Game On.(The Sims 2, Rock Band, WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW, and Mass Effecy)

Byline: Beth Kwon

Ms. Pac-Man had it easy: All she needed was a pink bow to stand out in the dismal fashion landscape of early video games. Today, the options for your avatar's wardrobe, body type, and hair color put Ms. Pac-Man's accessorizing to shame. We asked Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology, to critique the fashion show.

THE GAME*****THE LOOK*****THE REVIEW

THE SIMS 2 (ELECTRONIC ARTS)

Sometimes called a virtual dollhouse, The Sims 2 is the opposite of an adrenaline-packed shoot-'em-up. Characters go about everyday tasks like commuting to work and washing dishes, and rack up big life goals like marriage and children.*****Think H&M (which actually has a digital store in Sims-land). Women's options include midriff-baring tops, graphic-print minidresses, and tight jeans. The characters are uniformly slender, though you can choose your ethnicity, eye color, and hairstyle.*****"The clothes are very simple and mainstreamnot the latest runway looks, but the kinds of things young people actually wear," says Steele. "One of the dresses did happen to look like 1980s Thierry Mugler, though."

ROCK BAND (HARMONIX MUSIC SYSTEMS)

Players form bands and play music on instrument-shaped controllers to cheering crowds. Hit all your notes and your band earns money that can be spent on clothes and accessories.*****Studded leather vests, shredded fishnet thigh-highs, and that punk staple, the tartan micromini. You can modify your rocker's height, face shape, and weight (from heroin-chic to pleasantly rounded), and there are dozens of hairstyles and makeup looks.*****"These are kind of ...