I just bought Happy Holidays. Looking forward to playing it tonight. So far my favorite pack has been seasons, so I think Holidays will just add to how much I love seasons.

^ That's the only part of the game I don't have. I don't do holidays in game mainly because the weird time scale in game and also how it feels weird playing Christmas when IRL it's actually June, for example. The last point sort of goes for seasons as well, but not quite as much.

I love the holiday pack, when I got it they had it for download in two parts, the holiday party pack and then a mini pack to update that when they released the Holiday edition. I paid £3 to download them, so they were good value too!

I probably love Seasons and Bon Voyage the most; the new locations that Bon Voyage gives, as well as the homely items that Season gives (I also love Plantsims) makes my game so much more interesting!!

Also, Nightlife gives cars.. and Downtown. I love Downtown :')

K and B is good because the sims can walk around in bath robes and there is also kitchen clutter.

Hmm now that the only thing I don't have for Sims 2 is Happy Holiday Stuff, I'd like to get it. All of my towns are on the same day of the week and the same season. So maybe every 2nd night of winter mine could celebrate Christmas and on the last night of winter New Year's. What do you think of the features that come with this pack?

Hey there, I am looking into Bon Voyage for a change of sims scenery. Those who have Bon Voyage, do you use the vacation feature, if you don't was the added content/interactions worth it? I hear it has a bunch of neat new items plus dances and massages, plus beach lots. Also a mini-game/goal of collecting souvenirs which I consider intriguing fun. Did you have a lot of issues with it? Were there problems when you installed it? I read the MTS2 bit on Bon Voyage, and list of known bugs. What are your annoyances with the expansion?

I play my sims rather family-oriented so I suppose going on vacations would be a good activity for my sim families, plus they have sort of an...er overabundance of money and it seems like vacations would help deal with their excess by having them consume products. How expensive are the vacations usually?

When I got BV, it turned out my graphics card was not compatible and I could not play it. That was a bummer, but it was about time to change it anyway so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. But yeah, as with any EP/SP, make sure you can actually play it before you get it.

I would say vacations are very not expensive. I had my rich Sims take their friend's kids on a vacation, staying at a medium priced hotel, and I think the bill ended up at 12k or so for 6 days (total of 8 sims, with four rooms I believe). There are more expensive hotels, so it could be more but n the end it depends on what you consider expensive. I wouldn't mind it being quite a bit more pricey.

As for your question of the actual thing. I personally play vacations quite often and I think they really add something to the game. I do like going for all vacation mementos, but apart from that I just really like being able to take my Sims on a break somewhere different. I really enjoy Beach lots, as there is somtehing so... vacation-y over them. However, I'd say that is the main selling point if you don't actually go on holidays. I very rarely use BV-items outside of vacation lots.

But, if someone asked me "should I get it?" I would say heck yes. Vacations are great, and I am very glad I ended up getting all games as that means I don't have to think when I download custom content.

Looking at your profile Charmful, I would get Free Time or Apartment life before getting BV - if you can only have one. Otherwise my advice is to always to get all of them. This is an old game and EA may suddenly just stop making any new copies. Also remember many known bugs were long ago fixed in the patch or by modders. The main problem BV gave was too many sims and sporning heaps of tour guides and the like which is all fixable. I don't use the vacation side of the Ep very often myself, but it came with beaches, tents, walk to lot and digging for treasure, all of which I use a lot.

I totally forgot that it introduces walk to lot. Best feature ever. I NEVER use the taxi, because quite frankly, why would you wait for a taxi when you could walk and it doesn't tire your own legs? =P

I would probably also get AL before BV. Torn about Freetime, as hobbies drive me bonkers. It does come with great things for kids though, so if one loves kids/toddlers, FT is a must I guess.

gummilutt , you can mod out the annoying hobby people if that what annoys you with FT.

Thanks for the advice Gumm and Joan. Unfortunately I cannot even get FT or AL because I play sims on Mac and they never released Mac versions of those EXPs. So BV is the only one left I would be interested in (not very interested in OFB) But I will have to check to see if my compter can play BV. I have a 2009 Mac and the BV came out in 2007/2008 I do believe so it SHOULD be fine with my graphics. However I will need to find the patch because I did hear it was a buggy exp >.<

Thanks for the tip, but it's not hobby people, it's hobby wants. The day I find a mod that disables hobby wants for all Sims I will be a very happy person



I felt the same way, and did not get it until after deciding I wanted all for the sake of custom content and I managed to buy a used copy. I always thought it seemed crazy boring and stupid, but I really enjoy it. Running businesses is fun, and I really dig being able to decorate my house with self-made flowers, as well as giving special toys to my sim kiddies. Not saying you should get it, just thought I'd share

Sucks @ mac and not being able to get latest EPs. That's very mean.

I didn't want OFB and then I got it for the sake of completeness and kids dancing on feet, and I changed my mind. Running the businesses is a game-within-the-game and having businesses owned by playables adds a while new level to my beloved community lot visits; plus more time to spend with my favorites.

This doesn't impact me much directly as I have more neighborhoods than I can play now, but without OFB you can't do a BACC or a Megahood.

Plus - kids dancing on feet!

Vacations are also more time spent with favorite sims, plus beaches, plus Walk to Lot. Walk to Lot is wonderful, especially if you're running a small town.

Thanks for the additional input; maybe someday I will get a craving for a sense of completeness and get it, but at this time I just can't get myself excited enough to buy OFB for that sake. I do find myself excited for Bon Voyage though, I was youtubing play-through videos at 1 am and doodling out which sims should take their first vacations and where when I get it

Just installed BV myself for the very first time. For years, I refused to buy it because of Securom. But my computer already is Suckurommed, thanks to an Ubisoft update my husband downloaded for a Securom v.7-free game. I finally decided that I already saw the harm it did (disabled a good chunk of one program, and made another sluggish). Time to satisfy my curiosity and buy a used copy (Sorry, EA ... I am NOT going to reward you for being a jerk. Had you done the right thing, I would definitely have bought a hard copy from you. Oh ... wait ... do you even sell hard copies anymore?)

It IS a great deal of fun! My daughter is annoyed because Mom keeps hogging the game. Oops. Still working out the features, though. And yes, the walk feature is great.

I hope to buy FT later. I would have wanted to buy both at the same time, since it would have made sorting the hacks out much easier, but money is tight. I'm still saving up to refurb the old computer.

However, I read that AL had problems with many CC hacks? That makes me wary to buy it. Sorting those hacks can be a real PITA.

As for patches, Charmful, a few sites have them. I couldn't find the one site mentioned here (need more caffeine), so followed a Sims WIki link and downloaded mine off SimsVIP.com. I scanned it for malware first. It appears to be clean.

I'm not aware of AL being particularly persnickety with regard to hacks. My game is very heavily hacked, and I don't recall having to drop any of them when I installed AL. I just updated what needed updating, and that's all it took.

Many people dislike Bon Voyage but i LOVE it.
You will have a lot of fun if you play with a family (playing with a single sim might get boring). Just remember to take care of 'em while they are at the same time enjoying their vacation! It comes with a loth of cute and cozy lodge-furniture and beach-lots!
Just don't have to high expectations..

At the moment I only have Nightlife and the Celebration SP (because I bought Double Deluxe), but the only EP I feel sure that I don't want is Seasons. I think this is partially because I have started playing The Sims during an unusually long and cold winter, and it was nice to go to Veronaville where it was always a benign gentle summer and everyone could, if they wished, go round in their swimwear all day! Most of my Sims eventually get a Love Tub (even if they don't want it for romance, it's a free hot tub!) and visitors invariably make a bee-line for it. Without Seasons, they can sit in it all day, every day!

All that Seasons seems to offer, would be to add things to make life unpleasant for my poor little Sims! Like having to put on warm clothes before they could go out (just like me!), and rain! Even in summer, they run the risk of sunburn, or, if they sit in the love tub, they're likely to be struck by lightning!

About the only positive thing I can see is gardening.

Yes, some realism is ok, but I want some escapism too! Let's keep the fun!

Oh, but with Seasons you get playing catch, and snowmen (including evil snowmen), and the penguin, and water balloon fights, and snow angels, and snow days off from school, and gardening, and juice recipes, and ladybug houses, and fishing, and seasonal changes to the want trees, and...

Besides, you can set the seasons. If you want it to be constantly spring in Veronaville, you can. You only get struck by lightning in hot tubs if you're dumb enough to sit there when it's raining. You can get visitors out of the hot tub by sending a sim to interact with them.

I personally love weather, because real life has weather and there's so many fun details. Have parents rake up the leaves, and kids ruin it by jumping in the piles. Teenager building a snowman with younger sibling. I always arrange christmas dinner and presents in the winter, and in summer I have my Sims throw pool parties and bbq with friends/family. So much potential!

Also, I've been in love with gardening since I first got Seasons. If you combine it with a mod to make them stop eating when full, it basically means mostly any meal will fill them up entirely even if they were starving. Plus, juices are pretty neat.

If you don't want weather and it's affects, Mootilda has a hack to make temperature constant and another to remove weather on all lots. And like Peni says, if you don't want winter then you remove winter from that neighbourhoods season cycle. For example, Twikki islands only has summer by default, and Three lakes has autumn and winter I believe.

