention it at first, you will get rejected later.
There are plenty of things you can purchase. A couple of interesting items are umbrellas (I didn't realize it at first, but you will always be getting wet and sick if you don't get one!) and a security alarm (otherwise your apartment will get robbed often). A gym membership is also available, and while not cheap, it is much more effective than most exercise activities. And you might need it if you hit the restaurants too often, although you can choose between tastier (add happiness, but also weight) or lighter (add health or at least less weight).
One thing I do miss from Jones in the Fast Lane and other clones is the apartment view. Also, the scrolling activity chooser is quite annoying and slow - a list or icon grid would be a lot faster.
Overall, I really like the game, and while I imagine it will get boring at some time, I have played an embarrassing amount of it. Recommended.
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