EPs:
1)University-I love the Young Adult additional lifestage, and that is when most of my Sims find their future mates. I know some people complain about how long it takes, but mods like the college adjuster are good at making not take so long.

2)Freetime- I love the benefits that sims get. Not so much the hobby spam, but mods are staring to get that under control.

3)Seasons- I like the friendship boost during summer and the skill boost during Autumn. I have mine set up so that there isn't winter. (I live in Southern Arizona, and we really don't have winter either.) Not so fond of the lighting/hail/heatstroke but I've been slowly adapting my game so that isn't as much of a problem.

4)Nightlife-I like the ability to go downtown on dates, and some of the clothing options. I also appreciate cars, since the taxi takes forever to show up.

5)Open for Business-I originally bought it for the Servos, but I've learned that they are more hassle than they're worth. Pretty much keep it for the clothes.

6)Apartment Life- Bought it to make my game less buggy, and keep it for that reason. (My Double Deluxe was glitching pretty badly, and a comment from TwoJeffs gave me an idea and it worked)

I took Pets and Bon Voyage out of my game and leave them out because they bugged me no end. They are throw away Eps to me.

I can't get CC to work in my game so I appreciate the Family Fun Stuff, Mansion and Gardens, Glamour Life and Kitchen and Bath Stuff Packs to give my Sims additional clothes and design options.

EP

1. Nightlife - I like having a car, clubs, and some rules of attraction. It's nice to see your sims just aren't into anybody or could actually appeal to someone. I think the attraction added some emotion. The cars are very nice to have, especially if you download real life cars.

2. University - I like university, it added another stage to the sim's lives and made it for realistic, especially for those in college. The cowplant is pretty random though but I ignore it. Another cool thing were the cellphones, mp3 players, and handheld game devices. I just really like the cellphone cause I'm too lazy to use the homephone. Plus the university prepared your sims for whichever career you wanted them to have.

3. Seasons - Having weather is the most realistic part of the sims 2 they added. Getting to plant things, actually getting sunburned, making snow angels and a snowman. Yah thats fun!

All the other expansions are nice to have if you like extra objects if you ask me. But OFB is only good if you want your sims to own a business, Pets are okay but start out stupid and annoying plus they added in the pets those dumb wolves that come by my house and eat my dog's dog food >.> just rude. Freetime is fun since it adds a couple new caeers and is good for your sim's spare time.

If I had to install any expansion it would be Pets or OFB.

Any stuff expansions I'd use are the Teen Style Stuff and H&M Stuff for spare clothes. Ones I wouldn't need are just Family Fun Stuff. I don't need magical mermaids and dinosaurs really. Kids grow up pretty quick anyways.

I finally have all the EPs, hooray! As of now my favourite is Seasons - I really underestimated how neat it is to have weather in my game, and I now can't imagine doing without the farming/gardening features. Apartment Life is also pretty wonderful as it allows me to finally build realistic terraced houses, a problem that's been driving me nuts since the olden days of Sims1. Least favourite is still University purely for its' Ameri-centirc (lol) nature, although that said I still enjoy playing it. I have no real complaints!

What I do have is a dilemma, mainly which stuff packs should I get?
I have Glamour Life installed, and I really like the furniture and clothes that came with it, even the fur coats which don't appear to have very good meshes - they look like they have a tiny hole in the chest area on my sims, which is kind of irritating.
I have Family Fun Stuff, Festive Holiday Stuff, and Mansions and Gardens Stuff waiting to be installed when I get the time to defrag and unfrack my laptop. They all look like they have cool objects and clothes that I'll definitely use, so they are going to be installed at some point.
However, I'm not sure about the other Stuff Packs.

Teen Life looks like it might be interesting, maybe. I've seen some nice recolours of the furniture so I may buy it at some point.
Celebration Stuff, well I'm not sure as I don't tend to have a lot of big parties in my games. I do quite fancy the cakes for my bakery businesses, but I'm not sure it's worthwhile installing the whole thing just for some cake!
Kitchen & Bathroom looks about as interesting as a Homebase catalogue. Maybe it's because my "ideal kitchen" is just a big room with a commercial cooker in it and my perfect bathroom is just a big room with a bath and a sofa in it. Maybe I just haven't seen the stuff that makes it awesome.

The ones I'm really torn on are the H&M and Ikea Stuff packs. The idea of having real brands in my sim game bugs me. I hate advertising, I'm one of those annoying people who likes to rant about commercialisation, and the idea of deliberately installing real life brands is really not my cup of tea. Plus, well, although I have shopped at both H&M and Ikea myself, I wouldn't say I've adopted either one as a lifestyle, nor do I view their brands as so important that my sims can't live without them.
That said, the pics on the back of the box for H&M Stuff show some really cool looking retail setups. Do you know if the H&M pack includes a lot of generic retail stuff? And do you think it's worth getting just for that? I couldn't care less about the clothes, but the displays look okay. I've also found a few nice recolours for the Ikea stuff, but not enough to really convince me. Does the Ikea pack come with anything that isn't just Ikea furniture, like retail/display stuff?

My Favorite Expansions:

Nightlife: Awesome. The ability to have cars rocks, once you have a car you don't need to grab a phone and call a taxi ever again . . . unless if another Sim is out taking a spin with your only car. And the neighborhood it gives you is so cool; you just need to know your way around town if you want to have a perfect date.

Apartment Life: Love the apartment features, had lots of fun with it before I lost it. I miss that darn game, it had nice new hairsytles (especially the women's) and nice new apartment buildings and you can even build your own apartments with cheats. Nice neighborhood too.

Seasons: Pretty cool if you ask me. Nice country-themed neighborhood and furniture, with the ability to have a garden and to go fishing, plus the weather feature is awesome (except for the fact that the weather channel is completly off [they say that it's the Summer and it's going to snow for crying out loud!])

Bon Voyage: Relaxing. Going on a vacation will soothe your Sims troubles, even when they get back home. I don't really like going to that stupid island for a vacation (it's boring) but going on a vacation in the mountains ROCKS. While you're there, your Sims can take pictures with their camera, go camping, and many more. And through the vacation there will be messages of your Sims saying that they are enjoying the trip! (But if someone dies on the trip, the other Sims will say that their vacation sucks.) Not really the best but interesting.

University: It can be interesting sometimes . . . sometimes boring. The most I've ever been interested was with this one guy, the only guy who graduated from college in my game. Overall, I'd say it's okay. But that doesn't mean that I recommend this game to anyone or not.

Pets: Arrgh. Now we're getting into the stupid of Sims 2. I like the fact that you can make your own pets, but I don't like that those pets are stupid animals who will pee on the floor, brake the couch, sit on the counter when Sims need to cook food, and dig the most annoying holes. Luckily it isn't the worst expansion there is.

Open for Business: What? Don't you think the ability to run a crappy business is kind of stupid?

Freetime: AHHHHHHHH!!! I was SO ticked off when I got this game. It's very annoying with the whole "hobby" thing. DON'T BUY THIS GAME! After you do something (like, eat pasta) there will be a sign above your Sims' heads that tells you that they are improving a hobby . . . JUST BY A SKINNY PERSON EATING. Seriously . . . and when you increase a hobby so much some person will randomly walk into your house and say that you have membership to go to a secret lot. Why? Although I like the furniture and outfits for toddlers . . .

So, that's what I recommend to you. And I also have to say that you should NEVER BUY FREETIME!!!

(Looks at dislikes) I deserve it. I'm a loser.

My favorite and least favorite EPs:

1. Pets: I'm an animal lover. I love pets, especially dogs, and I couldn't imagine playing my game without them anymore! The game is just so much more realistic and complete. I don't have a problem with strays (just add a bloody fence!), or pets destroying furniture (buy a chew/scratch toy!), or pets "relieving" inside (your real life pets do that too until you teach them not to, would you "uninstall" them too?!).
2. Apartment Life: I always wanted my Sims to live in apartments, and now they can! Also, I really love the objects and clothes (especially the HUUUUGEEEE TV and spiral stairs)! Plus there's magic!
3. Seasons: Weather! I remember covering my lots with sand and pretending that it is snow. I just hated it! It's so much more realistic now, but if I had to play my game with only one EP, it wouldn't be this one. It gets kinda boring after a while. I'm really not a big fan of fishing, and I never bother with gardening, unless if I wanna fill up the juicer (or however you call it).
4. Bon Voyage: I just love traveling and exploring! It never gets boring! Plus I adore camping! :D
5. Open For Business: I like the cosmetology. I hated to see all the random Sims walking by and looking like a mess! If you'd just remove the ugly makeup they have and put a normal haircut, you'd be suprised how pretty some of them are! I also like how if a community lot belongs to someone, you can buy everything on it!
6. University: It's not the best, but it's not bad. I simply love the "Groovy" collection! And the instruments. I could live without the college, but it's still nice that my teens don't grow up and all of the sudden they are the same age as their parents!
7. Free Time: It's not really that special, but well... I like that my Sims can have different interests, but I really do hate when those idiots call me/bump into my house whenever I do something!
8. Nightlife: The only thing I like about it are the cars, but since Bon Voyage came out I use "Walk To" all the time (even if I have a car), since it's really time saving. I'm the shy and quiet kind of person so you can say that I hate clubs and parties and getting drunk and that kinda crap. I also don't like the "Date" option. My Sims could go out before as well, but there wasn't a stupid meter thing telling me how they had a horrible time unless if they WooHooed (I'm trying not to be vulgar here). Plus I absolutely hate vampires!

My favorite/ least favorite SPs:

1. Ikea Home Stuff: I don't care about the commercial, all I care about are the wonderful objects! I use them all the time!
2. K&B Interior Design Stuff: When it came out, the first thing running through my head was: "It was about time to make new kitchens and bathrooms!"
3. Happy Holiday Stuff: I just love celebrating the New Year! ;D
4. Teen Style Stuff: I'm in love with the clothes!
5. H&M Fashion Stuff: I again don't care about the commercial, I just love the clothes!
6. Glamour Life Stuff
7. M&G Stuff
8. Family Fun Stuff: I expected new stuff for the entire family to enjoy, but all they added were some silly fantasy clothes and rooms for kids which I never use!

