|
The official most favourite/least favourite EP/SP/what one should I buy thread...
Looking to get a new expansion and can't decide which one? Looking to uninstall an expansion you have but don't know which one to nuke? Just want to yammer about which ones are the best, worst, or otherwise?
What is your most favourite/least favourite expansion pack, and why? What is your most favourite/least favourite stuff pack, and why? If you could rank how much you like each expansion or stuff pack in order, what would your order be? If you had to remove an expansion, which one would it be, and why? This is now the official catch-all thread for this topic. Please do not post any new threads on this topic - if you have input on the subject or are looking to make a new purchase/removal, read this thread for all kinds of opinions, then make your own decision. Please vote in the poll regarding your favourite expansion pack if you do not have any additional comments to add on the subject. Please note that you may vote for multiple options if you like two expansion packs equally - please don't vote for ALL the options, though, as that would be silly. This thread may be archived if/when we see a new expansion pack, to add additional poll options without skewing the results. |
Acceptable double post - see my shiny fuchsia hat? :D
My personal opinions: I would rank the expansions in the following order (and my whys):
If I had to remove an expansion I would definitely remove Pets. Possibly also Uni, keeping my top 3. I don't really have much in the way of stuff packs - I have Holiday and Glamour Life Stuff but I don't currently have it installed. I like the outfits in GLS for using bits and pieces for meshing - they've got interesting stuff on 'em. I dislike Holiday as it's full of ugly walls and floors and new windows/doors with wreaths and snow on 'em (that I NEVER use!) and spams up my buy mode with 'em. |
My fave/least fave EPs:
1 Nightlife: I LOVE the vampires; I also loved the cars. The new dating setup is very nice too, I didn't like how in the regular sims 2 only teens could "go out". It has some nice new clothing and a couple of new hair styles. Turn ons/Turn offs are great, and I liked the new downtown area as well. 2 Pets: Another favorite; dogs and cats are part of the family too  My game feels more complete with Pets, though I don't understand why all the gripe about horses, most families have dogs and cats anyway, unless you live in a part of the world where horses are more popular... I'll admit that Pets is a bit buggy though. The werewolves are a great addition.3 Seasons: The weather effects are great. The rain, hail, heatstrokes, snow, exc... are a wonderful touch. The plant people are ok, but I liked the "horror" creatures better (like vampires, zombies, werewolves, exc...) Other than that, I have no complaints about this one. A must buy. I don't yet have the other two, but I can say that I don't care to. Open for Business doesn't seem neccessary to me, and neither does the "young adult" life stage of University. We need to have a "middle aged" life stage if we're going to make a bunch of seperate unneccessary life stages like that one, LOL:P |
Here's mine:
First place - Seasons! Awesome weather effects; new cool careers and career rewards (yay!); fishing and gardening; putting leftovers in fridge; custom paintings (w/o having to install Pets); great stuff sets; new types of death; new neighborhood. Also, after installing some custom content and hacks which didn't work with OFB/Pets, to my surprise, they all worked with Seasons! Second place - Nightlife. Actually, it was a bit of a tie between Nightlife and University. However, I chose Nightlife, because it has great features like cars, ability to become a vampire, downtown area. Also, I love the dating system. It is one of my most favorite things in the whole game. Third place - University. It has awesome things, like the ability to go to college, becoming a zombie, new careers and career rewards. The Cow Plant and the Resurrection Machine are, probably, way better than most of the original Sims 2 career rewards. Also, I loved the new objects (pool table, instruments, etc). It has some minor stuff too, such as hairstyles. Fourth place - Open for Business. It's awesome at the beginning, however, it gets boring very quickly. The only things I like in it are the objects, which are very decent, and the new Bluewater Village neighborhood. The crafting ability is all right too. I have Pets, however, I found it a bit disappointing, because all my community lots were extremely slow, even on lowest graphic setting, so I just unistalled it. Maybe when I'll buy a better computer (it will probably happen this year), I'll install Pets again and I might actually find it better than other EPs. But for now I don't have an exact opinion about it. |
Wow, I agreed with the majority...Seasons at #1.