I'd give Seasons a chance if I were you =) Think of all the cool outfits Andrew gets an excuse to buy. Fashionable winter jackets, and light autumn jackets, even spring time wear!

And the Ottomases! How could I forget the Ottomases? Don't let their rep deter you - they're perfectly safe if you patch Seasons before loading the game with it installed the first time.

My favourites are Seasons and Apartment Life. The weather really adds a nice layer of depth to the game. I've not really tried out the gardening yet. But more careers are always welcome.

My least favourite is OFB, mainly 'cause I just simply don't know how to run an effective business, and I'm too impatient to learn.

I like almost every EP, but I actually never use pets.

I love every expansion and stuff pack. Even pets, I don't get what people dislike about it. It may not have came with much but what it did is good, in my opinion. I love breeding pets, teaching them tricks, having companions, them earning some extra cash, and the reptiles you can download on here are awesome! I just wish it came with other pets, like horses or something.

Could people help me, I'm finishing my Final Year Exams soon and would like to buy myself a new Sims game. Which is something I've always done at Universityn since I learned about the Sims during my first year. Now I have all the EPs, and I have the following SPs: Festive Holiday, Glamour, K & B, Ikea and M & G.

I would like to eventually complete my Sims series (Don't plan to go to the Sims 3 and not sure about the Sims 4), I was just wondering what SP would add more gameplay to my storylines, for those of you who don't know me I'm the kind of sim player that has my sims tell me the story and I'm all about story telling. So of the following which one would you suggest?:

1. Christmas Party Pack
2. Family Fun (though I heard it requires a patch, will this SP conflict with Inteen or ACR)
3. Celebration
4. H & M
5. Teen Style

Now if you suggest that I shouldn't get any, then that's fine too.

Thank You

First of all, I agree, get all EP's and SP's, don't leave out any!

Second, about Family Fun Stuff: I don't know about ACR, but I can ssure you that it doesn't conflict with Inteen, as for the patch, you can still get them from either simsprograms (it has a new name now) or even from MTS here.

Third, I repeat, make sure you get all EP's and SP's, that is, when you are financially capable of doing so. Now, if you want to buy the SP's one by one, and if you want something that tells you more about your sims, I think you should either get first:

Teen Style Stuff: Consists of Goth, Gamers (or whatever they're called) and Socialites themes, both for clothing and furniture. The TV that comes with this SP, I use it a lot!

Family Fun Stuff is made as if your sim parents want to spend some quality time with their kids, which is why they have matching out first for all ages, in addition to that, children get the princess and themes clothes.

Christmas Party Pack adds more towards the religious theme. If that helps with any of your families' backgrounds.

H&M mainly concentrates on clothes, hardly anything for your sims' homes, in terms of furniture. And Celebration SP just adds more towards the Party section of Buy mode, the deco's are amazing, just make sure you know what you're doing when decorating a place for your weddings, but hardly a nything that will tell more about your sims.

If you are into stories, I'm going to make the conclusion that themes and things would help you improve those stories. From that list, I would get christmas pack first. I personally love it, specially when combined with Seasons. Where I live, christmas stopped being a religious matter many years ago so I don't feel it adds a religious touch to the game. It just gives my Sims the ability to celebrate christmas with their kids, and have a house that is full of seasonal decorations. It's always added a lot to my story, and I'm really glad I have it.

After that I would get either family fun or teen style, because those are kind of the same thing only for children or teens. It will give you the chance to make themed rooms for your kids/teens, which could enhance or clarify the personality of the Sim in the story you are playing/making.

H&M is indeed mostly clothes, but out of all the EPs and SPs, those are the only Maxis made clothes I tend to use. It would largely depend on preference if one uses it or not, but I find it has great things for my more down to earth Sims. Celebrations is probably my least favorite EP, because for weddings I tend to prefer custom content. However, for a story if you take pictures there is a lot of useful material.

Summarizing:
Christmas pack - Get it if you like the idea of having your Sims celebrating christmas and having a house full of christmas things
Family fun - Get it if you like the idea of giving your kids themed rooms
Teen style - Get if i you like the idea of your teens having more teen-focused furniture and more defined rooms
H&M - Get it if you like H&M style clothes and want to have more Maxis clothes to use
Celebrations - Get it if you like arranging weddings and feel you need more props for it, such as themed chairs, tables, and stuff like wedding banners/balloons

I REALLY love them all, to be honest.

My favorite expansion packs from most favorite to least favorite:

1. Seasons
2. Apartment Life
3. FreeTime
4. Nightlife
5. University
6. Bon Voyage

Don't have Pets (though I have Pet Stories) or Open for Business, but if I had OfB, I'm pretty sure it'd be my favorite since it's awesome.

And... stuff packs.

1. Mansion & Garden Stuff
2. Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
3. Ikea Home Stuff
4. Festive Holiday Stuff
5. Glamour Life Stuff
6. Teen Style Stuff
7. Celebration! Stuff
8. Family Fun Stuff

I don't have H&M and couldn't care less for it, lol.

I feel that OFB is a very underrated EP. It's one of my favorites because even though it doesn't have too many hairstyles and objects, it lets you customize a huge portion of your neighborhood. You're not limited to certain types of businesses. It all depends on how creative you want to be. You can make fake hospitals just by plopping the medical career reward object onto a community lot and setting scrubs as a uniform for your employees. You can create an office, city hall or any other type of building where you want certain sims to show up. Without OFB you're stuck with NPCs in community lots. I think it's more fun to send one of my sims to a restuarant and be served by another sim I created. Perfect for storytelling.

I have to agree. OFB is underrated, but I think I know why. You don't quite realize how awesome it is until you try it. I was never motivated to get it, because I thought it sounded awful. It just wasn't an EP I felt I needed. The only reason I ended up buying it was because I found an SP I wanted second hand, and that person also had OFB at a very cheap price. I figured since I was going there to pick up the SP, and OFB was only 5 dollars, I might as well get it for completion.

Now it is tied for second favorite with BV, only beaten by Seasons. I love everything about it. I agree with Original Sim, it's more fun to send your Sims to a community lot you made that is run by your own Sims. I don't care much for restaurants (yet), but I like being able to sell anything, instead of being limited to the very few items that EA included.

Here is my ranking:

1. UNIVERSITY: The first one I bought and still my favorite. Although university may be a bit repetitive, I like it. It's definitely not anywhere close to WoW's daily quests!

2. APARTMENT LIFE: The EP that got me back into Sims. Witches are a blast to play!

3. SEASONS: Fall skill bonus. That is all.

4. OPEN FOR BUSINESS: I can't say anything about OFB that hasn't been said already. It's fun. Very fun.

5. FREETIME: Lifetime Aspiration Rewards. As someone who likes to play aliens, I like the Knowledge Lifetime Rewards, and am still trying to figure out how to mod the Summon Aliens reward into TS3.

6. NIGHTLIFE and BON VOYAGE (tied): I've never really gotten into either of these EPs. However, they have to be better than...

8. PETS: You can't control the pets! You can in TS1; you can in TS3! Why not in TS2?

9. ALL STUFF PACKS: Come on. It's EA. There's going to be a money grab. This is it.

PSDuckie: You CAN control pets, with "boolprop controlpets", which oddly also lets you control roommates (from Apt life).
Actually, I like Univ the least, hardly ever use it or vacations (Bon Voyage), love Pets and Seasons.

I was bored so I'm gonna rank the expansion packs again.

1. Seasons
2. Freetime
3. Apartment life
4. University
5. Nightlife
6. OFB
7. Bon Voyage
8. Pets

Without hacks that makes the time on the university shorter, it would be 6th.

I see all these comments about pets. Why? I love it so much!
But here's how I see it.

EXPANSION PACKS
1. Freetime. I think its very fun to make your own clothes in game, alot of new hobbies, and stuff for your sims.
2. Seasons. I think its great having a garden, and well, seasons! I love fall the most (my birthday is in fall LOL) But that's not the reason. I love seasons.
3. Bon Voyage. I always thought It was cool that our sims can go on vacation. Seasons + Bon Voyage is a great mix!
4. Apartment Life. I love this pack, cause I think its cool that our sims can live in an apartment and FINALLY brush teeth. LOL.
5. Pets. I LOVE PETS! I love pets in real life, and I think my sims is uncomplete without this pack. You can control with the cheat "boolprop controlpets on".
6. University. I don't see the point of this one. I mean yeah, they go to university and have phones but I don't like it.
7. OFB. I never ever EVER liked this one. It feels so dull. My sims always fail on this business thing. I don't like this one. AT ALL.