P. S. If you wanna buy a new EP/SP you should chek out the details on Wikipedia or somewhere else. Don't just listen to our silly opinions! x)

Faves/Least Faves
1) Nightlife..This EP has always been my favorite:The cars,downtown,dancing and dining and looking for that perfect mate for your sim.Though I could do without the annoying matchmaker.
2)Seasons...Just added so much realism too the game and love the wants the sims have for each season.
3)Freetime....Love the hobbies and how sims interact with them.The clothes were ok,but much better for the kids.(Don't like the Hobby people walking in all the time).
4)Uni....Rather dull and drab,but it's good too send teens off too a different place.
5)Pets...I am a huge animal lover and I think the pets are adorable and some of the furniture is nice too.But its kind of glitchy and has its annoying moments.
6)OFB....meh just liked the hairstyles and a few of the business ideas.
7)Bon Voyage...I just didn't like this EP at all.Very boring and dull and way too many character files added too it.
8)Apartment Life....Only thing I liked about this EP was the clothes and hairstyles,the rest was annoying(Handshakes when meeting,Do not like the witches at all,And too many premades and buggy apartments.<--this is definetly my most unliked EP.

Stuff Packs.
H&M...clothes are good
FF..cute stuff for the kiddos
GL..The furniture
Kitchen&bath..Walls and floors
TSS..cute clothes and hair
Ikea..rip off and the furniture is odd looking
Mansions&Gardens..Right up there with AL don't like it at all.(Salute)
That sums it up for my opinion...Oh and The Sims 3 is a huge (Do Not LIke).

In no order:
EPs

University - Has some good aspects... but can kind of ruin the game. Influence is the most annoying thing ever, because I'm sick of my Sims rolling pointless wants to 'influence grandma to garden'. The clothes are basically just for goths/hippies, and dorms are revolting.

Nightlife - Probably one of the best, and most underrated Expansion Packs. Adds a Downtown destination to your 'hood, and comes with Mrs Crumplebottom and vampires.

Open For Business - Quite good. Gives a nice female hairstyle for adults and allows you to open your own business and sell whatever you want.

Pets - Ew, by far the worst EP ever. Pets may seem nice, but they're just annoying. Things like womrats and birds are ok, because they are low maintenance, but cats and dogs crave attention and make Sims stroke/play with them. You can also turn your Sims into werewolves.

Seasons - Can be kind of annoying. The country furniture is nice, and you can decorate your whole house with the theme - there's beds, sofas, kitchen counters, tables, even toilets!
The weather changes at the drop of a hat, it can rain/hail in summer and constantly snows during winter. Trees also catch on fire quite a lot during thunder storms but put themselves out in the rain. Sims can be converted to PlantSims, and penguins waddle on to your lot if you build a snowman, which is cute.

Bon Voyage - The only word that can be used to describe BV is meh. The holiday destinations are nothing much. You can only choose from a tropical island destination (Twikkii Island), a Canadian-style camping village (Three Lakes), and a Far Eastern themed country (Takemizu Village). Even if you create your own custom holiday destination the furniture range is limited to these three themes.

FreeTime - Quite a nice EP. Sims can naturally take a keen interest to a particular activity, and if they get good at it they gradually get little rewards and can visit the secret lot for this hobby. I think the Lifetime Wants came with FT too, right? It's a nice idea, because it's based off your Sim's Aspiration, and gives you a little challenge but is very fulfilling.

Apartment Life - The EP I was most excited about, but considerably let down on. The clothes seem nice at first (a big leap from basegame clothes anyway) but then you start to realise they are dull and outdated. The landlord is the most pesky Sim EVER (IMO more pesky than Mrs Crumplebottom) and insists on holding lame weekend parties in the apartment common area every weekend. It's creepy how he just freely wanders in and out of your apartment during the day, but at least you don't have to hire a maid.

SPs

Holiday Party Pack - Has a different name in different countries for whatever reason, but it has the same stuff. It has decorations for quite a range of holidays and celebrations - Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Year, Kwanzaa, and my favourite - Hanukkah (I'm Jewish). Father Christmas can come and visit your house if you put out a Christmas tree and Santa cookies overnight which is cool, but the Santa in-game appears to have bladder issues as he constantly uses the toilet for the entire night. Also, if your Sims live in an apartment building, when St Nick arrives everyone in the building piles into your house and claps at him. Which is bloody annoying.

Family Fun Stuff - Boring, and nothing to say about it. Contains family-orientated fairytale, outer space and nautical themed items mainly for childrens' bedrooms.

Glamour Life Stuff - Has some nice clothes for rich Sims, and has furniture to design a modern/wealthy house.

Happy Holiday Stuff - You should only get this one, instead of the Holiday Party Pack, as it has it all as well as Asian and European holiday themed items.

Celebration! Stuff - Items perfect for weddings/birthdays/parties in general. Some things are pleasant but others are ugly. It has nice bridesmaid dresses, but the wedding dresses are revolting, and better to download.

H&M Fashion Stuff - Nicest Maxis clothing for Sims. Also comes with premade H&M stores and H&M themed furniture to make your own, including mannequins. :D

Teen Style Stuff - Goth, Thrasher and Socialite themed stuff for teenagers' bedrooms, teenage haircuts and new teenage clothes.

Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff - Kitchen and bathroom objects, wallpapers, floors and clothing (headtowels and dressing gowns).

IKEA Home Stuff - Ugly, boring furniture that NEVER gets used in any of my Sims' houses.

Mansion & Garden Stuff - Interior/exterior design objects following the themes Moroccan, Art Deco and Second Empire. Is nice for Sims who like to garden and are wealthy to have a well designed home.

Seasons - Its okay but the temperature thing gets annoying, the children being too hot inside and too cold outside - how the heck does that work? Stop complaining! Other than that I like it, I've never been into the growing plant thing though, I mainly got it for the weather ability. I like the premade hood, its not so bad either.
SCORE [7/10]

Nightlife - The first EP I bought! I love this one, the ability to go downtown, more people & places and ofcourse, vampires! I also like ressurecting the deceased Tricou family and their previous 'fright' victim Rainelle.
SCORE [9/10]

University - College takes forever. Seriously, I wish it was shorter. And the young adults walk so damn slow -.- But I like the new careers and how easy it is to let your sims make friends on their own in a dorm, and the new career rewards. However I hate when you don't send a teen sim to college (even if it isn't in their wants..), they constantly cry all the way through adulthood.
SCORE [8/10]

Pets - I hate pets, I love animals but these are annoying. All they do is scratch furniture and make a mess of everything. I don't bother installing it on new computers.
SCORE [5/10]

Bon Voyage - This is good, although I kinda wish they could live in vacation hoods, its still cool and fun to mess around with. I enjoy this.
SCORE [7/10]

OFB - I don't mind it but its complicated to run a business, especially when the only options for employees you get are ones with no skills or talent badges AT ALL. It makes me lose so much profit! Although I like the new items and Bluewater Village, I admit.
SCORE [7/10]

Apartment Life - Probably my favourite, I just love the witchiness, the apartments and new stuff. So much easier to make friends and its more fun knowing other sims live on the lot, when my sims sleep or are at work I can just watch them, haha.
SCORE [9/10]

Stuff Packs -
Glamour Life - 7/10
Family Fun - 7/10
Teen Style - 9/10
Christmas Party Pack - 6/10

(I don't own any of the other stuff packs or FreeTime)

I have the first six EPs and rank them in this order:
1) Nightlife
2) Seasons
3) Open for Business
4) Bon Voyage
5) University
6) Pets

What is your most favourite/least favourite expansion pack, and why?

Most favorite is probably Seasons simply because we now have four distinct seasons and I like how that makes it seem like time is really passing in the game.

Least favorite is Pets because it is a useless expansion pack - you can't control the Pets and they require too much attention (for those of us who typically play very large families). The only decent thing about Pets is that your dog or cat can get a job and help contribute to the household funds but to get them promoted they still have to learn tricks, which someone in the household has to teach them.


What is your most favourite/least favourite stuff pack, and why?

I only have two stuff packs - Happy Holidays and Glamour Stuff. The holiday pack is crap for the most part (some of the Christmas decorations are cute). And the Santa that comes when you have a tree out and some cookies is like 98 lbs! Santa is supposed to be fat and jolly. And the Sims Santa pees CONSTANTLY. I've always wondered why there aren't more comments/complaints about this skinny Santa with his tiny bladder but maybe it's because nobody else was silly enough to buy this stuff pack.

The Glamour Style stuff pack is OK - nothing to write home about. Personally I have never been into the stuff packs much.

If you could rank how much you like each expansion or stuff pack in order, what would your order be?

1. Seasons
2. Nightlife (I can't live without cars in my game)
3. Bon Voyage
4. Apartment Life (LOVE having apartments, great for broke Sims)
5. University
6. Freetime
7. Open for Business
8. Pets


If you had to remove an expansion, which one would it be, and why?

Pets or OFB - probably Pets. OFB at least adds a salon that I can send my rich Sims to for pampering and a new hairstyle every week.

I didn't like Open For Business. I'm sure a lot of people liked it but it wasn't my cup of tea at all. I opened a business once just to test it out and then forgotten all about it. I loved University and Seasons.

University is my all time favorite. Since my playable sims are forced to live with non-controllable townies, the most dramatic scenarios take place in the dorms. Add the mascots, professors and the cheerleaders and you have an absolute riot!

I like Seasons next. It adds a lovely atmosphere, a lot of gameplay involving fishing, gardening and fun seasonal activities.