I like it because the weather aspect is very interesting and adds a wonderful graphical dimension to the game..in other words...it looks good to see it rain and snow. Also I enjoy the farming, the leaves on the ground, and general additional interactions. Giving presents is also really fun! Second I would put Nightlife simply because Sims can get out of the house and go to places in groups. It adds a new dynamic. Also you can have dates, right? I did not like University (simply dull and long without hacks) though the items that come along with it are good and useful. I am also not a fan of Pets. I feel it is the most 'limited' expansion. Yes, you get pets but they are incredibly dull and I still find it stupid you cannot interact with the birds or wormrats very much, you can't build up a relationship with them or see them do much. (except eat and die). I have to say I never fully explored Open For Business. (most of my businesses failed or didn't do very well when I did manage to build and sustain one). I don't own any stuff packs. When they come down in price, maybe...otherwise you nice people have provided me with ample CC. |
Here are my rankings and reasons:
1. Nightlife - Clubs, bars, a whole new Downtown area, which is extensive and well built. It really does look like an urban area. It brings a whole BUNCH of new objects, especially for clubs and bars, including a Photobooth which sims can use either alone or with a friend/date and DJ boxes, as well as the cutest clothing made by maxis yet (in my opinion) It brings vampires. Best of all, it brings the dating and outing system. Apart from great ways to get sims together or fall in love, a good date ensures a platinum aspriation by the end of it. A lot of high scoring wants easy to fulfill if the sims are enjoying the date. You can also get random gifts or skillpoints from your dates or outing buddies. Chemistry, aka turn ons/offs. No longer are sims indiscriminate in choosing their partners; now thanks to turn ons and offs, just like in real life sims will be more attracted to some than others. Cars are also useful if you hate waiting around for the taxi or miss the schoolbus/carpool. 2. Seasons - the changing weather and seasons, with their well done, gradual passage adds a whole new dimension to the otherwise perpetually sunny Simworld. The new season-specific wants and interractions (whether specific or not) bring more complexity to the game. Sims experience cold and hot temperatures, and dress accordingly (there is a new Outerwear clothing section for those cold late autumn/winter days) Gardening and fishing are also great ways to keep sims occupied and fill the fridges or sell the produce they make. Meals containing these fresh fruits,veggies and fish will be extra nutritious. Sims can now skate, and pools come with rounded corners and water slides. There is a new supernatural creature introduced - the Plantsim. 3. Open for Business - Sims can own their own venues, with levels to reach and perks to unlock. These can be anything from retail to clubs and restaurants. There is a very nice furniture set that comes with the EP, Missionary. Businesses are challenging to keep and especially make profit with. Sims can now gain talent badges and make their own objects - Toys, Robots, Flower arrangements, or work as hairstylists (with an associated Cosmetology badge). There are also some shop related badges they can earn - Sales, Cash Register and Restocking sold items. Elevators are introduced with this EP. 4. University - Teenage Sims can attend college. There is a sepparate age group for them, Young Adult, composed of 4 college years each with 2 semesters. They can choose majors, live in dorms or residential lots, join Greek Houses or even a Secret Society. Their degree will ensure a better job later on in life (no more entry level jobs for Sims with a degree!). Only sims who graduated can enter the Artist, Paranormal and Natural Scientist careers that come with this EP. Sims can now be resurrected via the Resurrect-o-Nomitron, the reward of the Paranormal Career track. By calling the Grim Reaper and paying an amount for the departed sim's soul, they will be brought back...exactly as they were if you payed a lot of money, with a reversed personality if you were a little cheap, and a zombie if you were very cheap. If you're too cheap, Grimmie just takes your money and does nothing. University has musical instruments sims can perform: a set of drums, a guitar and a bass. College, however, lasts a rather long time, 24 days in total. 5.Pets - My least favourite EP. The animals, cats and dogs, are cute but otherwise limited. Their interractions are repetitive after a point, so are their customization options. The birds and wormrats are little more than objects without personalities and ravenous appetites. :smash: If you like to fast forward while your sims are asleep/at work/school, you'll have to do it manually because if there's a pet in the house, it will not happen automatically anymore. And, there's always the chance they are chewing/scratching your furniture right at the same moment! The EP also has quite a few bugs, some of which even the patches dont fix, such as custom accessories flashing blue for no reason. It does bring werewolves, if you like supernatural creatures. |
Here are my favorites from most to least:
1. Seasons - This expansion just plain rocked, just about everything added in Seasons is good from the weather to the "pay all bills" option. All the new graphics really make the game feel less outdated in terms of looks which none of The Sims 1 expansions ever did. I've been waiting a long time for gardening, fishing, and gift giving and they all came back with nice improvements. The new music in Seasons would come a close second in a list of what I think the best EP is for adding new music. The outerwear is nicely done and some of my favorite objects like the dream catcher were in this EP too. Great job Maxis! 2. Nightlife - Finally my sims can drive cars and have turn ons/turn offs! The ability to go downtown and dating have been brought back too! Those things alone already make this second on my list. Some of the objects like the photo and DJ booths, the dance sphere, and the dance floor stuff are really fun. This is also the only expansion that added a new aspiration and it happens to be one that I use a lot: Pleasure. 3. Open for Business - This expansion really added nice depth to the game. The really good thing about OFB is that it gets better with each expansion that is added. For example with Nightlife you can own a restaurant, with Pets you can own a pet store, and with Seasons you can own a skating rink or perhaps a fishing spot. I'm sure it will just get even better with future EPs too. I like the Servo and there are neat new building options. This was the first expansion to add talent badges which is a nice alternative to skill building. 4. Pets - Just barely below OFB. Although the pets could have been less limited they still manage to make the game feel more complete. I know I would feel weird having only sims in my game again if I uninstalled Pets. The custom painting feature is great as well as the game tip encyclopedia. The new music in Pets would come first in a list of what I think the best EP is for adding new music. There is just so much new music and a lot of it is great to listen to. I have yet to check out the werewolves but they look cool. 5. University - well...I don't find this expansion really terrible but it just didn't add as many good things as the others. Some of the objects like the instruments and the treadmill are must haves, I can easily do without university. University I also found to be way too long. The new music however is great and so is the influence system. If I had to remove an expansion I would remove Uni for sure. As I said already I can do without University and that's a major part of the expansion right there. I might be able to go on without the instruments too. All the other expansions have at least one thing that I always want to have in my game. As for stuff packs Glamour Life is my favorite for adding great formal outfits especially for males and also some of the new objects like the stereo. Holiday Stuff is nice but only when you have Seasons installed. Family Fun is okay, but the new pop music is great...Stop and Think by The White Room is one of my all-time favorite simlish songs. I don't have Celebration so I can't judge that yet. :smash: |
may favourite would have to be
Seasons- i love the weather as all the neat stuff you can do when you have it then nightlfe- the cars the clubs and that stuff was cool then ofb- that wasn't that good but it wasn't a complete waste because i use bluewater village and the bakery stuff then uni- if it didn't come with my copy of sims 2 i wouldn't have it and the only reason it even stays installed is because of the instruments and stuff (i find going through collage a pain it the but though and thats aoll i can say about because i don't have pets and the stuff packs but my broter said he would download them for the ea downloader for my birthday in a week (or get one of his friends to lendit to me because some of them have it but my friend either don't have it or have it on ps2) |
Uni and Nightlife add the most to the game's engine, right? I don't know of anyone that makes hacks that work if you don't have at least Uni, and most that I use require NL or higher. That's important to note if you have 0 EPs. Also, OFB is the least intrusive (will change your gameplay style least), and NL and Uni are very close behind. Pets and Seasons (Seasons especially) change every aspect of gameplay slightly - pets because there are now aminals! running around, and Seasons because the new lightning deaths and thermometer radically change play styles.
|
I've only got two expansion packs, Night Life and Open For Business, so I can't speak authoritatively. But, since I'm talking anyway, I asked around before I spent more money on the game and I'm glad I did. I don't regret buying either of them.
NightLife adds cars, so you don't have to wait for a taxi or a carpool; restaurants, so there's something to eat on community lots besides hotdogs; dating, which can be a lot of fun and--heehee--lucrative; vampires, which are always cool; and scads of new possibilities for community lot activities. Open For Business--This is just fun. Owning a community lot business is a whole new game in itself, but there are other possibilities as well. You get the craft benches, so your sims can make stuff when you can't think of anything else for them to do. Your stay-at-home parents can run a home business. When you start out a new family, you can hang a dart board on the side of the house and put a swing in the yard along with the ticket thingy, and people will pay to hang out in your yard! Which also makes it really easy to accumulate friends. And the nice thing is your sims can run a business and still have a career track job. So I like the EPs I've got, and from what I've heard around here, my next one will probably be Seasons. |
Throw them all out!
I just read this thread, and realized I don't really like any of the EP's....how sad is that? I've got Uni, NL, OfB, and Pets, and all are considered useless to me, except the few interactions that are kinda cool. I don't bother making businesses, vampires, zombies, graduates, animals, or even aliens anymore. I may as well just unistall all of it and keep the base game, if it weren't for all the CC that requires certain EP's! :laugh:
|
I have all the EPs and no Stuff Packs (as none of the stuff packs have ever appealed to me, what with the many bugs they seem to come with and the little content).