STUFF PACKS
1. H&M. I love fashion and both H&M so this is a total yes!
2. Teen Stuff. Its pretty cool cause all of the fashion that our teens get.
3. IKEA Home Stuff. Finally some cool stuff for our sims' houses.
4. Kitchen & Bath Interior Design. Its cool, I guess. For the bathrooms and kitchens.
5. Mansion & Garden Stuff. Yeah, I like this one. Stuff for my Mansion.
6. Celebrations!. I don't like this one. Its just for weddings. I don't see the point.

definitely get open for business, definitely get pets. seasons is pretty good too. it can slow your game down though. the next ones i would get would be whichever ones add the most content and interactions, and i dont know that. im not sure what all freetime adds, but if it adds hobbies id get tht cause it feels cool to have a hobby.im just not too sure how much stuff it adds or how much hobby stuff. bon voyage is good, i like collecting things from the vacation site. i guess that leaves apartment life and university. i would get university because i want to be able to have a young adult.


edit: a reason i like hobbies is because it can help fill your aspiraton meter in little bits at a time that look realistic, like blogging about cooking or talking about cooking as a hobby. another thing is if youre a cook or have another job, you can get to the top of enthusiasm for that thing, like cooking, and it gives you aspiration points too. as well as just being the most interested in like cooking. i forget what its called when you reach the top of wanting to know about your hobby. but thats what it is. it isnt a major addition but if i have to have freetime its a nice one to have.

i think you guys arent being too creative with your pets. try getting two pets that look well together. also, cant you control them to do things once you have them trained? i read. somewhere

if you had to not get one i guess i would say not get bon voyage, cause i dont thik it adds tha many new interactions. m not sure how many objects it adds. collecting vacation items is cool.

university adds too many interactions and objects to not get, being the first ep. also sometimes you want to see your sim as a young adult and give them a longer life and just experience it. with seasons you really want the get leftovers interaction. open for business and pets are also essential to me. nightlife adds a bunch of interactions and objects.

i just get two dogs that look good. i like having them run around while im doing stuff like running a business, or if im at work. i like to make the have puppies sometimes too. i like the interactions between cats and dogs too. i dont know what the big deal about having pets is. i usually get a boxer girl and a terrier pit guy they look great together

This won't be hard at all.
1. Nightlife- This is my absolute favorite EP for TS2 of all time. The comeback for The Sims: Hot Date. Dating, downtown, outings with friends, night clubs, restaurants, vampires, bowling alleys. This EP really brought the sims out of their quiet suburbs to the alive and fast-paced downtowns of SimNation. The Nightlife is so bright and lively, there's always new downtownies to meet, date, and even fight with. I know it looks like I'm just giving a basic review of it, but this expansion just has a special place in my heart. I love it.
2. University- Something that just wasn't in TS1, I had doubt in this expansion, but they did not fail to please me. Campus life is just something I never even thought could be possible for The Sims. But it was, when I first got it, I even graduated 6 sims from college in the first week I had it. Something in this expansion just makes it so addictive, but I don't know what it is...
3. Open For Business- Something new, it was really enjoyable. The best part of this expansion is that you are actually pretty connected to your customers, pursuading them to buy expensive things was all I ever did. Haha. Didn't really bring any glitches or bugs, cool expansion.
4. Freetime- A pretty interesting expansion, it felt like the sims had things that they were ACTUALLY interested in. Their hobbies really brought character to our sims. Awesome expansion, but not better than OFB.
5. Apartment Life- Apartments, I never really was interested in the apartments at all. I thought they were nice, but honestly nothing awesome came with this expansion except for the reputation ( Something that should have been in the base game) and magic. If there was a The Sims 2: Makin Magic, I wouldn't have even looked twice at Apartment Life.
6. Bon Voyage- I'm not a fan of traveling, but I just had faith that something cool would come with it. Nothing did. I really don't have much to say about it, I just don't think I should have even bought it.
7. Seasons- A very overestimated expansion pack in my opinion, it added something that should have been in the BASE GAME. Nothing else. I also hate the temperature system with a burning passion. I also hate how sims stop what their doing just for the silly "It's ( Current Weather ) ing " autonomous action. Sims have these clothes that they HAVE to wear outdoors during the winter? I've uninstalled this expansion.
8. Pets- No. Uninstalled it after I went through all of the features, I didn't really install it for the pets though haha but I just wanted to see if there was a little more besides the pets. Nope, there really wasn't imo.
On to stuff packs. I've only bought two, but the only one i'll really ever recommend to anyone is Teen Style Stuff. It adds much more character to your teen sims. I love it. ^^

Nothing else?!?!? How do fishing and gardening count as "nothing else?"

I, of course, love all of them. I'm kind of glad I didn't install them all at once, though, as some of my characters would have developed differently with OFB or Freetime installed. Plus I had plenty to learn all at once.

I think Seasons is my favorite (because of Plantsims. I actually have a mod to turn the weather off). OFB is a close second (servos). My least favorite is BV because it has so many bugs (they couldn't get WA for TS3 right either, it seems).

Best to Worst:
Seasons
OFB
Nightlife
FreeTime
Pets
AL
University
BV

I have almost all the EP's. Pets is my least favorite though. Only because you get your hopes up to have pets, then you cant control them. (You with a cheat but thats the only way) I also dont think the animals are very "realistic" looking. My favorite ep is either apartment life or seasons. They are both wonderful. I love the witches in Apartment Life and in Seasons for me it brings the game to life.

So I managed to acquire every Sims 2 EP and most of the SPs only to be forced to switch to Windows 8 and losing the ability to play. I finally broke down and got Sims 3, and having to decide which EPs to get made me think about the ones I had for Sims 2.

In order of favorite to least favorite:

Seasons: This is by far the best expansion pack, at least based upon my play style. I love having the seasons, just because it makes everything so realistic. Plus, it helped me remember and keep up with my neighborhood rotation. The gardening feature was fun, and I liked a lot of the collections that came with this EP, especially the country kitchen and bedroom. If I could only keep one EP installed, it would be Seasons hands down.

Freetime: This was the second to last EP I got, but I wish I'd purchased it sooner. (I went pretty much in release order.) The addition of hobbies made me feel more connected to my sims, and I really liked being able to choose more about their personalities/lives this way. It also made kids more enjoyable for me, just because they got some cool items and you could make them ballet stars or super scientists. The perks system was nice, too. Picking two aspirations really fleshed my sims out.

Apartment Life: This was the last expansion pack I got, and I really liked it. I used apartments a fair amount, especially in University mode. I also liked all the furniture and build mode tools we got. The witches were just okay - they could have done so much more with them - but overall this is a great EP.

Open For Business: This used to be my least favorite until I downloaded a mod that made community time count like real time. (As in, when you returned to your home lot, time would pass.) Suddenly I loved OFB. It's a nice challenge when you get bored with the game. The clothes from this EP are awful, though.

Nightlife: To be honest, I got double deluxe so this came with my base game. It's hard to think about it separately. The cars are nice, but they don't really add any benefit other than that you don't have to hear the carpool honking at you. I hate all the terrible clothes from this EP and would rarely play a Downtown sub-hood because I hated their townies. Just kind of meh as an EP.

University: I had to hack my game just to make Uni bearable. It's too long, IMO, and the "cute" features like the streakers and the cow mascot get old so, so fast. The new careers were nice, and I don't remember hating the clothes or furniture. It's an expansion pack I can kind of take or leave.

Bon Voyage: I would actually probably say that I like the gameplay of Bon Voyage better than Uni, but I'd leave Uni installed over Bon Voyage just because I used the college system way more than the vacation system. The vay-cays were fun, and I loved planning honeymoons. But they don't actually do much in the long run, and the clothes/furniture/SINGING from this game suck.

Pets: Look, I don't hate Pets, but if I had to uninstall an EP this would be the first one to go just because I don't think it adds much. The pets are nothing to write home about. And I'm not even complaining - after all, it's a Sim game, not a pet adoption game - but this EP is just underwhelming. The dogs and cats are a nice feature but nothing essential, and the pet decor just clutters my catalogue.


...on to stuff packs. I never bought a SP on it's own: they all came as packs with the EP. There wasn't a single one that I would ever purchase by itself because custom content is usually better than what they supply. Still, in order of most to least favorite:

H&M: This had some pretty cute clothes, and I love love love H&M. This pack did an awesome job in making cute but realistic clothes for men. I always struggle with finding interesting male clothing, even with custom content. If I was ever going to buy a SP, this would be the one to consider.

IKEA: I guess the branded stuff packs are the best because they're based on real objects instead of the weird stuff EAxis creates. Again, I used the furniture here a lot. The one bad thing is that the objects had low comfort/sleep/environment scores, but I guess that's realistic for IKEA. It's cheap for a reason.

Teen Style: This had some of my favorite male outfits and hair. Plus you can find some neat adult and child conversions of these clothes around the site. I even liked the socialite and surfer furniture sets.

Celebration: I didn't have parties much, but when I did this pack was useful. Also, weddings. I don't know how you could have a good wedding without this pack. The clothes were lovely, too.

Kitchen and Bathroom Design: It's always nice to get more stuff for your kitchen and bathroom, though I feel like this SP offered less items. The hairs and clothing were terrible. Would've rather they skipped the CAS stuff altogether for more furniture.

Mansion and Garden: I would rank this higher, I'll bet, if I built more houses. Usually, though, I just download pre-built ones, so a lot of the features of this pack didn't get used much by me.

Family Fun: UGH. Nothing good came from this pack. Every now and then I'd use the space or castle bedroom collection for my kiddies, but mostly I avoided the clothes and items like the plague.