OFB, Apartment Life and Night Life comes after that in my book. Regarding, Bon Voyage: I don't send my sims to vacations that often, but BV adds a new dimension to the sims life. So its worth having.

Pets is about OK. They are cute to look and play, but it becomes a bit of a hassle to keep the pets in good mood in large families. The 'wash dog' and 'call pet to do x' interaction gets cancelled at least twice each time.

The EP, I absolutely hated was the 'Rod Humble'-forcing 'Freetime'. Because all my sims' wants were replaced by annoying(and unrealistic) Hobby wants. Some of the sims with six want slots would have 'blog about hobby' in 4 of them. The other two would be something like 'Win a dance competition' or 'Hunt bugs'. I'm saying this in the past tense because, now I've thankfully found a mod to keep the hobby enthusiasm of all sims at zero. So the nasty wants have disappeared. With this mod, Freetime is rather enjoyable with its aspiration benefits and the FT objects are quite good. But without, it was unbearable (for me at least)

Fave- Pets- Its amazing. My game would be just so... Incomplete. In my neighborhood, you always see a stray somewhere. So why not in sims?
Worst- OFB- its just so STUPID. I only use the lemonade stand.
Fave- Family Fun- I love my kids :D
Worst- Holiday- Although the Santa Claus outfit looks good, it just doesn't come with enough.

Rank-
1. Pets
2. Bon Voyage
3. Apartment Life
4. Seasons
5. Mansion and Garden Stuff [Or EP- its soooo much like one]
6. Nightlife
7. Celebration
8. Kitchen and Bathroom
9. Glamour Life
10. H&M
11. Freetime
12. University- Its only not last because of that Cow Plant and that OFB sucks.
13. Open For Business

I'd uninstall OFB. I have NEVER found a use except for lock doors [Now I have a hack for that] and lemonade stall.

DONOTINSTALLOFB! IF YOUR NOT CLEAR!

DO
NOT
INSTALL
OFB
AT
ANY
TIME!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!

From best to worst:

Apartment Life
Open for Business
Seasons
FreeTime
University
Bon Voyage
Nightlife

.....
Pets

I love all of them apart from pets. Surprised at all the hate OFB gets, I love running a business and I think it's great that my sims can own community lots. All of my families end up running a business at some point. Haters come at me.

I don't really get virulence against any EP. It's one thing to say "I don't enjoy what this one brings to the table" and quite another to say "Do not install" in all caps.

I've barely used any OFB functionality since I installed it, but frankly it's worth it to me just to have the child/adult dancing. And I don't get why Mai needs a hack to lock doors. I've been locking doors since well before installing OFB.

I don't have a favorite or least favorite. I'm still exploring all of them and feel more complete since caving and getting BV and OFB. They all have something good for somebody.

So, you don't like it because it's "stupid", therefore no one should ever install it? Oookay...

Even though I rarely dabble with owned businesses, OFB's main feature, there's no way I'd ever NOT have it installed. If nothing else, it makes megahoods possible, and that alone makes it an absolute must-have, as far as I'm concerned.

Wow. OFB is one of the EPs I would never ever uninstall from my game. I wouldn't even know how to play the kind of game I like without all the businesses and owned community lots that make a real global neighborhood economy possible.

All EPs from University to Apartment Life are my favorites. Actually I feel difficult to decide which is the most and the least favorites. They are all pretty important for extending my base game features.
Glad Maxis added "walking to lot" feature on Bon Voyage. My sims can go walking to any lots like normal people do than go anywhere with taxi and cars.
A bit disappointing when I started playing Pets, I found only a few of pets there. Cats, dogs, birds, and womrats. Skunk.
Iguanas, turtles, squirrels, lizards, porcupines, various of fish (saltwater & plainwater) can be pets too Why Maxis didn't give all those various pets?

For Stuff Packs, I'd installed Holiday Stuff, Christmas Party, Glamour Life and H&M fashion. All of them are my faves. I use all the contents and features from those SPs and love them.

I'd installed Family Fun Stuff and Celebration Pack before, I can say these SPs are my least favorites because I rarely used the contents.
I found custom contents for the same themes as FFS & Celebration Pack are better & prettier than the Stuff Pack themselves. :S

Expansion Packs:

1. Nightlife - Cars, nice stuff, new aspiration, turn-ons and turn-offs, chemistry system, being furious with other sims, the Tricous... it's really the best EP. I recommend.

2. Seasons - Seasons, gardening, fishing, pretty stuff... this is all I have to say about this awesome EP.

3. Apartment Life - Apartments are nice, witches and warlocks are nice (in spite of those stupid reagents) and the objects are nice. I like this EP. And I recommend to install it before the other EPs so you don't need to update your mods and stuff.

4. University - University lasts too long, and if you don't send your sims to university they will keep whining about that for the rest of their lives. But I like the instruments and there are some nice hair and clothing. And ZOMBIES.

5. Open for Business - It's nice to have businesses, but it's too difficult to me. And robots are nice. But the best thing is that it allows us to have MEGAHOODS.

6. Freetime - I like this EP, but hobbies are kinda annoying. And I hate Mr. Humble. I mean, it's nice that he gives sims computers for free, but it's unrealistic and he's annoying. And why would I want THE SIMS 2 sims play THE SIMS 3? Like, really. But even though I like this EP.

7. Bon Voyage - Vacations are really boring, and who gives a $#!* about Bigfoot? We can't even flirt with him (unless if you have the bigfoot romance hack, but I don't play with bigfoot anyway). But I like having beaches and having sims walk to the lots instead of going by car or taxi.

8. Pets - Worst EP ever... pets only are there to mess up your lot, and I hate that stupid skunk, I know we can teach our pets to not scratch/chew the furniture and not to pee everywhere but it's just... boring. Pets are awesome in real life, but this EP was a total fail. The only think I like is that you can turn your sims into werewolves, but I don't play with them anyway.

Stuff Packs:

1. Teen Style - I love everything about this SP. The Goth outfits and stuff and the socialite objects are the best. Surfer stuff is also really nice.

2. IKEA Home Stuff - Pretty objects for cheap prices. That's all I have to say.

3. H&M Fashion - Best EA clothes EVER.

4. Kitchen and Bath - Beautiful objects for kitchens and bathrooms, I always use them instead of the lame kitchen and bathroom stuff from the base game and other EPs and SPs (Do any other SP have stuff for K&B?), unless if my sims can't buy them.

5. Glamour Life Stuff - Beautiful objects, nice clothing. But the objects are very expensive (Glamour Life is not for everyone lol). But it's really nice SP.

6. Celebration - Nice objects and clothes for weddings.

7. Mansion and Garden - has some new nice features like the separate roof angles, sliding on the stairs, and has some pretty stuff (and the best EA hairstyle ever). But I don't really care about it because I don't build.

8. Happy Holidays - I like the fireworks and new year party, but I hardly ever use the features of this SP so...

9. Family Fun - This SP is most focused on kids, and kids grow up too fast (only 8 sim days) so it's almost useless. And the objects are ugly.

Honestly, I have all of the EP and SP and any time I uninstall one of them I feel like the game is empty. So all are my favs

As I am currently listening to the *whirr* noise of my base game reinstalling(due to major corruption in my game lol) I figured I'd add my own opinions on what to reinstall(I have everything available).

1. Seasons- This is almost obligatory. The addition of temperature adds a great dynamic to the game and the seasons are absolutely beautiful(with proper cc). Gardening and fishing are also pretty fun(and if I'm feeling lazy I can download perfect gardens lol). Leftovers and stocking your fridge are interesting as well.
(pause: please insert disk number 3...)
2. Nightlife- This is the first expansion I ever bought. I love cars. My most downloaded item is the car I recolored. Vampires are pretty awesome as well. I don't do much with outings and dating(but by reading this thread, I apparently need to start!) I rarely even attach the downtown, but the fact that it is available is great. I guess I need to use it more. I weigh cars and vampires high enough to land this in my second spot.
3. Ikea Stuff- While I'm sure I could track down enough CC to satisfy this want, the furniture that was added in this stuff pack is amazing. My poor simmy houses are filled with Ikea or custom furniture. I love it.
4. University- I like college. Sometimes if I'm making a brand new neighborhood, I will start out playing Sim State to get those Sims into their adult lives. I like most of the new content and I especially like that they can go to community lots and time moves on.(pause: please insert disk number 4) I haven't played some of the other college worlds yet, but I'm sure they are pretty awesome as well. I'm kind of interested in making my own custom uni as well.
5. Open for Business- I like making businesses simply to see my own sims running the shops that my other sims visit. I should actually indulge and make a successful business. I may have to hope that community time works this time around.
6. Pets- As much as I like pets, this ep lands rather low on my chart of necessity. Werewolves are interesting, but not enough to merit reinstallation of this ep. Dogs and Cats are cute and fluffy and all, but I rarely give them to my sims unless I am going for a specific storyline. This may or may not get reinstalled.
7. H&M Stuff- Cute clothes. The end. Will be reinstalled.
8. Holiday Stuff- Will be reinstalled simply because it is linked to my base game(I was given the base game as a christmas gift.)
(Bahahaha, under disk 4 in my box is my makin magic disk )

Won't be reinstalled(expensive mistakes):
1. Bon Voyage- My sims never take vacations. While jewelry is interesting, I can get CC that's better.
2. All the other stuff packs- not interesting enough to reinstall, I can get CC that is better.
3. Apartment Life- Perhaps my expectations were too high for this, but I just don't want to have the glitchyness again.
4. Freetime- Bob is losing interest in Tinkering. Bob is losing interest in Tinkering. Bob is losing interest in Tinkering. Bob is losing interest in Tinkering. Enough said.

I could have an entire other post about necessary CC(like skintones, etc) but since this is about eps(and my base game is finished installing) I'll stop.

Now I'm off to play the base game for a bit for old times sake lol.