Here's my personal list, from favorite to least favorite: Seasons: Seasons is by far the best expansion pack yet, if you're looking for ways to enhance the base game. There are no new big *things* specifically; no like shops in OFB, the whole outing/dating/nightclub experience in NL, nor colleges that come with UNI. But it adds a completely different game play in its own way. The seasons add a new touch of realism, and force your game play to change for each season, as different skills/relationships come more easily in certain seasons, and each season lets you do different things. Rain, snow, falling leaves, and lighting changes are all visual things that make the game much more beautiful, if you can say that about a game. To LadyJade: I would highly suggest getting Seasons, as I see you don't have it, if you want an ep that enhances gameplay without your sims having t0o make the effort to make it affect them. For Uni your sims need to go to university to be affected, for NL they have to participate in outings and going downtown, in OFB, you need to have sims run shops... But in Seasons all the benifits are on your lot, with no input from you.  I'll add more later. Whoop. |
For me, my list is same as HP.
1.Seasons 2.Open For Business 3.Nightlife 4.University 5.Pets If i had to chose an EP to uninstall it would have to be pets. I never use pets ever and hardly use any of the objects. Its pretty useless and the pets that walk past really bug me. Stupid dogs digging up my gardens and rolling around in puddles in the rain, in the middle of the road! Idiot dogs. Before Seasons, OFB was my favourite, I love making businesses. |
From first place to last place:
Seasons: From the little time I had to play it, it was really fun! You have seasons which all of them rocks, tints for each seasons, a cute penguin, fishing, gardening, drinks, leftovers, hot cocoa, outerwear, temperature (finally!), weather, plant sims, gift giving, better clothing, new careers, Riverblossom Hills, water balloon and snowball fights ect. ect. IMO, this is the must-have EP along with NL! Nightlife: Just like Hot Date did for TS1, Nightlife did for TS2. Nightlife really added so much to the game. Nightclubs, bars, vampires, playable cars (yay!), wayy better clothing, new music, new food options, new Pleasure and Grilled Cheese aspirations, Turn On/Offs and Chemistry makes sims alot more realistic, the Dating game (Even though it's so easy to have a Dream Date, I absolutely love it!) the matchmaker, the smustle. I love this EP! Open For Business: Even though OFB is now unistalled from my computer, it's still a great EP. The business aspect is fun for a while until I ended up losing a lot more money than gaining, it's actually hard and time-consuming, customers are so troublesome, and employees would randomly quit on me even after I boosted up their motives. I found hair salons the easiest to run out of all businesses. What I do like about OFB are that the toys are amazing esp. the sprinklers, they gave a lot of toys for toddlers and kids to have fun with, which I adore since I think toddlers and kids are the most ignored, the clothes offered, the lemonade stand, the different types of roofs, cheesecake (yum!), and the music from TS1 was imported to OFB. University: My opinions about Uni changes over time. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I hate it. University can get really boring after a while (I just download the College Adjuster to speed up time). Another thing I don't liek about Uni is that everytime one of my elders die, their family members always want to resurrect them and the want stays their for so long! The good things about Uni are that this was the only EP to offer a new age group, Young Adults, the camera takes awesome pictures, the new careers, the benefits from graduating from college, the new career rewards, zombies (though they really do nothing except limp around and look ugly LOL). I didn't get Pets since as soon as I heard the main pets were just cats and dogs, I was immediately turned off. Plus, I heard that it was really buggy and the pets lose their wow fatcor after a while. I also didn't get any if the SPs because I wouldn't even waste my time or money on those little bundles though Glamour Life and Celebration do look interesting. |
Here is my list and order of how I would rate the EPs.