Never got Glamour or Holiday packs because they weren't included in any of the bundles. XD

At the risk of sounding unoriginal, I think the Seasons expansion pack is my favourite too. The weather was the one BIG thing that was different from the Sims 1 and made it seem more real. Also now Sims 3 is here I do feel a bit disappointed that you can't venture out into the neighbourhoud without loading in the Sims 2 but with the seasons expansion pack you can do so many things outside on the same lot that it doesn't really matter as much.

So, I've been looking to get one or two expansions to add to the game in the near future due to the fact that base game + Nightlife is going to get kind of... well, boring at some point. I'm kind of limited to probably Seasons and before it, so I kept that in mind, and decided I want to get OFB as one of them. I've been considering Seasons, but I have an Intel 2000 card and I don't know if it can even run that. I've also been considering Pets and University - University because it has some cool objects and college sounds fun to play, and Pets because while it's probably the smallest expansion, you don't see a lot of people not with dogs or cats now.

So which one of these (Uni, Seasons, and Pets) would be worth grabbing with an Intel 2000 chip?

I only have Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 (yeah, not exactly recommended for HD or extra pretty graphics) and all my expansions run fine overall. But if you want to be extra sure, there's a website, CanYouRunit that scans your computer analyzing it's specs and all that fancy tech stuff before letting you know if a certain game will be playable on your computer. Only Seasons was claimed to not be playable on my computer. My solution? I installed Apartment Life before Seasons since AL passed with flying colors, and I'm able to enjoy the seasons (I only suffer some slow down during the transition to heavy snow fall, but nothing gameplay stopping).

Personally between the three both University and Seasons will give a dramatic change to your playing. I treat University as the dating and skilling pool for my sims, since there's plenty of time to go through that since working isn't required (especially after earning scholarship money, and collecting grants from good grades each semester) and the classes are 2-4 hours a day. After all your hard work your sim has an easier time reaching the top of their careers and lifetime aspiration. Oh, and you have the option to change your aspiration after Sophmore year when you do well enough too.

Seasons is cool since you can control the weather of each neighborhood (whether you want the seasons to go traditional, or have it always be summer/winter/fall/spring). I personally skip Spring because I usually have my sims in the hot tub and it's not my favorite thing to see the neighbors get electrocuted, or the butler rushing to call the fire department when the tree gets on fire only for the rain to wash it out 3 seconds later.. and that's just a taste on how much effect Seasons has. :P

Unfortunately, CanYouRunIt is bogus and will tell you the wrong answers. Don't rely on it.
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=346215

Seasons is the EP which will probably strain your computer the most. So, if you're concerned about destroying your computer, I'd recommend against Seasons.

I'm actually glad you contradicted me, since I didn't realize there was also this list of approved graphic cards for desktop computers in the same area that thread was posted in (this might help you Mr.Newbie if you're not on laptop?). Guess it wasn't shere luck that my computer could run Seasons and SIms 3 (not in the best way, but good enough) despite CanYouRunIt stating that it would not.

Well, let's say Seasons is out of the picture for a while because I don't want it to completely bog down this computer. What's better, Uni or Pets? I've heard Pets is the WORST expansion for the game, but I'm actually kind of interested considering I''m liking the idea of dogs and cats in my game (other than the god dang stray dogs mucking up the garden), but at the same time, Uni adds some really nice new objects and college to the game. I'm also a bit of a builder, so the expansion that comes with better objects is really the thing for me. I'm not ruling out Pets at all, it comes with a new pets set which could be nice for pets shop and a space set for kids, which'll probably be helpful for my kid Sims.

University does have some nice extra objects, and since you said you like building you'll have plenty of fun making your own sims dorms and future greek houses (and editing some already in place). You have more reason to get into your sims lives since it adds another age group, Young Adults. Teens will be able to go straight to college anytime, whether you choose to have them work hard and earn enough scholarships beforehand so they could live on their own on campus or with some locals in one of the dorms. Then once they're in college they'll have more time socializing then ever before. I explained a little in my last post, but I'll say it again that this is the best time to have your sims test the dating pool and exceed their skills.

Pets is an alright expansion on it's own, but you could go longer without installing it. The cats and dogs are cute, but after a while they're kind of just "there" once you train enough of them well. They're interactive, as in you can't fully control them since they do as they please. So you're left to either scold/praise their behavior to train them, but also play, pet and the other stuff like with real life pets. You could also send them to work too but I never since that's not why I would own a pet.

The storytelling possibilities of University are greater than those of Pets.

I'm sorry you have to rule Seasons out, since that and Apartment Life are my favorite expansions.
Anyways, if it's between Pets and University, that's a tough one. Here are just my opinions on the two:
University- I feel like this really adds a lot to the game. College is really fun, but there are a ton of things I dislike about it, which is okay because there are so many mods out there to customize it to your likings. First off, not all of my Sims go to college. If I have two Sims that are the same age, not life stage but born on the same day (everyday their meter's should match both saying 14 Days til Becoming an Adult and so on), and only one of them goes to college I want them to be the same age when the other Sim gets out of college. Teens last for 15 days and I believe Young Adults last for 32 or 24 days, not sure but I know it's longer than Teens. So if it bothers you, you have to figure out a system to keep their ages in sync. But everyone plays differently, so that shouldn't really affect you. College lasts really really long, which is why there are mods where you can shorten the semester, I changed mine to be 2 days per each semester and also got a Harder Grades hack. It's still pretty easy to get on Dean's List but now actually requires dedication. So college can get rather boring and tedious and sometimes you can't wait for it to be over because everyone will get straight A+'s and it takes a while so I suggest you get hacks to customize it. While at college your Sims can stay at a dorm, rental house, or greek house. Dorms are awesome because each Sim gets their own room and which I found out recently multiple Sims can room together! Houses are fun because it's just a normal home with no building limits. I am not fond of sororities or fraternities because I find it annoying to keep getting members and pledges. I'd like to work them more into my college system though. There's also a secret society which your Sim can get abducted into, but it's not really a big deal. But I really enjoy sending my Sims to college because I have a mix of houses and dorms, community lots, Sims can get engaged at this lifestage, WooHoo, and it just gives them more days to their life to do whatever they please, skill a lot more so when they're an adult they get promotions easily or just enjoy being a college kid. It also comes with cool items, my favorite being the Bubble Blower, which my sisters refer to as the Hookah Table, a fun thing in which Sims blow bubbles and get "high" by floating into the air- kind of reminds me of the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, not the one with Johnny Depp. Everything I disliked about this pack I changed with hacks, except for the annoying cheerleaders and mascots which bug me but I laugh at them because the way they barge in like everyone cares about their little cheer and costume is spot on just like the cheerleaders at my school lol. Also, I was only disappointed because when I got it I thought the new life stage was for everyone, like in Sims 3 where even if you don't go to college you become a young adult, can get married, and have babies. I just thought it'd be nice if they could have kids then because I feel like my adults get too old fast. 30 days isn't long enough as an adult. I wish I could find a mod just to lengthen the number of days as an adult to 40 or 50, but I failed to find one. So anyways, University is definitely a fun one for me with mods. Without mods though, I'd hate it.

Pets: That's really all. Just pets. Not much to it. But you can get cats, small dogs, or large dogs which are fun, you can do a bunch (not really a bunch, but enough for it to be worth it) of things with them. With cats, you can teach them tricks, train them, get them jobs, breed them (kittens and puppies are adorable!), play with them, and if you have Apartment Life and you have a Witch/Warlock with 5 witchcraft skill points or higher, you can summon a Feline Familiar which is a magical companion for your Witch. They have sparkles that follow the cat, the cat never ages, doesn't need a litterbox (it doesn't have a bladder meter), and doesn't have a gender- so you can't breed it. They're cool cats though. With dogs (both large and small) you can teach them tricks, train them, get them jobs, breed them (you can't mix large and small dogs, it has to be two small dogs or two large ones), play with them, and if you have Open For Business you should have someone make a Water Wiggler or buy one at a business because then the dog will wash itself. It's hard for me to wash my dogs sometimes because in a 2x3 bathroom (which most of mine are sized) it has to be set up properly or the dog cant get in the tub. Pets make nice companions for any Sim, you can have a "family pet", raise show pets, or breed them. I really like breeding pets, because the offspring are adorable, you can keep them, sell them for money, or give them away. My Ferry family bought two family pets, two large labradoodles Delilah and Hubert, who they bred three times. The first time they had two puppies, Lenny and Penny. They kept the boy Lenny and one of the daughters, Flora, gave Penny to her boyfriend's (now fiancé's) family. The next time they had one puppy Bruno in which they sold to the Piccolo family because the Piccolo's are wealthy and they're not as close with them. Now that the four Ferry children are at college, Aurora and Philip missed having children so they bred Delilah and Hubert one last time and they had one puppy Minnie which they kept. So I thought it was cute to breed them, but I like variety of different breeds and only breed purebreds so I don't breed them too often so I can have different kinds of dogs and cats. But also, if you're at college you cant have a pet unless you're a witch so then you can summon your Feline Familiar. Instead of having a dog or cat, you can purchase a womrat, bird, or fish from the catalog which are cool to have. If you do get Pets, there's a download here on MTS where you can get lizards, squirrels, and other creatures in your cages. Its really cool!