Zexxa, it's not really a good idea to keep uninstalling and reinstalling your game, especially just to reset your neighborhoods:
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...t_Neighborhoods

I wasn't reinstalling to reset my neighborhoods. I had major corruption which was causing my entire neighborhoods/sims/etc to go black/artifact/create giant fiery ball visible from space. I tried everything(even replacing objects.package from my disks) to avoid reinstalling(because that takes hours). I followed the wiki and found reinstalling to be the best option(this is the first time I've done a full reinstall on this machine, I avoid reinstalling like the plague). Anyway, thank you for your concern though! /hugs

Favourite EP - Apartment Life. I've always wanted apartments, plus I think Belladonna Cove looks really nice and I love a lot of the premades.
Favourite SP - Ikea Home Stuff. All of my sims have at least one thing in their home from that pack. I hate pretty much every other pack but that one's really nice considering most of the things in my room are from Ikea.
Other favourite EPs in order:
1. University - I hate actually having my Sims go to college cause it takes so much time but it also gives me time to play my sims more before I have them have kids and to get them more aspiration points. And I love that they can start their dream job mid level so I don't have to go through all of the crap.
2. Nightlife - Seriously do not know what I would do without the chemistry and cars.
3. Seasons - Having my couples build snowmen and the kids having snowball fights is so cute! I especially love the gardening, it gives my elders something to do and it also gets them a little extra money.
4. Freetime - I love all the extra things my sims can do now, especially ballet and soccer but I swear to god if I see one more "X is losing enthusiasm in X" one more time just cause they baked a couple of things ONCE, I will put the Freetime disc in a fish tank.
5. Bon Voyage - Vacations are kind of fun but I rarely ever have my sims go on one unless it's their honeymoon. I was expecting things like cruise ships and stuff like what's in World Adventures but I was a bit disappointed with it.
6. Pets - I like to have pets sometimes but I rarely ever do. I haven't had a single family that's had a pet til the pet or the family died, and all of the furniture that came with the game are so god awful.
7.Open For Business - Basically a useless EP for me. I've tried most types of businesses and it's still just annoying and it's not very fun. I would uninstall it but I need it for some houses I have.

Favorite EPs:
Nightlife: It's great because it brings the Downtown sub-hood to the game. Some of the lots on EA's Downtown really boggle me, but others are pretty cool. Of course there's the drivable cars too.
Seasons: This is probably my top favorite out of everything. The weather/seasons are simply amazing! I could have a mountainside neighborhood with harsh, cold climates and I can also have a year-round sunny town. The gardening is awesome (with some mods to improve it) and I adore the fishing aspect as well. Seasons might not be the best for everyone's system but it doesn't really cause any lagging in my game. I love it!
University: So I know University inspires a lot of mixed feelings that usually err toward the negative end. But I really do like this EP. It's a challenge to keep your college students on top of their academics and some of the interactions-especially with NPCs- are hilarious.
Freetime: My second favorite of the series. The only irritating aspect is the harassment about hobbies. A mod or two should reduce the nagging calls and notifications. Some great objects are introduced in this game and the pottery wheel is probably my favorite one. It's also fun to see Sims pursue activities in whatever Hobbies they're interested in.

Favorite SPs:
Mansions and Gardens: Great build objects to further decorate the home. The mansard roof pieces are really nice.
Kitchen and Bath: I love the objects in this because it makes a Sim's house feel more like a home.

Other EPs:
Apartment Life: This EP really adds a new dimension to the game, which is great, but the magic portion of it was really odd. I rarely use it and it seemed a bit unnecessary. Maybe if the concept was developed in a different way, it would be more fun. Also, having those witches constantly appear on community lots was really annoying. I had to get a mod to stop that.
Bon Voyage: Eh, wasn't a fan of Vacation in TS1, and I'm not too taken with the reincarnation for TS2 either. I rarely take my Sims on vacation, so that's probably it. The one thing that is awesome is the addition of beach lots! You can also have your Sims buy vacation homes, so that might be a plus too. I think it's a necessary EP to have if you want a proper beach lot/island neighborhood.
Open For Business: This is a nice EP, especially if you're into the whole business aspect. Personally I get bored with my business-owning Sims after a while, but there's nice buy/build objects so it's worth it.
Pets: If you're not too interested or invested in having a dog/cat/other animal around, this isn't really a necessary EP in my opinion.

I'm pretty indifferent about the other SPs, but the Family and Fun Stuff was definitely my least favorite. I don't really use the objects that come with it and it's just not very useful to me. Happy Holidays is also not a big deal unless you're really into throwing festive celebrations. I have all the EPs and SPs simply because it's nice to play a complete game.

I love all of them. Seriously. My least favorite would probably be Seasons, just because I've had a lot of Sims die from tree fires XD

Eh, I'm a sort of big movie maker, so FreeTime's annoying to me. But really, it's just the way you play/matter of opinion.

I have all expansion packs and stuff pack and I don't think I could play without them. With all the great mods/hacks and custom content available you can customize your game play to eliminate those things that may annoy you or you don't find interesting; you can also add another depth of dimension to your gameplay. It's almost impossible for me to choose a favorite because they are inter-connected. Sims are different and interested in differnt things so every expansion pack has something for each of them. I don't play a Downtown because for me I found that other than the being able to drive cars and the objects Downtown is unnecessary I don't do vamps or werewolves and the lots I could live without. I also create my own in-hood hobby lots so the game hobby membership lots are not necessary. I used to feel frustrated with Seasons, but since I no longer have to worry about fires and lightening killing my sims it's all good.

Because people love their horses just like they love their cats and dogs! I wanted horses in my game to represent my horse, Bessie, who is the apple of my eye!

trying to decide between getting pets and free time. my laptops getting kinda laggy with all the CC and after apartment i swore never again but the sim bug's itching me, I'll most likely get both when i get a new laptop BUT for now, pets or freetime?

A bit about my playstyle. I really love making things from home as an income source instead of regulars jobs so i think freetime wold be grat for this. At the same time I really connect more with stories that involve pets, it adds a very human element. however the last time i played pets was in sims1 and tbh it was overall just lame, is there a big improvement from the two or is it similar?

Freetime is the most useful ep. Families with no pets feel incomplete when I play them now. Personally i'd go with FT first.

I'm only allowing myself to pick one at the moment. Why free time? I was leaning towards pets but I'm wondering how the secondary aspiration changes gameplay as well as the hobby traits. Are they easy to fill in between regular game play or are they something you need to set out to complete?

from what I can tell pets seem to be a really hit or miss, love or hate it kinda of EP whereas FT is getting a lotta good words.

The pets function very differently from the way they did in Unleashed. They're still uncontrollable, but you can look at their needs, relationships, and skills in the heads-up display (not in their wants; they don't seem to have any). They aren't quite so dependent, can have jobs, and are customizable if you go to the pet store - you can choose and edit the appearance and personality at the point of sale, so your grouchy macho type can get an aggressive, independent toy apricot poodle and your nice family man can get a friendly, cowardly rottweiler if that's what floats your boat. You can also encourage or discourage certain behaviors, not just tricks, so the poodle can be trained to chase the mailman and the rottweiler can be trained to befriend the world.

Alas, the poodle cannot be trained to attack the burglar, and there is no raccoon, so no more epic battles between Bandit and Fido. Large pets can fight each other and have limited interactions with cage pets, mostly involving scaring the life out of the poor things.

If you want to avoid regular jobs the most important EPs are Open For Business, which introduced crafting stations, and Seasons, which allows sims to become self-sustaining by growing and catching their own food, which they also have the option to sell. Freetime crafting stations can also generate income, but the major income-producing mechanics were introduced in OFB. The secondaries do change gameplay - mostly for the better, IMHO, though it is way too easy to get to permaplat and the hobby people are annoying (but both these things can be changed with a mod).

I thought it sounded like hard work too but the more you work at hobbies the more you have free time for everything else. You could go downtown and party from dusk til dawn and still get up for work. The prefered hobby trait speeds the process I believe but sims can have 3 or 4 hobbies if they like. Once they get into something it takes very little to maintain their interest. Secondary Aspiration definitely broadens sims horizons.

Who exactly are hobby people? The friends they bring home from work? I do have a mod to stop them bringing the same person home each time.

The hobby people are the ones who run the lots, call to offer magazine subscriptions, and invade your house to offer you membership cards. It can be really disconcerting when they walk through locked doors at midnight, and the phone calls are almost never convenient, but they only do each of those things once per sim.

The very best thing about Freetime, the reason I got it, is Comfort Soup, which allows any person with a family aspiration and a point to spend to cure flu.

Well I have OFB and Seasons is my one and only. If I ever have to only use 1 EP it'd be seasons, it's also a reason I haven't converted to sims3 xD

Now I'm kind of getting sold on the scondary aspiration thing.

"the more you work at hobbies the more you have free time for everything else"
What do you mean by this? I thought that focusing on hobbies would mean less time to work on skills or promotions and might get in the way of looking after kids etc. and end up in some forgotten corner of failed aspirations and wants.

You get rewards along the way that slow all needs decay for all ages. Most of these are given soon after beginning a hobby. Eating, sleeping, showering and socializing will take up much less time in your day, as will your hobbies, leaving you more time to do anything else. You can get the rewards without being obsessed about a hobby. Wants are easy to fulfill when they are hobby related and you only need to do them for a couple of sim minutes. However having full enthusiasm in a hobby makes them forget everything else so their needs practically stop for a while. They could go 10 hours at a hobby and still be near max motives.

Everyone gets the opportunity to gain more days paid leave at work, much higher correct guesses at chance cards, better chance in promotions and less chance of being fired because you can argue your case with the boss. If you are friends with the hobby instructor and your career is related to your hobby, they count as a family friend plus the friend requirements are decreased by one. Practicing hobbies increases skills as well. Instructors, or other sims with full enthusiam for a hobby, give tips while practicing the hobby to speed up learning. When the lifetime aspiration bar is filled you have a permanent good mood. Children can't but those with hobbies are always in a good mood anyway and can practically take care of themselves. Even toddlers have skill building hobbies.

