A bit more
I was rushed for time and so brevity took precedent for my initial reply. Just to quantify things, although I didn't do any Sim time I still practised the procedures and learned the approx. power settings/attitudes etc. I'm a straight average kind of pilot, not especially brilliant so I figure if I could get in without doing spending money on a sim most people can.
Having said that many of my friends used the Qantas -200 sim in Syd and had no regrets. As always it comes down to personal choice, my choice was influenced by a bit of laziness, a bit of naievity and always lack of cash!
My advice would be that if you can afford to do it it can only have positives, but if you can't its not a game breaker, you can still pass by applying yourself and the proper basic techniques.
Hope thats more help and good luck.