So if I had to choose between University and Pets, I wouldn't be able to do it. College is fun and awesome, but what big happy family doesn't have a beloved dog cherished enough to be in the family Christmas picture? I know, not everyone has pets, you don't need pets to be happy, and not everyone celebrates Christmas, but when I think of having a family when I'm older I can't picture it without a big goofy loving smart golden retriever in the house. So that being said, I change my mind. I would definitely choose Pets. But if you do get either Uni or Pets, make sure to get the University Life Collection or Fun With Pets Collection because it's still the same price but comes with two extra stuff packs. I ordered both of mine off of Amazon, and both were cheaper than $20 and in perfect condition. Just a tip

Actually you can breed a large dog and a small dog; but if the small dog is the bitch, the offspring will always be small.

Oh thank you! I never knew that. I tried to breed a small dog and large dog before but there wasn't an option so I assumed they couldn't have puppies but now I guess it was only because the relationships weren't good enough.

I'd just like to throw in my two cents for anyone looking for their next EP: I just installed Seasons last night and it is wonderful. I've been playing TS2 on and off since around 2008, and lately only play for about a week at a time every six months because I find it hard to stay interested in the game. (I'm kind of a micromanager, so surprises don't happen often in my game.) However, weather adds a wonderful atmosphere to gameplay, and I love watching my sim curl up with a book during a thunderstorm (while her husband calls the fire station because their treadmill was just struck by lightning...) or splash around in puddles. I haven't gotten through a full rotation of seasons yet, but already this is easily my favorite EP. Nine bucks well spent.

Something is wrong with you.

My opinion:
1.Nightlife
-I love it because you have abillity to become vampire,go to nightclubs,restaurants,go on date..
2.Seasons
-It's awesome,I love weather,my sims are having fun fishing and gardening,plantsims seem like a good people..i mean sims.
3.Apartment Life
-I really like living in apartments.There are lots of sims around you,you can become witch/warlock..
4.Bon Voyage
-Travelling adds so much fun!When I'm bored I always send my sims
on vacation!And I love beach lots :D

From most favorite to the least:
1. Apartment Life - love the possibility to live in apts and witchery is so much fun!
2. Nightlife - I adore the Downtown! My Sims spending a lot of time there, hanging in the night clubs.
3. Seasons - I doubt if I would still play the game without this one at all. It's so great having the weather and season change!
4. Open for Business - many of my Sims are running their own businesses and quite successfull in this. My favorite business is Beauty Salon and also I like the Servos.
5. FreeTime - Hobbies are really adding a lot to the gameplay, IMO.
6. Bon Voyage - I rarely send my Sims to vacation locations, but in a whole I love to have such a possibility. The main thing I like about this EP is jewellery, added to CAS.
7. University - I have it, but don't play it at all.
8. Pets - the same as above.

Favorite EP: Nightlife. I like all the features it adds, like driving cars and going out on dates. I also love the decor that comes with it.
Favorite SP: Mansion and Garden. I like all the beautiful build and buy mode objects it adds.

Least Favorite EP: Seasons. I bought it because I thought the idea of seasons and different weather was pretty interesting. I ended up getting rid of it because weather in the game ended up being more annoying than fun.
Least Favorite SP: Family Fun Stuff. Glad I got it with the Fun With Pets pack because I never would've purchased this separately. I think it's more for people who like to play Sim families a lot.

Here's my list from favorite to least:
Seasons I love that the weather change instead of the occasional raining here and there. I could do so much while filming/taking pictures. It just set the mode for a scene.
Nightlife CARS! I've have downloaded so many cool cars. It just went reflected my sims or their location really well.
Bon Voyage My sims had to call the nanny over plenty of times to get a break from the real world.
Apartment Life I like how I don't have control over every that's literally under one roof. Some reactions could be spontaneous.
Free Time I love that there were more things for the sims to do.
Open For Business My sims could own their own business.
Pets Pets added furry family members to the bunch. They were cool.
University I found it difficult to film especially with the limited time. It was alright.
Stuff Packs Um...they were cute for extra decorations, especially the Christmas stuff pack

I've only got 3 expansions, but I'll rate them anyway!
Seasons: seasons is my most recent expansion, and I have to say it's the best so far. I love the seasons so much! It gives me a sense of real life to the game. I also love looking for the little penguins that come by my house. Another thing I enjoyed was that in the pool you can now see their shadows. It's just a small thing, but I like it. And don't even get me started about the leftovers. My sims shall never waste food again!
Pets: Even though I've seen a lot of people give it negative reviews, I wouldn't enjoy my game as much without pets. I bought it with my original game and I really love it. Maybe it's just because I'm an animal person, but single sims are just boring without pets.
Nightlife I got nightlife in double deluxe, which came with the base game, nightlife, and celebration stuff. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. The only thing I really like about it is the dating system. Some other elements of it are just plain annoying. I absolutely cannot stand the gypsy matchmaker. You pay 5,000 simoleans and hope to get the man of your dreams. Instead, you get an old man who's rich. It's great that he's rich, but not so great that he's old. Waste of simoleans, if you ask me.

I've been debating on the next expansion to get. I'm trying to decide between Bon Voyage, Apartment Life, and University. What do you guys recommend if you're choosing between those?

Read back through the thread a bit and find out what excites you. It varies so much by playstyle, and we don't know anything about yours.

I love University because it slows the pace right down for me and I can play big households full of students, making connections, working out storylines, setting up storylines, doing epic love dramas, etc. A lot of people are bored by it, though, and if you're primarily a legacy player I can see that. (All that sticking to one family would drive me bonkers.) Bon Voyage allows beach lots and swimming in oceans - but the beach lots are finicky and can be hard to run, and certain new elements, like the dances and local gestures, spread virally throughout the hood and drive many people crazy. Apartment Life adds apartments, a reputation system, witches, and some of the cutest animations in the franchise - but a lot of people find the reputations pointless, the apartments glitch easily, and many were disappointed by the magic system.

Open for Business with a bullet.
I really only use Apartment Life for the ceilings (no M&G, but I hope to get a replacement one day) and Nightlife is great for the dating options.

I just started actually playing with my sims and I have to say Seasons is a great players EP.

My perfect AGS is Base/Uni/OFB/Seasons and AL + IKEA. If only building I leave Seasons out.

Apartment Life fo' sure. Even the classical dance alone makes me go squee.

For some reason I think Uni makes me go *sigh* because to me I think it's too slow. And plus the ugly dormies makes it even worse. I just can't interact with those big mouthed, wide eyed things. The only things I send my sim to Uni for is the extra wants and fears and locks.

University is kind of a must-have, (with mods that makes the time there shorter). New careers, lots of new objects and college is pretty fun!
Nightlife, oh my, a must-have too! (Well, almost every EP for The Sims 2 are must-haves). Cars! A new city that you can attach to any neighborhood and vampires and all of that! One of the best EP's.
OFB is fun, but don't expect too much of it. I still really like it although it feels like something is missing in the EP - strongly recommended though.
Pets - eh, if you can get this EP for a REALLY good price then get it otherwise - meh. (But careers for the pets are funny!)
Seasons - you haven't played The Sims 2 if you haven't played Seasons, I can't play without Seasons like omg. 10/10
Bon Voyage - A critizised EP but still one of my favorites, gives some nice change to your families.
Freetime - An EP with lots of great new content and all of that! It feels fresh and new in some way. BEWARE: Lots of ugly clothing you'll never give your sims and oh, you just made some breakfast? Your hobby is now food!
Apartment Life - I love love love this EP, a new city that gives you a great feeling. Apartments are technically just houses, duh. But still! Lots of new great stuff and some of the clothing are great!

Best to worst:
Seasons
Nightlife
Apartment Life
Bon Voyage
OFB
University
Freetime
Pets

I was uncertain whether to post here or to resurrect ZenGarden's I have always wondered thread from April / May 2013. Back then I was very undecided about trying to get further EPs. After some consideration though I've decided for the moment just to continue with what I've got, i.e. Double Deluxe (That is base game plus Nightlife and the Celebration stuff pack). The two EP's that attract me most are Open for Business and Pets, OFB because I would really like my Sims to be able to run their own businesses, and Pets because they've always been a big part of my Real Life.

The trouble for me with EPs is that they all come with things I want and with things I don't want. I'm definitely not into supernaturals, and every EP comes with another supernatural. I have successfully kept vampires and aliens out of my game so far, and have almost excluded ghosts. If I do get Pets, I don't know how easy it is to keep werewolves out too. I don't feel so bad about servos: I take that they're some kind of intelligent robots, and I suspect we shall have them in real life before too long. However I did read about someone getting electrocuted by a malfunctioning servo the other day, and I really don't want anything else that might kill my Sims, so I'd have to start looking for mods just to mod out the behaviour that the EP has introduced! (I like happy living Sims!) So I really have to ask myself, "Is it worth it?"