As I said it is the most useful ep and you'll want all sims to maintain a hobby.

ok I'm sold xD free time it is then! It sounds like it'll be a good additon. Allright, time to start simming, might reply later with my overall observation thus far. although the case for freetime hs been made pretty well ;D

Raime! This is the sims 2! Buy them ALL (when you are financially capable, of course)!

I have to say I am not a fan of OFB or pets.. but I have everything else

I'd have to say that my least favorite EP is Pets. Once one gets through the excitement of every family in the neighborhood having a thousand dogs, pets get kind of annoying. And then I felt bad when they ran away.

My favorite is Seasons - it adds a whole new dimension into the game and makes it much more realistic.

What i like/unlike
 

The best expansion ever is:
Nightlife! I actually almost love Seasons more then Nightlife. But if i only could install one it would be Nightlife. Nightlife has cars, dates, a city, pretty much stuff, new clothes and all that. If i would rate all this i would give Nightlife 8.91 and Seasons 8.909

The worst expansion ever is:
Apartments, it feels like they made a whole expansion just because a building?
I thought this was going to be so fun when i played it. To bad it got boring fast. The clothes and hairstyles that come along is fugly. But the stuff that comes with and being able to be a witch is pretty cool

If i would rank all of them it would be:
1. Nightlife
2. Seasons (soo close runner-up)
3. University
4. Pets
5. OFB
6. Freetime
7. Bon Voyage
8. Apartments

If i have to choose one that has to go, which one?
Apartments, they could just fit that into another expansion, like Freetime or OFB

The Best expansion for me is Nightlife, because it introduced so much to the game that lives on, it even ot into the Deluxe compliations! It made leaving your home enjoyable and memorable!

The worst is well for me I guess I would go for FreeTime, why? Even though it introduces hobbies thats really it, nothing much but the hobby and lifetime aspiration system, I love the game just that its a little below the bar for me.

Here is my list for top expansion packs

1. Nightlife
2. Seasons
3. University
4. Apartment Life
5. Bon Voyage
6. Open for Business
7. Pets
8. FreeTime

Now for the stuff packs
1. H&M Fashion
2. Kitchen & Bath Interior Design
3. Happy Holiday/Festive Holiday
4. Mansion & Garden
5. IKEA Home
6. Family Fun
7. Glamour Life
8. Celebration
9. Teen Style

Hmm...I've got to say I have to disagree with some of you about Free Time. I think its one of my favorites. I use the hobby items a ton in my gameplay; without them would be really different. Seasons is probably still the best, but I'd put FreeTime in the top 3.

My least favorite though is Pets. While cute, they don't really add much to the game for me since I don't use them much. I don't think I've ever created a werewolf, though to be fair, I'm not very much into the mythological creatures in the game. I think I do have a Plant Sim or two running around though. University wasn't great for me either. I always felt that going through all 4 years took forever! Would be more fun if it was a little shorter, but being able to go off to college is pretty cool overall.

Ranking
expansion packs

Seasons
Open For Business
FreeTime
Bon Voyage
Apartment Life
Nightlife
University
Pets

stuff packs- I don't have glamor or celebration, so I can't comment on those

Mansion & Garden
Kitchen & Bath
Teen Style
IKEA Home
H&M Fashion
Family Fun
Happy Holiday

I really liked pretty much all of the stuff packs (except Family Fun and Holiday). I got most of them used or for very cheap, so it was worth it to me.

Pets is pretty low on my list as well. Nothing much but pets so its well decent. Festive Holiday was cheap and had no code but well..barely anything for it

My favorite expansion is Pets. I've been wanting pets in the game since it first came out. I used to make the sims themselves pets...Didn't work too well...

My most hated expansion is University. It gets old fast, and it seems really useless to me. Plus, the annoying popups that come up every time a teen is on the lot. >_<

By Rank:

1. Pets
2. Nightlife
3. Seasons
4. Bon Voyage
5. Open For Business
6. FreeTime
7. Apartments
8. University

I have all expansions except University Life Collection and Free Time.
My favorite expansions are Apartment Life and Seasons.
My least favorite expansion pack is the Best of Business Collection/Open For Business. I don't hate it, I like it. But I had to pick a least favorite so this was it.
I have all stuff packs except Happy/Festive Holiday, Ikea, and Teen Style Stuff. (Not interested in holiday, but will get the others if I buy the University Life Collection)

Expansion Pack Ranks:
1. Apartment Life- I love it! I can make so many different types of apartments, like trailer parks, city buildings, townhouses, and more! I just got it a couple weeks ago and haven't really cared to check out the witches but they seem fun. I love the new interactions like the toddler huggle and gestures.
2. Seasons- A must have. Seasons keep the game fresh. After getting back from school/work and doing homework and chores my sims sometimes go out to play. I think playing in the snow, jumping in the leaf piles, and other interactions are SOOOO cute! I love gardening and fishing and the new items in this game. My favorite aspiration is family, so I love this pack because they get to interact with eachother more.
3. Bon Voyage- This pack is so fun! Mine go on vacation every so often. I love being able to take pictures and hang them in their house. I like how you get rewards at the end, and I really love beach lots!!! Vacation never gets boring, theres so much to do: Buy jewelry, full momentos, go out to eat, swim at the beach, take pictures, I love it all!
4. Night Life- I never really thought of it as an expansion because it came with my base game. But I like the features a lot. Cars are a must have. Also, I love the Downtown. So many new community lots. I don't like going out on outings. I love dates, it helps getting the sims to fall in love easier and also helps get a lot of aspiration reward points. I don't like vampires. I honestly don't like any of the abnormal creatures except aliens and witches.
5. Pets- I love having pets and breeding them. Other than that, there's not much to it. I like it though. Only get it if you desparetly want pets. I like birds, dogs, cats, and fish. The 1st three have good interactions, fish tanks are nice for decoration, and womrats.... not a fan.
6. Open For Business- I like this pack because of the toy making and florists. The toys are new and help bring income and I think running a business is fun. I'm not a fan of robotery.

My Predictions about other packs:
1. University- It seems really cool and I want it so much! I like it so far by reading others comments and watching the trailer.
2. Free Time- I don't really want it but will probably end up getting it. I think the hobbies are cool, but my sims don't really have FREE TIME! Lol. I like how you can make more objects like the sewing machine. And the genie lamp is cool too. But that doesn't seem like enough to be worth $20.

Stuff Pack Ratings:
1. H&M- Some of the clothing that comes with our packs and the base game is just plain AWFUL! I usually find myself giving my sims clothing from this pack. The clothing is really nice and classy! Love it!!!!
2. Mansion & Garden- Adds a ton of stuff to make your garden beautiful. No joke, but I never use the architecture it comes with. I only use the Empire set. That set is nice.
3. Celebration- I love it! It adds a ton for my parties. I really love the formal wear it comes with too!
4. Glamour- Even though it's #4, I love it! It adds some new, different decor and a nice furniture set. I absolutely some of the dresses too! But some I hate.
5. Kitchen & Bath- I love the new appliances. Also, I like the decor. It really adds stuff to my boring, empty kitchen and bathrooms. I love it!
6. Family Fun- I do like the stuff it comes with but Sims are only young for so little, so I have to change the rooms a lot. I like the stuff, but I'm not a fan of the clothing, like the dragon costume?!!

Becky - for me Free Time would be worth it just for Secondary Aspirations. Although the hobby items are very cool (and work well with OFB).

Favourite list:

1.open for buniess.
I like to operate a store>.<"And i can design my own shop as i like.

2.season
I love snow. It is beautiful and my sims can make a snowman^^.

3. Nightlife
Cars are very important!!!So cool!!

4. Apartment life
It is funny to live with negihbourXD....You can have new friends easily.

5.Pets
I love animals@@And I want them in my real life><

Ok so i have three expansion packs left to get, but can only afford one right now

Bon Voyage, Open for Buisness and Apartment Life.

I'm completely torn between all three! Which adds more to gameplay?

Bon Voyage adds vacations, which by definition are off to one side. I really like them, but your sims can only take them when they have enough money to fly there, they can't visit anybody, nobody can visit them, and you can't play a day or two of the teens being home alone while the parents are on their second honeymoon. Also, you'll get a sudden influx of new townies (tourists) whose ID numbers will be higher than those of existing sims, so for quite awhile - until new sims reach the relevant ages - you'll be bringing tourist children and teens home from school instead of playables, and you can't call tourists because they have no phones. Also, the limo stops coming at the end of the wedding. Instead, your sims roll wants to go on a vacation for a honeymoon. The new animations are a couple of new dances and some gestures that spread through the neighborhood in a viral manner, which many people find annoying.

Open for Business has the potential to add quite a bit, as it becomes possible for your sims to own community lots and run them as businesses. If you don't happen to be interested in getting into the businesses right away, you still have crafting stations which allow them to make toys, robots, and flower arrangements, and for which they get badges. The ability to add shopping districts - basically, as many subhoods as you feel like attaching, in addition to Downtown, University, and the vacation destinations - also allows the creation (with some care and study; fortunately, by now most of this has been done for you and clean, non-game-breaking templates are available for download) of megahoods including some or all of the premade neighborhoods, so it's finally possible for Cassandra Goth to marry Nervous Subject. The star animation for this EP is children dancing on the feet of older sims.

Apartment Life adds magic, which if you're interested in it will cause you to be hunting down the head witches to befriend them so you can learn how to do magic; and if you're not, will cause you to groan as the game lags to let the head witches show up on the lot and do their good witch/bad witch routines when all you want is to get that 20th woohoo under your sim's belt. Apartments themselves play very differently from normal residences, and if you're the kind who spends a lot of time with your sims at home you'll want to explore this, and new features like apartment neighbors watching kids, social groups, and networking. There will be consequences to that running feud with your mother-in-law now...A grab bag of wonderful animations came with this EP, notably the universally loved "morning cuddle."

