Personally I think aircraft time offers more value for money.
You can't put sim time towards your total time or twin time.
I don't really hold with FNPT II's either.
You can learn all the skills required in your IR on a FNPT I. The FNPT II's are great looking sales tools but they were really bought for doing MCC courses in. They cost way more per hour than a FNPT I with no real benifit in real terms compared to min hours on a FNPT I and max hours in the twin.
Don't get me wrong they are great fun. But if you put a FNPT II student next to a FNPT I at the end of the IR test you wouldn't be able to tell the difference apart from one will have an extra 20 hours in there log book.
Sims are great for doing things you would prefer not to do in an aircraft or for intial skill learning allowing freezing etc. But I would go for the real thing.
The cost of the different cources are much the same which ever one you do. Something to ask about is if you get free solo sim time. Its a huge benift at the beginning to be able to practise by yourself after the instructor has told you what you need to do.
And how ever good the sim its never the same as the real thing. Some of the modern ones get near but they cost millions.
MJ