At the moment, compared with some of the things I read here, my game is quite stable and glitch-free. By and large I have the right versions of mods for my game configuration, and I don't know how long it might take me to find the right versions for a different configuration. Despite me having the Store Edition game engine of ill repute, my game is running well. So I think I'll just continue with what I've got, and expand my game slowly by adding CC. CC, unlike EPs, costs nothing and I get the things I want one at a time, and not bundled with a lot of things I'd rather not have!

One thing I've always thought the developers did really well was to make it possible for players who don't like the supernaturals to avoid them fairly easily. TJ's Visitor Controller makes it even easier, of course, by allowing players to ban certain sims/types of sims from ever appearing at all.

As to werewolves, particularly, they're hard to get when you want them. So you certainly don't need to worry about a sim being turned into one against your wishes. Even if you didn't play with free will off all the time, it's so unlikely a sim would spontaneously befriend the Leader of the Pack (and thus be eligible for the Be Nibbled interaction) as to be virtually impossible. And again, with the VC, you can ban the LoTP outright anyway.

In other words, get Pets. You'll like it.

eta: I like the supernaturals, in general, but Servos are not worth having, imo. Fortunately, they're probably the easiest "creatures" to avoid, because the creation of one has to be player-directed. Sims cannot autonomously make one, so you never ever have to even see one, if you don't want to.

In other words, get OFB too. You'll like it.

Everything you don't want, Andy, somebody else who could mod didn't want, either. Get them all when you can get them cheap, and install them one at a time as you get comfortable. When you find you don't want something, find the mod that gets rid of it.

I've been playing this game for three years now. I just got my first witch after working hard at it; I've never had a playable vampire or werewolf; I've never seen a zombie or a servo; I've never been in any danger of getting any of them. I didn't think I'd like running businesses, but I do.

And your Andrew and Gloria need pets! I'm certain of it!

I think you should worry less, but that's just my opinion. I don't understand the whole traumatized by something happening that can be undone by not saving, but to each their own. As Peni pointed out, supernaturals are not hard to keep at bay. I've never even seen a vampire in my game, and I had NL for years with no mods to keep them out. Servos don't exist unless you make them (takes forever to get gold badge, and forever to make one) so they are not going to attack you out of nowhere.

If you are worried about updating your mods, you could get AL (and preferably M&G) just to update mods to last EP and not have to worry about it when you add new games. I think all of them are worth having, and none of them are going to randomly assassinate your Sims as you seem to think they will.

I don't like supernaturals, I never had one, and I've not modded against them obsessively. The only ones I ever come across are witches, and you won't be turned into one against your will, and you can ban them if you want to, as Darby pointed out.

You can get the "Visitor Controller" from Simbology and do away with any and all types, vampires, aliens, whitches, married Sims, teens, child or any Sim in the game. The best thing about it is you get to chose who what where and when with this mod.
http://www.simbology.com/smf/index.php?topic=17.0

For me this is at the top of my must have mods.

Seasons, apartment life, bon voyage, and freetime are my all time fav expansions for sims2 I like them all but those are the ones that really added fun for me. I dont really care about pets. I think the sims 3 world adventures is as good as bon voyage but thats my opinion. Its more stuff to do but not as fun.

I now have all but one of the EPs (but only one SP) so here's my ranking of the seven EPs I have:

- Nightlife. Perhaps it's just because it's the first EP I got, or perhaps it's because I have a real thing for the vampires and cars and Downtown neighbourhood that comes with the game, but either way I love it. I'm not big on dating or the matchmaker, though.
- Apartment Life. I got it a few days ago and only installed it last night but it's incredibly good. I'd say even better than Nightlife but I haven't played it enough to know for sure, you know?
- University. While I hate the actual universities for taking forever to get through (the furthest I've ever got without using cheats is to junior year) the instruments and haircuts are great, and I kind of inexplicably like the young adult stage, though think it's a bit stupid there's no middle aged stage - a middle aged stage would make much more sense than young adult. And zombies are wonderful creatures.
- Freetime. I only got it a week or two ago but it's reignited my interest in the sims. I like having my sims participate in different activities together that previously couldn't be done, like basketball and soccer, as well as the hobbies.
- Open For Business. I probably like it just as much as Freetime. My sole reason for getting the game was for the Servos but the items that came with like the toy-making and robot-crafting stations made it for me - as well as the new wave music! Hearing Depeche Mode and Kajagoogoo rerecord their hits in Simlish is quite amusing.
- Pets.The pets are cute for a little while but are generally annoying, and it irritates me there aren't other small animals like hamsters, and that there are so few available things to do with the womrats and parrots. However annoying the actual pets are though, I think the werewolves redeem the game somewhat.
- Seasons. The only reason I installed it was for the careers and some of the items. The seasons are more of a pain than they are fun, there's nothing at all to like about the addition of temperature, and perhaps worst of all is the plantsims - by far the worst of the supernaturals imo.

NightLife, without doubt. It excels in most categories, even to the point of being too good for the series. NightLife's features could be seen in most game scenarios, without visiting a specific remote area (college or vacation). Most content was detailed, life-like and practical.

Cars and improved lot switching allows to closer integrate a neighborhood and more frequently extend play beyond the current lot. Compared to taxis, cars allowed sims and the player controlling them to feel in charge, unlike all the instances when he must wait for a script from a higher authority to push him around (carpool, taxi, vacation taxi/plane). Cars were almost non-simmy.

The best and most detailed neighborhood of all in my opinion. All community lots were different from one another. Precise construction elements have been used like sunken floors, most lots are well lit and some sport a perfect environment score. Even the more colorful lots seem realistic, unlike OFB fairy tale themed ones.

The highest number of custom sims. Many of them have custom faces, rather than copies of a template, only wasting memory. The Downtown introduction invites to meet these new people, which is truly possible. This category is important.

Practical clothing including unlocking of some teen outfits for adults, which allow teens to continue their lives. Most other EP clothing was impractical and ridiculous.

Well designed, practical and affordable residential housing, much better than those of previous game versions. The residential lots had clear borders and seemed finished.

I've been with all expansion packs for a while and can no longer tell which object came with NL. But I think it also introduced a number of brown/wooden furnishings and fences, not what you'd expect to find in a city. I could be wrong about this. These again can be used both in the well build residential homes, or in an upper class hood.

Dating, which was well guided with restaurants, which is the best and most organic method of eating out, beating the ubiquitos hot dog grill. I just can't court a mate or earn aspiration in college before the road to Downtown becomes repaired again.

Many, again practical, NPCs, which were always present Downtown, and filled it with life.

Few annoyances. Vampyres can be avoided, but it wasn't explained that they must not be allowed to bite, or the hood would turn to the usual random, unscripted chaos. Vampyres are completely avoidable unlike plantsims, lightning or wolf dogs digging holes.

Other expansion packs sorted by decreasing value: FreeTime, University, Voyage, Pets.

My biggest gripe with Seasons is that it doesn't fit into the sims model, which allows for many activities and delicate machinery to exist under an open sky, and its home design, where heating is not modelled, where occasionally walls do not fully enclose indoor space, and where routing and find best object () does not account for precipitation and the possibility of it.

Pets receives special points from me ranking higher than Seasons only because it had cute cats! Cats are the secret overlords, but I'm glad that Eaxis didn't approach this idea for the team would have made it ridiculous. Pets at times semed forced to the player, and weren't well integrated into the neighborhood. When a pet was on screen, it had the focus and showed everything it could do in a short period of time. I felt that I must have a pet house or a pet comm-lot or avoid them. The pet characters underutilized the potential of their modelling engine. As far as I understand, the entire pet body could be adjusted, unlike humans, but few or none or the premade pets had custom bodies. In this aspect Pets were the complete opposite of NL. The wolves all looked the same and were all too common. Kobe the cat receives a 10 out of 10 ofc.

I would have all expansion packs at all times, because even OFB unlocked some interactons, and others brought at least a few usable objects. The biggest disadvantage of having an expansion pack would be the catalogue cluttered with ugly items. Some expansion features broke the game, but it happened infrequently, (santa cookies being baked out of place, vacation greetings being performed in the city, hobbyists walking in a private home out of nowhere). Those could be modded out.

I haven't played Apartments long enough to rate it. Its few people didn't have as smooth faces as downtownies, and witches were a cheap rip-off Harry Potter with humour driven to 11 as usual. I can't rate the home design, and uncontrollable NPC roomies, well, is not my approach to play. Disappointingly, the pack didn't include a Universal Rentable Lot to model hotels, dormitories and apartments to allow more flexible designs (say, expensive dormitory with hotel doors). Some essential construction elements were added, to ease object alignment. Apartments broke portait generation, forbidding a sim to have a specific portrait and causing performance issues. Unless a major problem is discovered, I would rate AL together with University among the decent lesser value packs.

All stuff packs are a rip off. On a separate scale, the best SPs are Kitchen and Baths, which brought more variety to the common refrigerators and toilets and realistic, practical and expensive (at the same time) kitchen counters, and IKEA for more spartan designs, fitting cheaper lots, which must exist for variety and contrast.

Believe it or not, I almost agree. That's why I'm working on a little project, but I'm not telling anybody what it is and am not releasing it (note: not the big boss)

After all this time, I'm still on the fence about Apartment Life. I see that some of my favorite mods don't play nicely with it, though it seems that one or two sites have similar mods that may be just fine.