So whether AL or OfB adds more gameplay is entirely a matter of your playstyle.

I have to say from reading your post and watching a few videos im slighly swaying towards OFB and the moment, but i defo want AL in the end that sounds good too. Thanks for the reply!

Bon Voyage adds beach lots! Swimming, building sandcastles, sunbathing. I rarely send my sims on vacation, especially now I play a strict (but fun for me!) rotation, but it was worth it just for the beach lots for me. So many of my sims now get married at the beach... :-) The vacation gestures/dances can be annoying though, like Peni said. In my experience the limo does still come (sometimes?) at the end of the wedding if no honeymoon has been booked. I may be wrong about that though...

Open For Business is awesome, it's one of my favourites. I don't play many owned businesses, but they are useful for making graveyards, schools and churches with groundskeepers, teachers or priests owning them. The crafting is fun but repetitive - if you also have University you can get a mod that gives teens with Silver crafting badges scholarships, which I use and find very helpful indeed. One of my sims, Leanne Jitsukamol, just went to university with scholarships in flower arranging and sewing, as well as Creativity and good grades. As sims in my game have to have three scholarships to be eligible for a university education, without crafting she wouldn't have made it! And yes, in my opinion the ability to have Megahoods using shopping districts makes OFB one of my absolute favourites.

Apartment Life is a lot of fun, in my opinion. I'm not that keen on witches, though they're better with hacks to stop evil ones from being green skinned! :-) Learning magic as a witch/warlock is a bit too repetitive for my tastes. I love apartments though - like Peni said, it's fun watching neighbours interact whilst you play one apartment household. With ACR installed I find that all sorts of drama can happen! Being able to ask neighbours to watch your kids (combined with a hack to allow it on residential lots as well) is a godsend for some households in my no-nannies 'hoods.

So yes, I basically think they're all great - not very helpful, I know! :-) I think OFB is probably cheaper than AL, and offers more in terms of gameplay than BV, so I'd probably go for that one. But that's a decision I've reached after playing with all EP's and SP's installed for many years now! :-D

Do you think the Holiday pack adds a lot to the game? Also, there are a few different versions, and I don't know the difference between them.

I'm re-buying OFB because my old disk is unworkable, and I might buy a few stuff packs mostly so I can qualify for super saver shipping on amazon lol. So what are the opinions(positive and negative) about these three stuff packs listed below?

The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff
The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff
The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff

Overall since I'm only really thinking about buying two out of those three which two would give me more stuff like for example clothes and hair? Thanks

If Celebration becomes one of the ones I get will I have to play from the disk, since it comes after Seasons, or since its still just a stuff pack will Seasons still do?


Omglo, I recently purchased the Holiday stuff pack, and in my opinion it was a severe disappointment,and no it adds pretty much nothing to the game. Most of the few items you get( and I do mean few) are Christmas themed(mistletoe, a few different looking Christmas trees,lights to hang, etc),but the other holidays are underrepresented to the point of nonexistent. You really can't do any real interacting with most of the stuff, and everything is overall pathetic. The only small highlight is Santa comes. I brought this used, for barely six dollars, and still feel ripped off.

As for which version The Sims 2 Happy Holiday Stuff is the one to get. The other just has the base game added.

magic08, if I were you, I would choose Celebration and Glamour Life.

Family Fun Stuff is a load of crap. The object sets are incredibly cheesy and tacky, and (being 100% honest here) I haven't used them once. IMO this is the worst SP of all TS2 SPs. I only own it/have it installed so that I can have a complete TS2 collection.

Glamour Life Stuff is a better. If you have a lot of rich yuppie Sims, and don't use a lot of CC, this is probably a good pack for you.

Celebration! Stuff is great if you're into the whole birthday/big wedding thing. I myself rarely throw a wedding or birthday party, but when I do, these items sure do come in handy.

The bottom line is to pick the SPs you think will suit your play style most. If you click the hyperlinks, you will be taken to the SP's info page on TS2.com, and if you click 'items' you can see pictures of the items included in the pack. Good luck on your decision!

Yeah I agree, Family Fun Stuff is terrible. There are only a handful of nice clothes that I MIGHT use.

But seriously who needs a mermaid theme?

A mermaid-obsessed little girl.

*Gasp* How can you not love that colour changing lamp, and the curly-wurly chair?

Where can you buy the Sims 2 games other than Amazon?
I ordered Freetime and Univeristy Life Collection.
That will finish the series except for Happy/Festive Holiday Stuff.
I don't know if I'll ever get it. The only use I would have with it would be for the Sims 2 Series I'm making.

Magic08, your description is helpful, but I'd like to hear others opinnions as well.
Thanks!

Work your way back through the thread, then. There's 23 pages of different takes on the EPs.

I bought most of mine on e-bay, with Amazon and brick-and-mortar used book/media stores for the others. Yes, there's still physical stores out there selling stuff. It's a crap shoot, but it never hurts to look.

I will post my ratings for all the expansions (Excluding University and Freetime) and stuff packs (Excluding Happy Holiday, Teen Style, and Ikea).

Favorites: Apartment Life and Seasons
Least Favorite: Pets

Ratings:
1. Apartment Life <3 My favorite expansion pack because it was the last, I feel it has the most heart and care in it. I love the possibilities of different apartments I can make. Ex: Trailer Park, Townhouses, two-family home, fancy-expensive large penthouses, etc. The witches is probably one of my favorite life states. I like the furniture it comes with, and although the helicopter is cool, I have yet to use it. I love that there's a new interaction for toddlers, to huggle!
2. Seasons! Seasons adds so much to the game. Gardening and fishing gives new options for businesses, and the country theme is so nice! The graphics are really good, and this is a must have expansion. I love all the things you can do outside and new interactions between family members like Marco Polo and a Snowball Fight. Other items are really nice to have like the pool slide and ice/roller blading rinks.
3. Bon Voyage is definately one that adds a lot to the game. I love beach lots and vacation homes. The momentos to collect definitely keep vacations fun. But there are somethings I wish to change: Toddlers can come and more features to Three Lakes/mountain destination.
4. Open For Business. The introduction to talent badges and crafting items, the little tycoons are fun! I love seeing poor folks not have to give up anything by making their business a sucess. The items you can craft are really cool, and other expansions add more options to different types of businesses. I like the dresses for children it comes with!
5. Night Life: I don't really have an opinnion on this one, since it came with my base game (Double Deluxe). Although I could not imagine my game without the dating, cars, and restaurants.
6. Pets, I really feel like this was rushed. I would love to see other pets like horses. This pack basically comes with nothing except for the ability to adopt dogs, cats, womrats, fish, and birds. But I do like the pets, so I like this expansion. I honestly like all expansions.

Stuff Pack Ratings

Favorites: H&M and Mansion and Garden
Least Favorite: Family Fun

1. H&M I like the theme to build the store and name brand clothes. I love these outfits, and find myself using them a lot.
2. Mansion and Garden. My houses' gardens and front yards would be so ugly without this pack! Also, the Second Empire theme is really nice.
3. Celebration. The party stuff definitely adds a lot for gameplay and decoration. The dresses are beautiful, and I find myself often using the formal wear for all ages. Except for female elder, strapless dresses on them is quite odd. They'd be nice with a sweater or something.
4. Glamour Life. There are some outfits I don't like, but others that come with this really make up for it. I love the new bedroom theme!
5. Kitchen and Bath. I like the realism the decorations add. The appliances are nicer too.
6. Family Fun. Don't use the stuff with this very often.

Thanks everyone. I ended up getting all three since they were all barely 6 dollars apiece. The packs actually forced me to play my families right for a change. I'm a player that likes to screw my Sims up to the max instead of playing normally lol. Family Fun stuff actually forced me to decorate my entire house, especially the children bedrooms, instead of putting in the bare minimum so I can start screwing them up faster. Glamour actually made Nightlife have a point for me besides cars,cellphones and a few clothes. I also found some of the glamour decor nice which gave me more added incentive to actually decorate a home. Lastly, Celebration made me actually feel like throwing parties. I actually know what a wedding and a birthday for the Sims look like now lol.

I've Nightlife (I don't like it, but it came with my Sims2 original - it's called Deluxe version, I believe?) and Seasons. Nightlife is useless to me, because it takes too much time to load Downtown, and anyway I find going there about as interesting and fun as looking at my left shoe.

I've also tried University, but it bothered me to go through all that work of, once Sims were Teenagers, they had to leave the house, and I'd have to wait 4746 years while the University hood loaded, and they were put in a dorm, etc etc. The only stuff I liked about it were that dorm shower, because it came in very handy when trying to fit a shower in one-tile spaces, and the cellphones. I eventually found out the "semester tester" cheat, which made things much better but...enforced in me the idea that it was a waste of time for Sims to go to Uni, because they'd win some Diploma and nothing else, ending up getting back to their hometown and maybe get a heads up in whatever job they'd choose to have.

The same friend that lent me the University EP, then lent me Pets...and despite animals being my main passion (I'm a vegan aha) I...couldn't handle it ㅠㅠ I felt so bad for every stray I saw, I adopted them all, and put up little houses and food in my garden, and then felt terrible for not interacting with them enough, so it basically only served for me to feel powerless and like a bad human companion.

And I absolutely adore Seasons It's my favourite ever and I never want to be parted from it. I was thinking about buying the Freetime EP too, it seems really nice and fun! I think it would fit me nicely because I often get bored with my Sims when they're back from work/school and there's still lots of hours before they have to go to sleep, so they just lay around the house being boring and watching tv/interacting/painting/insert boring activity here. My only problem is that each EP is around 15€, so I'm not so sure if I should buy it.
And now that I think about it, Open for Business too! I'd love to run a bakery, and it seems like another great way to not get bored with my Sims (because when that happens I either end up killing every elder and forcing everyone to grow up to have new family members, or I go around creating new families and then end up having too many).

