User Reviews

You are undoubtedly aware of the tremendous success Maxis/EA Games had with their original Sims games and the long parade of expansion packs that came later. The problem with the original Sims game was that although there were always new items and more interactions for the Sims there was an element missing that would have made the game complete. Teens stayed teens, children stayed children, and adult Sims never grew old.

The Sims2 has changed that. You can now follow your Sims as they progress through the stages of life, from infancy to eldership and eventually and hopefully dying a peaceful death in their old age. That is of course unless some other accident befalls them along the way. And as if that isn't enough, in The Sims 2 they Sims pass on their genetic physical and character traits to their offspring. There is even a family tree where you can keep track of your Sims heritage from generation to generation.

Needless to say there is also a great improvement in the graphics. You can now zoom down into your home and watch your 3D Sims close up and personal. You can make Sim videos or take pictures which you can edit into a story to be uploaded to the Sims2 exchange. All of this extra power does come at a price however. Many computers that were able to run the original Sims game will not have the capabilities to run Sims 2. The recommendations on the package are the bare minimum you can play with, and using those will require you to run the game at it's minimal graphics settings so you might want to go beyond those.

They have also added what is called an Aspiration. These are goals and wants your Sims want to achieve as they go through life, and it is your duty as their master to see that they get them so that when they do pass they can at least depart in a good mood.

As in the original Sims game, the original Sims2 game pack is being followed with a long line of expansions. So far we have had two expansion packs, University and Nightlife, and another one due out soon called Open for Business. And like before each expansion opens up new worlds for your Sims, new interactions, and new capabilities to make the game more interesting. With University you can now send your Sims to college for four years, complete with dorms, sororities, campus housing, and a host of other things you might find on any college campus. And while it can be a struggle to get your Sims through college, the payoff comes in more job opportunities for your Sims, and that they can interact with a whole host of other college goers that you can graduate also simply by moving them into your Greek house. And the young adults in College are far more interesting in every aspect than the annoying townies that come with the original game.

Nightlife is basically the Sims 2 equivalent of Hot Date only better. There are of course, restaurants, but there are shopping centers, night clubs, karaoke bars, bowling alleys, and places to play Texas Hold-em. For the first time you can have cemeteries where you can ship your dead Sims if their ghosts become too annoying floating around in your back yard. And with Nightlife, your Sims are given cars to get from place to place instead of a taxi, but waiting for your Sim to get where they are going no matter what the means of transportation can try your patience. The loading times are awful, and though they encourage you to download other people's creations into the game, doing so only magnifies the problems.

Maxis also seems intent on throwing in a bit of the strange stuff. So far we have aliens, alien babies, zombies, and vampires. Soon it will be robots.

All in all you'll find the game extremely addicting, way more so than the original. But that is not to say all is perfect in the Sims World. Sims games have become well known for their glitches and The Sims 2 is no exception. It took three months from the release of the original game for a patch to fix some of these glitches. It was worse with University. The glitches in that Expansion pack were not only extremely numerous, but extremely annoying to the point that they interfered tremendously with game play. A patch for University wasn't released until six months later when Nightlife was released. Granted a patch for Nightlife was released very quickly, but that particular patch for that expansion pack has still left a lot of errors. So if you are going to play the game, be aware that this is the price you'll have to pay for being part of The Sims 2 World.

There are also a host of minor quibbles, simple things that don't make any sense. Why can't Sims sit and hold their child instead of standing with them all the time? Why is the Sim who is the object of somebody else's flirt catch the heat from his partner instead of just the Sim who did the flirting? As for the official Sims 2 site, it also leaves much to be desired, but that's another story. All in all though, if you like this kind of fantasy world you'll certainly enjoy the game glitches and all. Overall, I'd give the game a B+ instead of an A. They'll get the A when they get their act together on the game glitches and begin releasing patches in a more timely fashion.

A very addictive game indeed! The Sims 2 is most definitely the best game of the past ten years. This version has much better graphics than the original Sims game and there are so many more things that the Sims can do in "The Sims 2" than ever before.

The gameplay is easy enough for kids to play (but beware, this game is rated TEEN). In playing this game, you simply control the lives of your Sims to do whatever tasks you see fit. The best new feature in The Sims 2 is the genetic outcomes of TRY-FOR-BABY. The Sims 2 has become even more surreal and more fascinating.

And with the seven different expansion packs (University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, and Freetime) out there for the main game, you could literally play this game for days without quitting (but I don't recommend this). After some consideration, I gave this title a 10, a perfect score.

Truly, the Sims 2 is probably the best game to have ever been made. The possibilities for game play are infinite, and it never ends. It's not like the usual VG where once you complete all the levels, you're done, that's where the story ends, and there's no more to say...Here, every family has its own story, which you create. (Although the maxis made families have their own background...but you decide where to head.) Truth be told, it's got its nice share of glitches, which can get extremely annoying...but with patience and intelligence you can learn to work your way around it till the maxis people come out with a patch.

The graphics are incredible...some talented sim makers can make sims look so much like their real-life counterpart, you'd think it was an actual picture of them.

Downloading...that definitely adds a lot, for although the maxis people have worked their hardest to make the game play grand and enjoyable, they certainly lack it in the creativity department as far as fashion and personal appearance goes...so it's a good thing we have the option to download things...and believe me, I don't stop...hehe The expansion packs certainly add to it, and Maxis has a way of making each one a vital necessity (although I've never heard of a non-vital necessity...xD) Overall, I think this game is definitely worth your money :) ~Ange Doré~

After wasting hours fantasising on the first Sims, I get to waste hours fantasising on the next one. Oh but it was so fun! There are so many new additions and I loved playing around with all of this. I wonder where my characters are at now?

they life, they die and you pick whats in between. the same idea as Sims 1 but better this time you make sims and they do 1000s of things. after playing with one sim you get so attached to them that you some times wish they were even alive even though the animation and all the extras in the game make it seem like the sims are real. the game is good to play but the big bad side is that you need improvements in your computer to play plus the game does eat away at your memory and hardrive taking up space each time you play. the game is good but their is a lot of bugs! "Jump bug" and "Save bug" are the most common bugs in the game but maxis is working on a patch. right now i rate the game 9/10

After playing Sims 1 for 4 yrs, I had a fun time with game and including the expansion patch like: Livin large, House party, Hot Date, Vacation, Unleashed, Superstar, and Magical Magic. But now that Sims 2 came out in Sept 14, I've been playing this more than Sims 1 and I'm lovin it.

This game has been improve from environment, character, and layout. In this game you can do anything, just like we do in real life. Just to name a few: They have six different ways of kissing, They have four different ways of hugging, they have four different ways of talking and now you can fight in the game. Also you can make a baby now, so you don't have to adopt one, but the opinion is still open.

The people from Maxis, put in a system that makes your sims show feeling, emotions, and joyful traits. Let's just say that Maxis made this game more life like than the previous Sim game.

There's a lot more in this game, but I'm running out of time. The rating I give this game is a 10.