As I think I wrote before, I read all these horror stories about AL installation and gameplay problems. Someone wrote that the game needs to be online, and has limited amounts of installs. (I believe that is false now) Others wrote of baby-stealing butlers, disappearing furniture and CC problems. (Most likely, patching and mods can fix all of these issues, correct?)

I've left my decision in the hands of fate .... I am bid-watching right now on an auction site. If I get this, I'll play it. If not, I'll wait.

You folks here didn't seem to have that many problems with it. It seems that a whole lot of people like this EP, so it shouldn't be THAT bad ... right?

If I don't get AL, I'm debating between two SPs right now as a stocking stuffer: Celebration Stuff and Glarmour Life. I'm getting H&M and Ikea for Christmas, already have TS and K&B (really like the latter, BTW), don't see the point for M&G if I don't get AL, and have no interest at the moment in FFS or the holiday SP. Of Glamour Life and Celebrations, which is the one you folks prefer?

You can find just about anything on the internet, including silly stories about AL needing to be online (absolutely untrue, of course). I don't believe that a patched AL game is particularly buggy.

As with all EPs, patch. Make sure that your mods are compatible with the game and with each other. Look for critical mods like alfixes from MATY.

http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sims...mour_Life_Stuff
http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sims...ebration!_Stuff

For me I would get both then try to get the rest of them you don't have.

My mods and hacks are in their own folders, ready to test.

Of course, I would back up my current game and put it on disk, just in case something goes wrong. I know the mantra: "Back it up, back it up, back it up."

Patches would be scouted here immediately if I got the game. If I'm waiting for it to arrive, I suppose I could start finding known-incompatible mods and noting them as well.

If I don't win the game, yes .... those two SPs are pretty cheap used via the half/Amazon/auction route. I could get both.

So now, it's wait and see to see if I get this EP.

EDIT ... Didn't win the game, but got it even cheaper off Amazon. I got M&G and GL as well. The latter was selling for a really good price on half.com. I think I'll have to wait for any other SPs for a while, though .... I kind of overdid it. However, my family now has some perfect holiday gifts for me, whether they know or not. Let the fun begin come the end of December! (I hope!)

I've had a lot of money this christmas, and since both my University and OFB disc we're gone missing uninstalled I went to the mall to find OFB and University, I only bought OFB since I want to save my money for new clothing!

But I'm thinking about getting University too, it might be my last chance..

For me the BEST combination is Nightlife + Apartment Life, nothing more. I really like both of them. And one PRO of having AL is that you have the last engine of the game, that means that most of the mods from 2008 to the present(and most of the mods from 2005-2007 updated(or not)), works much better with AL than without it, and that most of the gameplay improvements from previous EP(marked as features) are included here to preserve compability.

You should notice that the more expansions you have, the easier it turns the game(therefore less fun), more annoys includes and the loading times are longer.

Some of the fixes that I use with NL+AL only :D:
http://www.megafileupload.com/en/fi.../Hacks-rar.html

I personally don't like any of the other EPs or SPs. The freetime one is the worst, spams here and there(suscriptions call, chance cards, warnings of losing or gaining enthusiams, humble, hobby liders visists, etc) , the best mod against all this spams is the one that disables the EP itself(or the uninstall boton). The LTA benefits are like mini cheats and the items are so big that you probably will not use them in a normal house. The genie is cool, but is the same a wishing more cheats.
-The EP Pets is dull.
-BV is dull and it doesn't fit with the original gameplay.
-Seasons is mostly decorative and laggy.
-OFB is timeconsuming and I don't think is cool either. The Perks, the facilitators items(more things for the casual gamer) and the big amount of mods required to pass my standards of quality(seriously there a lot of things that needs adjustments) are some of the things that I dislike about this EP. And there are some other things that I just don't get it either. Like starting a business in your home, then buy the Electrono-Ticket Machine, set low price and that is. People will pay you for nothing every hour.
-University is tedious and it reminds me that I should be studying not playing a game. The only good thing about University are some of the items like cellphones, mp3, minibar, etc. Nevertheless, If I want the 5,6,7 slot wants, without Uni, I use to buy the reward from the djsmirrorofwantingandlocks mod, for example, and that is.

Expansion Packs
 

Seasons would be the best choice IMHO, I love University and OFB but I think out of all of them, Season would be the best, that or Freetime!

I like Seasons the best, following with Pets. I finally installed Bon Voyage yesterday on a Windows 8 O.P. And I must say I don't know what all the excitement was about. I suppose I have the almost universal love/hate relationship with Maxis - I especially don't like the fact that when Windows 8 came out neither Microsoft nor Maxis did or have done little more than the proverbial hand job to we users that ended up with an O.P that doesn't support The Sims 2. or 3.
There IS a way to circumvent all the problems associated with installation, but only here at MTS will a person find the answers. They left us twisting in the wind and heaven forbid if your computer dies and you have to purchase a Widows 8.
I read that H.P is now selling computers with Windows 7 installed! Not that H.P is a great computer for the Sims 2 either, I've read H.P is in itself not a good computer for gaming. I've also read that Windows has included a fix in their Widows 8.2 O.S.
But as time goes on, computer makers are getting wise to the fact that Windows 8 doesn't support major gaming, and gaming is a big industry. People are also learning this fact and eschewing 8.
Anyway, I loaded all the the vacation places from Bon Voyage and was sad to see all the hotels, etc., are painted with the same dark and dull colors Maxis is so into. Whoever creates their lots ( I get the feeling) has some major depression going on! Even a child knows light colors are lifting, dark paint is depressing. I was also surprised at the few offerings of new furniture, etc., that came with the game.

I have Double Deluxe, Fun with Pets, and Bon Voyage. I love all of them equally, because each one adds onto it. But anyway, here's my review
Double Deluxe- I've always had cars in this game, so it'd be hard to imagine life without it
Fun with Pets- YAY! Now I can add puppies!! Oh and also, the family just isn't complete without a pet!! my personal favorite, now I've got something to ruin that nice new couch
Bon Voyage- unless you make your sims go on a honeymoon, or they're rich, so they travel alot, there's not much else to do with it.

Thanks; I've noticed recently that places still selling Sims 2 Expansion Packs are listing them at rock-bottom prices (I do check to make sure they're promising the full package, not a disc that's useless without the code), and I have been thinking about picking up Apartment Life over everything else while I still have the chance. I currently have Double Deluxe (includes Nightlife), so even if I don't get it at least I'll be able to say I had something above the base game.Not to mention the "walk to work/school" option or the downtown area.

Just want to add that a few hours ago I was finally able to buy a copy of Apartment Life, so I get to find out if it truly is my 'one other EP I can't live without.'

My favourite pack is
Apartment life - witches , apartements its perfect
nightlife - dating , a city , bars , clubs , karaoke , cars
Seasons - weather and cool clothes
Bon voyage - holiday!!!!!!!!
University- it is soo good

My favourite pack is nightlife
My least favourite pack is pets

Stuff packs
1 teen style
2. Ikea
3. H and M
4. Celebration
5. Kitchen and bath

I put a bit of thinking into this before replying, because it's quite a tricky question.
There are things I like and things I don't like (or that should be improved) about most of the EPs, so it's not easy to choose either the best nor the worst one!

Even so, my faourite one is Apartment Life. It really adds another dimension to my game... without adding many bothering new features to it.
I know many people dislike it, but I wonder whether it's just pure disappointment. Because, yes, I think it could have been done better. But it's already quite cool as it is.

My least favourite?
I would say Open for Bussiness because bussiness themselves were the least intersting feature for me in all the EPs.
But I must admit this is because now I have a shorter university mod -before that mod, I directly UNINSTALLED University, so it's a fair guess saying that my "unmodded" least favourite is clearly University.

Until 3 days ago I wasn't sure what I could live without (apart from CC) as I have all the Eps and Sps. Then I prepared for reinstall on a new drive and found I have lost Kitchen and Bathrooms. I also discovered that from all the Eaxis items these are the most used in my game. So my answer is, can't live without K&B and I am as surprised as everyone else.

My favorite EP is either Seasons or Freetime, my least favorite is Pets. My favorite SP is Ikea home stuff and my least favorite is probably Mansion and Garden. It slows down my game and I don't really use much from it.

Of the ones I currently have the order is this
EP:
#1 Seasons
#2 Nightlife
#3 Open for Business
#4 Pets
#5 University

SP:
#1 Mansion and Garden
#2 IKEA home stuff
#3 Celebration stuff
#4 Kitchen and bath
#5 H and M Fashion stuff
#6 Teen Style Stuff
#7 Family Fun Stuff

If I was uninstalling one I would uninstall University Life.

I am expecting 3 new games (Bon Voyage, Apartment Life, and Freetime) in the mail so my list will have to change at some point after I play them a little bit.

I don't have all the EPs. I only own University, Nightlife, Seasons, and Pets.