I just got the Univeristy Life Collection and Freetime for my birthday, and am very excited to try them out!
University is installed, and I will be testing it out in a couple minutes.
Once I am used to both packs, I will post my opinnion of the whole complete series.

I only had the first three EPs originally, and I bought the rest all together this year (Pets as the "Fun with Pets" bundle pack). Pets was predictably underwhelming, and I wouldn't have gotten it unless it was in that bundle pack with M&G. But so far the biggest disappointment has been Bon Voyage. I took some Sims on their (and my) first vacation, to Twikki Island. They went to the Boardwalk, and they couldn't buy jewelry because the counters were facing the wrong way, against the wall. Then, they got stuck in their hotel, because something invisible was blocking the stairs. I don't like building that much, so I really don't want to have to go through each BV lot and look for issues to fix.

And I just don't get the vacation memories - it doesn't seem like there is any benefit to them, and it seems arbitrary that you can do many of those things at home and not get "credit" for it.

I should add that I like the items and build mode stuff that came with BV, just so far not the actual vacation.

The best thing about the EP's are mostly the stuff and clothing if you ask me.

FT gave me the most for my money because HOLY CRAP LOOK AT ALL THESE CLOTHES! LOOK AT ALL THESE OBJECTS! The Genie is cool too, but the hobby-spam annoys me.
As someone said in another thread, the hobby-related wants clog the whole want bar up and you can't rally do anything other than birdwatching and playing the violin after a while -.-

BV again. Awesome objects. Clothes not so much. I never play vacations as well because they're boring as hell. I never even add the vacation sub-hoods any more.
But the massage tables and saunas are great for spas or rich Sims

AL brought us great clothes and objects. And I never had a problem with any of the apartments. I find them really nice.

Uni is lame. Who the hell uses any of the "Groovy" furniture and wallpapers? The clothes are just the teen clothes recycled for the YA's.
I'm not really too fond of the whole university thing in the Sims.

Pets was crap. I can't believe I paid money for it -.-

Yeah the other expansions rocked as well. Seasons, Nightlife, I wouldn't want to miss them.
Open for Business brought us good clothes but I'm not a business person. My businesses never make profit xD

I so agree! Total disappointment!

I have all the expansions now, so here is my full review

1. Apartment Life- Best best best expansion in my opinnion! Apartments give a lot of building possibilities, new interactions which are nice (Including the toddler huggle <3) Really nice furniture additions, like the TVs. Disapointing clothes, except I like one style for the female adult casual/formal dresses.
2. Seasons- Awesome weather, adds a lot of gameplay options. New cool pool slide. Also has roller and ice skating rinks. Gardening and fishing is really nice too.
3. Freetime- A lot of new objects, stuff for every kind of sim! Really fun, new rewards and LTA meter. Predestined hobbies. Way better than I expected. Love it!
4. Bon Voyage- Fun vacations with new objects (sauna, massage table). I love vacations- mainly Twikkii Island, but disapointment was that toddlers can't join the family. (Babies would be pointless to take, they dont do anything)
5. University- New life stage, which adds time for love, skill building, friendships, completing wants, and oh yeah, streaking! Again like Freetime, wayyy better than I expected. Dorms, greek houses, and rental homes add nice stuff. Groovy theme belongs in the trash can though.
6. Open For Business- New businesses and crafting objects, which are cool to have. Love the spinny toy and water wiggler. Don't really use the robotics station, I'll hire a maid or gardener instead.
7. Nightlife- New community lots, cars, and dating. Overall great addition.
8. Pets- The only pack that disapointed me. Pets are nice, but nothing else comes with the pack. Only worth it cause I got the collection. (With Family Fun and Mansion & Garden stuff)

Hi folks,

I'm an old Simmer who's thinking of getting back into the game. I recently acquired TS2 Double Deluxe, which is the only game I presently own, having sold all my original purchases years ago.

I was wondering which expansions are the best ones to get, primarily from a lot designer's perspective.
I know I want OFB for the elevators and AL for the apartments, but what else? For example, which EP has spiral stairs?

In short, which EPs have the best building tools?

Thanks.

Mansions and Gardens? They have some amazing things. It's an SP, but it works more like an EP. Apartment Life is where the spiral staircases come from. Kitchen and Bath is also nice, again its a stuff pack. For building I'd recommend Apartment Life, OFB, and Mansions and Gardens.

My least favourite stuff pack has to be manison and garden stuff deacuse when I uninstalled to fix my game and wiped everything off it. My least favourite expansion pack would be freetime as I found that I did not like the stuff added to it such as the zone the glow which loathe with a passion.

My favourite stuff pack is teen stuff as I just love the gothic themed stuff that was added to the game and also as it was a nice chanage to the other stuff packs for sims I had. I have two favourites them being seasons and apartment life as I love the weather and seasons added in seasons. I also love the magic and the dark magic themed items espically the throne in apartment life.

Okay - I've got a situation and I don't know which way to go with this...
I could either:

1) Buy Freetime
2) Buy two stuff packs (Teen Style and H&M)

I've been wanting Freetime for a while, and I know it adds some great features, but TWO stuff packs! I can imagine myself drooling over all that STUFF! But then again...Freeeetime!! What do you guys/girls should I do, what would you do?

(Yes. This is the most important decision of my life.)

You get Stuff with Freetime, too, you know. Stuff that does stuff. Sewing machines. Pottery wheels. Comfort soup to cure your sick sims and prevent Llama Flu from spoiling all your parties.

ETA: ScaryRob, you want Mansions & Garden for sure if you're primarily a builder. It's the only one that lets you change roof angle; and it has building themes, so you can now build Painted Ladies, Spanish style with Moorish influence, all kinds of things!

Just buy all of them (when you are financially capable, of course), although I prefer an EP before an SP.

H&M and Teen Style are stuff packs that largely revolve around clothing. They're two of the SPs that I considered and bought, and am happy I did so (out of all the SPs, only those, M&G, and IKEA have been the ones I've gone "yeah, I could see myself using those"), yet they don't really offer that much to gameplay other than clothng, a few community lots (H&M) and some buy mode stuff.

FreeTime, like Peni said, offers a lot of stuff. The main one is the ability to have secondary aspirations, also adding in perks either general (more vacation days; reduced drop in hunger) or aspiration specific (knowledge -- summon aliens; family -- comfort soup to cure illness; fortune -- give financial advice; popularity -- faster friendships; pleasure -- write restaurant guide [gives huge amounts of money for a few hours' work]; romance -- smooth talk [increase relationship, reduces furiousness]). Sewing and pottery are introduced as two new badge skills, and with OfB you can make a business out of them.

But personally? With the exception of Mansions and Gardens, I will always recommend an EP over an SP (or two) simply because EPs add things to do, while SPs make things look pretty.

Mansion and Garden looks great, but what makes it that much better than the rest? I'm debating about buying it.

M&G is more like a mini-EP than an SP -- it offers a fair few options for builders/decorators which can come in very handy (a roof pitch slider so you don't need to fiddle around with the roof slope cheat, and also the set quarter tile placement cheat which divides the grid in to quarters and allows for much closer item placement). It also adds in three new deco styles (moroccan, art deco, second empire) as well as -- finally -- new plants/flowers and some garden deco (I was sick of having the same types of flowers to decorate gardens/parks with).

There's a couple of new interactions, although I've modded them out because they can be annoying (shade eyes when going outside, smelling flowers), and it also gives you a wind turbine and two types of solar panels, all of which reduce your bills and, if you have enough of them, you can actually get rebates (money back) on your bills. I've not used those much (my sims are either too poor, live in apartments, don't have the space, or are simply rich enough to shrug off bills) but I have been thinking of a couple of live-off-the-land type scenarios where sims would need them.

Actually, I'm already able to change roof angles without M&G (using the cheat).
I was wondering what the architecture styles were all about, now I know.
I will keep my eye open for M&G.
Thanks for the info.

I was just going to ask about Ikea and M&G. So, I gather M&G, is more about exterior, and of course gardens, then about indoors? Do you get clothes and hair? The same for Ikea, do you get clothing and hair? and is Ikea, even worth looking into?

Lastly, is there problems with M&G. I thought I read there was conflictions. But, maybe that's with using clean templates??

M&G comes with 5 new womens hairstyles and 3 mens' ... no new clothes though.
I happened to get Ikea and M&G around the same time. I think that Ikea is nice to have but its not a necessary pack ... though it gives you some nice cheaper furniture options for those cash-strapped Sims.

I think all the EP's have something to offer, so I would have trouble having to decide which one to uninstall. So, here's my two cents.

1)NL: Without it my Sims would have nowhere to go. Cemetaries! So, I don't have to keep a whole bunch of urns and tombstones. Dining out, dating, turn on/offs. Some of the clothing was okay, but there was a lot of ugly ones that I've never used. I'm not a vampire freak, but maybe one day I'll try it!

2)Seasons: I'm used to weather now. I like that it's not always sunny all the time. I'm sure there's a mod, but I think after the first snow fall, the curiosity should be gone. Puddles, I laugh because Sims of all ages will splash around in them. The penguins are cute. I like the reminder after I built something, a Sim will say "there's weather in my house".Oops, I forgot the roof! I would think though weather really is a challenge, when it comes to something like a Legacy. Where, you may not have the funds to have a roof over your head, come Fall! And finally there's a reason for my toddlers to be wearing hats and mittens. Before seasons, it made no sense!

3)BV: Again, so my Sims have somewhere to go. Swimmable beaches, suntanning, massage tables, and hot springs. New foods. My only thing is I can only handle a couple of days of vacationing at a time. I haven't bought a vacation house yet, because my Sims don't have a lot of money, and you can't take toddlers. But, if I did have a vacation home, I'd have businesses, for much needed makeovers!

4) University: I agree it can be long and tedious. But with the additions of OFB and FT, my Sims can earn their talent badges at school. They make their initial adult clothes before graduation, so that when they're in their new adult homes, they have clothes to begin with. Instead of the often mismatched clothes they grow into. I actually don't mind kicky bag, because it keeps the fun bar high, and increases relationships. I have to say though pillow fights should be restricted to YA's and younger. I like my Sims to have cell phones. The bubble blower and the treadmill, both great assests for future businesses. Plus the four new careers. I also get my YA's a bird to build up their charisma, and nature enthusiasim. It beats standing in front of mirror...
I also liked some of the hair and clothing.

5) Pets: Simple, I love animals! Yes, there could have been more things for them to do.But just knowing I can have a pet in my game, makes me happy. However, the womrat to me pointless. I normally don't think it's funny, when an animal dies. But, I have chuckled when I've captured the bird kicking it! Tara Kat and Cyd Roseland. I like these two, and often put them together!

6)Free Time: The genie, the sewing machine, studying up on subjects that can help your Sim. I don't mind cooking and dance contests. Although, out of curiosity I've been to some of the hobby lots. But, I know if we could have built them ourselves, mine would be more interesting! So, dance and cooking contests, often happen on my NL lots. I also kind of like the bohemian outfit, and new gym clothes for all. Although, I've downloaded some too. The basketball hoop, is cool because it's something everyone, but toddlers can use to build body skills.

7)OFB: I've never been successful of creating a business on my own-without using cheats. So, I think this EP is the most challenging. I enjoy making bakeries, and a make over store. I often make a baby/toy store. That is usually one of my successful businesses, in which my perks and upgrade status moves up quickly. So, even though I cheat-I'll try, really I will not to- but, my Sim kids need toys! The last business I tried was a snapdragon/pottery store. It wasn't a success. but I didn't stick with it too long. I also want to try a pet store. I've tried out Servos, but they're just not my thing.

8)AL: It's not that I don't like this EP, I find I just don't use apartments. But, I like the wall paper, and clothing.

SP's
H&M: Never heard of the store before Sims 2, but I found I like the clothes the most-well there were a few questionable choices!

Teen Style: Clothes for the teens, particularly the guys! Although, I could have lived without the visors!

K&B: I loved the floors and walls, for this SP. The undies/pj's were cute. And a guy hairstyle I liked, along with a headband style for the girls. Of course, I never use the aprons, or overalls..

Glamour: I liked the furniture. And nicer formal dresses. I just wished, aside from weddings. EA had given us another kind of party option, to wear the formal clothing to. Like the anniverary party, or New Year's

Celebration: I don't think my computer could handle downloading wedding dresses, even though I love what creators make! I'd rather download everyday wear, then something that a Sim will wear only once. That being said, there are a few wedding dresses, where of course I think, who okayed this at EA-okay, I say this with a lot of the clothing, but I digress. Sometimes I use the party favours, although, I can gurantee, that if it's a wedding. And the groom or bride lights off the firework, it will back fire on them!

Family Fun: I rarely use it, except for the kids bedrooms, I guess I could use the Hawaiian outfits for BV, but I tend to dress my Sims in something else for vacation.

Holiday Stuff Pack: I got the original, little disc. But I think Santa should've brought presents, that you couldn't get in the game. A New Year's party was cool. But, I have to use the moveobjects cheat to get rid of the police. I think Squinge made a mod, to curb that? The decorations are cute. But, to be totally honest, I tend to forget about Christmas. And what is it with Santa, using the bathroom most of the time? Were there staff members in a meeting, going on how funny that would be-yes.

Which leaves me with no comments on Ikea or M&G. I wrote a question about them, before typing my thesis on EP's and SP's. So, I am curious about those ones, and whether I should complete the entire Sims 2 Franchise? I don't download walls, floors, furniture, or hair. Again, not because I don't think people could do better, but I only have so much space on my computer.

I just got Mansions and Gardens today. Now I'm not trying to completely bash it, but I found it... incredibly subpar. The "architecture" is mostly just trim things for the walls, there were only 3 or 4 doors added that I've noticed, and there are only about two good garden statues. On the topic of the gardens, I was seriously annoyed. I was expecting to make really nice gardens, but there are no new trees and the bushes look very fake. The best part about the gardens is the flowers, which look pretty as well as realistic. The hairstyles are nice, too. But for the most part? The stuff included seems basically made for three different cookie cutter mansions instead of for more personal creativity... By the way, this is coming from a simmer who loves building. I prefer the IKEA stuff pack way more than this. Sorry, I ended up completely bashing it...

Edit: After playing it again and knowing what to expect, it was actually very enjoyable. My advice: Know what you are getting so that you don't become disappointed.

I have currently installed Double Deluxe, all the other EPs, and M&G. I also own Holiday Edition (the holiday plus base game) and Celebration stuff. I kind of liked the Holiday stuff. Christmas is coming, and I'm thinking about what I'd like to ask for. (Helps if I'm very specific for my husband.)
Do I want a standalone Nightlife or a Holiday Stuff Pack (aren't there two? Which one?)
Do I want, would I use, other stuff packs? I'm not big on the amount of skin shown by a lot of the base game and EP clothes--some, for some sims, is good, but most don't need to show belly buttons. I have a lot of default replacements because of that. I do have some of the Family Fun matching clothes--Herb Oldie always gets a purple hawaiian shirt. I also have and use all the time the split pjs by Ndainye, which I think are H&M matching. I like M&G, for the most part. Celebrations is great--use that stuff all the time. I have a couple family sims (Brandi B. and Samantha O.) who are all into the tacky wedding stuff they saved. Of course, I also have Phaenoh's fixes for the clothes.

Freetime or Apartmentlife?
 

Which one should i install? I can only have 3 expansions on my computer. NL gets automaticly installed, Seasons is the best one. But then? Freetime or Apartmentlife?

Which one do you use most?

I have Apartment Life and it adds a ton. Spiral staircases, hidden bookcase doors, lots of new wall coverings, magic, and more realistic decorations (like stacks of books, cereal boxes, etc.) are essential in my game. I can't speak for Freetime seeing as I don't have it, but AL is fantastic.

I myself would pick FreeTime; it's my second favorite expansion after Seasons. But I love Secondary Aspirations and don't play apartments.

Should I buy Freetime or OFB? They both look good.

They are both good and you should get both eventually. If you like to make things hard for your sims, get OFB first, as Freetime makes it way too easy to go permaplat; the only complaint I have of it. Also, servos. If you're impatient and don't use community lots much, get Freetime first, as full utilization of OFB involves lots of community lot use. Also, sewing your own curtains and teddy bears.

If your playstyle makes it hard to control flu epidemics, you need Freetime, as a Family sim with the comfort soup perk makes it much simpler. Also, secondary aspirations are awesome for character development.

However, OFB allows you to spend more time with any given sim by playing their businesses and having other sims visit them, and it's the source of the kids-dancing-on-feet animation.

Of what I have my favorite EP is Nightlife (Uni is the only other one, though Pets is in the mail)
Of SPs probably K&B is my favorite and Teen Style least favorite (also have Ikea and Glamour Life - with H&M currently winning on ebay - ends in a few hours.)

Which SP is the best? Hmm.. i have Glamour/luxury pack (talking about TS2), Garden and Mansion and Christmas Life Pack (You know, it came one to after that with more stuff)? Is H&M good?

If you like downloading clothes a lot, then this SP is for you. Some clothes are seem quite fitting for my sims. The wall coverings that comes with the SP, I use it a lot, especially for bedrooms.

I don't care for the H & M clothes. I HATE "full outfit" clothing for everyday clothes unless it's something that would actually be one piece. Though there is some other cool stuff. Plus it was like $5 including shipping. I also have Seasons coming. I stop flu (and other epidemics) by making all my sims immune via the Health Adjustor via the Insiminator. This also prevents morning sickness.

Should i install OFB or Apartment Life? I can only choose one, hmm.. OFB has a beautiful shopping area with cool houses and great lots + the ability to run stores + own community lots.
Apartment life comes with so mutch cool stuff sutch as apartments, new objects, new clothing and hair that i like etc.

I currently have all EPs and Teen Style Stuff, and I'm getting the holiday pack soon too. But I'm a bit torn over which one to get next. I'm considering either H&M, Kitchen and Bath or IKEA. So to anyone who has any of these, what are they like and which one would you recommend? I generally focus mostly on playing premades, creating sims/giving existing sims makeovers, and for general gameplay I mostly use the default houses but I do like to build my own once in a while.

I have only tried H&M and IKEA (both Swedish companies!) but i think Kitchen and Bath still looks really good. IKEA got lots of cheap furniture that really is good looking for its low price (so now you're legacy house can look somewhat good). But i actually don't find the IKEA furniture that good, i can be without it. H&M gives you some great clothing and i really enjoy it as you also can build a REAL H&M store (commercial in you're game..). Im not quite sure what i would recommend for you but looking at the Kitchen and Bath commercial at youtube makes me think that you should get that one.

Well, H&M is just clothes (so I've never been tempted to get it; clothes I got) and Ikea is just furniture, while K&B is clothes and objects and hairstyles, so if you can only get one, that's the one.

Ah, okay, I think I'll get K&B first then. I'll probably end up getting the others eventually anyway. Thanks a lot, both of you!

K & B is probably my favorite stuff pack. It was also the first of any EP/SP I installed - late SEP last year. I really like the more expensive stoves/fridges from it and the small appliances, dishwashers, trash compactors - can't remember the name but all I mentioned are from the same (fictional) manufacturter. The stove has that bigger than any base game fridge capacity (though it has to be modded to be able to put produce or fish in. Stupid EA.)