The one that made the biggest impact on how I played the game was Seasons. No matter what, I think that the weather creates an amazing atmosphere which really adds to the game. My least favourite out of the EP's I own would probably be Pets. It's not as exciting as the rest of the ones I own... not saying I dislike it or anything though I love having my little critters and companions.

If I could I would buy Open for Business.

Hi, I am a very enhusiastic player but cannot really make anything I seldom use cheats (actually,, I only use aging off/on and motherlode) and I have about 3 mods left in my game, because I don't like it to be too easy. However, I LOVE University! I have sent almost every teen in the neighbourhood to University, including the newspaper boys and girls, a bunch from BV etc. I like to have 3 dorms with 6 students each and not only do they keep you really, really on your toes, it's actually fun. My game crashed recently when I had 201 families - I just started over. I love Seasons and Free time, dont' like AL - those flats are way too tiny and the room-mate thing just irritates me. Don't like pets either! Had a lot of fun with Open for Business too, and I kind of like the families that come with that pack. I start a new neighbourhood with Uni, sending my sims there first. I have all the expansion packs but TSS, I think - just because I never found it in a shop.

I do like the classes townies in AL, though, especially the techies!

NL. If it was not for the cars, I would not have it. I dislike everything in it. I never create Downtowns (anymore) Vampires doesn't interest me IN this game, Crumplesmurf is just an annoyance, and there is probably more I dislike about NL, but I try to forget about it.

I have too many favorite ones, would be hard to tell which one really is.
OFB, Seasons, Pets, AL...yeah. those.

I like all of them, all EP's and all SP's for each one brings something different to the game.

Sims 2 best game ever.

My favorite EP has to be without a doubt Seasons followed by Nightlife.Love love the changing of the seasons, snowmen and snow angels. I absolutely positively wished I would have never installed Freetime. Even with the mods I still get annoying hobby phone calls. Open for Business is useless for me I never do anything with the businesses. Without mods Pets is annoying as well... mainly the bad pet behaviors (digging, destroying furniture, the constant barking outside the house). I tend to like all the stuffs packs.

Here are my favorite expansions packs.

#1 Nightlife: This is how the sims 3 late night should have been done. This expansion adds a plethora of new content. First of all it adds a whole new downtown section with plenty of bars, restaurants, and other lots to visits. There are also plenty of new objects (most of which can be used together, or by children) such as photobooths, bowling alleys, poker table, karaoke machine and djbooths. A few new interactions are added (smustle dance, romancing in cars, table interactions), as well as two objects that can turn a community lot into a fully functioning restaurant with chefs and waiters. A new chemistry system is added allowing sims to be more attracted to other sims based on their turn-ons and turn-offs, personalities, and more. Finally, Nightlife adds a fun dating/outing system, allowing your sims to get gifts based on how good their date is, and a grouping system allowing sims to easily group up and travel to community lots together. Special creature: Vampires.

#2 Seasons Adds four changing seasons which are lovely to look at and add a sense of progression to the sims world. Also adds a bunch of seasonal activities/new interactions sims can do with each other (waterballoon/snowball fights, building snowmen, marco polo, skating, catch.) Adds temperature to the world (with animations and consequences for sims that are too hot or cold) and a new outwear clothes section. Finally, the Seasons adds fishing which can be used to create new meals that fill up a sim's hunger bar quickly, and gardening which can be used to increase the hunger rate of meals, or used to create a variety of fruit drinks which help the sims in a variety of ways (cure/ help with colds, temporary increase in homework speed, energy boost, etc). Special creature: Plantsim

#3 Freetime While this expansion doesn't add as much new gameplay as some of the others, it has bunch of new interactions and and objects that are fun for the whole family. The main focus of Freetime is adding new hobbies that sims can partake in, and new interactions for each hobby (talking about hobbies, instructing in hobbies, collecting bugs, etc). A few of the more fun objects include: Don't wake the llama (4 sims can play), Violin (kids can use it as well), soccer and basketball (2 sims can play together), activity table (4 sims, kids or toddlers). Finally, the sims freetime adds a new lifetime aspiration bar, and new special benefits your sim can unlock for raising his lifetime aspiration bar higher (Based on his aspiration) including the ability to add a secondary aspiration to your sim.

#4 Apartment Life Living in apartments is really fun and different than regular homes because you are always surrounded by sims, and you don't know how they are going to interact with each other or with you. Apartment life also adds a a bunch of new objects and interactions such as swinging kids around, special greeting/gestures, (hi-five, kiss kiss darling, tough handshake, etc), new romantic interactions (dance kiss, suck face, etc), playground equipment for kids, standing microphone (sing, perform comedy or poems), mirror cabinet (brush teeth, wash face). Finally apartment adds a reputation system for sims, and witches (who have the ability to cast spells).

#5 Bon Voyage Three vacation destinations to explore with their own community lots and "local people." New interactions for sims (building sandcastles on beaches, sunbathing) some of which are learned during vacation and then brought back home and shared with family and friends (hula, Slap dance, Tai-chi, sea shanty, etc). New objects (log rolling, axe throwing, tea table, fire pit, etc).

#6 Open for business Would be a lot higher (above apartment life) if I had more sims run businesses as they are really fun. This adds the ability to run your own business. Hire, fire, promote employees. Build toys, robots or arrange flowers. Run toy shops, furniture shops, bakeries, restaurants (requires nightlife) and more with the ability to set prices for items, use sales tactics to get people to buy your items and more. Unlock business perks the better you business does such as bonus money, ways to increase other sim's needs or mood, etc. New objects Elevators, lemonade stand, (some of which have to built) such as sprinkler toy, kite, various robots, etc. New interactions (business interactions), showing off (cartwheels, handstands, somersaults) for kids, etc. If you are into running a business, than this is fantastic.

#7 SIms university Allows the sim to go to university where they can study, do assignments, do term papers, and more to try to get enough academic achievement to complete their majors. Can get a little boring if you don't have mods to shorten the time sims are a university. However, includes fantastic objects/interactions such as pool tables, instruments (that can be played solo or played with other sims via the perform option [guitar, drums, bass, + can perform for piano), kicky bag, pillow fights, station to buy cell phones, handheld games, or mp3's, Barista bar (npc sells coffee there).

#8 Pets The only main addition to the game is pets. Pets can be fun to make, but there interactions are limited, and if eventually you will get bored with them if you are not a pet person. Sims can teach pets tricks, train them (clean vs dirty, sleep in pet bed vs on human bed, etc), and interact with them in other ways (playing, rubbing belly etc.)

Overall if you prefer to raise families in the sims then I would recommend Seasons and freetime the most as they add a lot of objects and interactions hat can be used by all ages. Seasons adds a lot of interactions between sims from kids to adults, and freetime adds a lot of new objects that sims can use together (some of which even toddlers can use), and a new interaction between older sims and toddlers [teach them a nursery rhyme].

If you want to make your town more enjoyable, fun, and alive with fun community lots, then I would recommend nightlife. The new downtown area is great, and if you don't like it you can always create your own. Furthermore, the new objects included allow you to make restaurants, bowling allies, lounges, bars, disco clubs, and more. Nightlife makes visiting community lots (whether alone, or with your family) so much more fun, as there is more variety. And a lot of the bass game objects work great for clubs (darts, myshuno).

At some point in the now-distant past, I decided I wanted to start building up my collection of EPs and SPs (original idea, right?) for TS2, and while I had no hesitation about buying all of the expansions, some of the stuff packs gave me pause... I've bought all except for Family Fun and Happy Holidays, and those two I'm still hesitant about, not least because they've grown more expensive. The fact that the price keeps climbing gives me incentive to buy them sooner rather than later though, assuming they're worth buying in the first place, so here's my question for you:

Should I buy Happy Holidays and Family Fun, or should I just continue my current course, and content myself with the vast array of options provided by the other Eps and SPs?

I found Family Fun to actually be one of the cheaper SPs when I sought to get them all. I think I got mine on Half.com used in very good condition for less than $6.00 US, and that was WITH shipping. You might have to pay a little more or less, but this also seems to be an easier SP to get.

I think I would echo many of the reviews on Amazon ... if you really like kid and baby stuff, this isn't a bad SP if you can get it for a lower price used. It's probably one of my least favorites, but I am glad I got it.

Happy Holidays can be more money, though you might do better if you DON'T buy it at Christmas. I paid about $13.00 US for that, including shipping, but silly me DID buy it at the wrong time. Now would be a far better time to get it. I'm seeing it for a few dollars cheaper on half.com and EBay. The SP is nice, and I do like some of the clothes, but I found it a little underwhelming. One interesting aspect is all the Sims running around in holiday gear ... in summer. I'm sure there's a mod for that. Somewhere. But I don't regret buying any EP or SP. I'm glad I did.They all have some good items. I'm just glad I didn't buy them for full price.

Family fun and Happy Holiday are pretty straight forward. Would you find it fun to decorate your Sims homes in christmas items, and spawn santa and father time? If the answer is yes, then you'll like it. Family fun, as ganzania points out, is fun if you enjoy playing child and below. I love it, because the themed items make for great kids rooms. I was really doubtful about family fun, and only got it for completions sake, but I love it.

Only you can decide if it's worth it for you. If you don't care for christmas or kids, then you would not miss much.