1. It's a toss up of Night life and Seasons, but in the end I say Nightlife first. Because it adds in cars and a down town and dating. I had a devil of a time hooking my sims up before, but with NL there is the matchmaker.. you just have to have enough money to get a good match..lol Vampires also came with NL, and while I don't play them they I know others do. I keep meaning to one of these days.. just never got around to it. Also with NL you can now build restaurants.. which is nice.. I like to make my own custom buildings and what not. 2. Seasons... Seasons (IMO) is the only other EP thathas added a lot to the game. There of course are the new seasons then allthe different activities to do in the seasons. I also like the idea of growing food or catching fish and that the sims can eat what they make.. I think it's really cool. The new lighting of the seasons is great too. Seasons also added in angled roofs too.. which as a builder I like. Seasons also added new careers too.. which was nice. 3. Uni I like this one next for the things it adds... the furniture and the objects and some build things. Also if you like.. it adds another stage of life in which is nice. I used to never send any sims through uni but I have recently started (of course I cheat the whole way through), but it's nice to get the extra wants.. and they start higher in a career if they studied something that works for that career. 4. Open For Business Because it added in new build things.. like the platform and cone roofs. Also with it you can make all kinds of stores. And there is the possibility own and run your store... I did at first, but it is very time consuming. So I like OFB just for the objects it adds. Plus it added in some new kid interactions.. like blowing bubbles.. dancing with the parents and showing off. 5. Pets I didn't like the idea of a pets ep when it was talked about. But I got it all the same and they are pretty cute. Not too hard to take care of and they can earn money for the family too. They just don't add anything other than pets to the game, which is why the EP is low on my list. I don't have any stuff packs as none of them have seemed all that great to me. And from what I have heard they are pretty buggy.. I don't need that. |
What is your most favourite/least favourite expansion pack, and why?
Most favorites: University for adding an optional life stage that gives my sims time devoted to skill gaining and socializing and also gives them extra want slots. Seasons for, (obviously,) seasons and weather but also for the new and improved gardening system. Least favorite: Nightlife because everything it offers is pretty much useless to me except for the cars. I don't care to waste time waiting for a different town to load and then for a lot to load so my sims can go on a date for a few minutes and then have to wait for it to load the hometown and lot again. Also, for the "bargain" price of $5000, the gypsy woman will set my sims up with another sim that I'd never have them become romantically envolved with. What is your most favourite/least favourite stuff pack, and why? Most favorite: Glamour Life as I use the clothes and objects from it frequently. Least favorite: Holiday if we are only going by the ones I purchased. I never use anything from it. If you could rank how much you like each expansion or stuff pack in order, what would your order be? #1 University #2 Seasons #3 Pets #4 Open for Business #5 Nightlife An expansion outranks a stuff pack in my book. #6 Glamour Life #7 Family Fun #8 Celebration Even though I don't plan to buy this one I'd gladly trade my copy of Holiday for it. #9 Holiday #10 H&M The notion of paying $20 for a commercial offends me. Labels, (or more correctly the mentality that often inspires the purchase of a label,) offend me. If I thought it would make any difference, I'd climb on a soapbox and protest the release of this pack. If you had to remove an expansion, which one would it be, and why? Even though I love my sim pets and I ranked the ep higher, I'd remove Pets before I'd remove Nightlife because it would be more realistic for the average person to not have a pet than it would be for them to not have a car. |
1. Pets
2. Seasons 3. University 4. Nightlife 5. OFB(totally useless to me) So useless that I uninstalled it and sold it |
1- Seasons
Definetely the best, the weather is a great addition, really well done. Maxis is known for leaving out important bis when they make EPs but this time I have nearly nothing to complain about. Great sounds and the new lights make lighting hacks useless. I particulary love the autumn light, very suggestive. The seasonal wants also add variety. The new careers are great and the reward for the education one is just brilliant. The hair that come with it is nice, though is only for adults and elders as usual, that's why I suggest downloading Callum's converted versions at MTS2, which are for all ages. The furniture is very cool too and unlike Maxis' usual trend, the sets are quite complete. And the ice skating they introduces is great! 2- Nightlife Dates! Restaurants! Cars! Definetely a close second to Season. If you want your sim to have fun, this is the EP you want to get. Cars especially are the best feature: your kid mised the school bus? Just drive them yourself! I also like the blind date option, which, even though rarely gets you your sims partner for life, at least allows some experience. The photo booth is also very cool. The turn on and offs are also nice. Not many nice hair and outfits, but I usually rely on CC for that anyway. Speaking about objects, the karaoke machine is just priceless. 3-University I know it's not generally appreciated, but I like it a lot. Granted, I speed up the college years with InSIM, but apart form that I find it totally enjoyable. I always felt the age of young adults was necessary, it was too harsh a passage from teen to adult, at least that's what I think. This is a time you can use to improve your sim skills, or make him make friends, which is very difficult when he/she is an adult with a job. Also it's very cool that they can change aspiration between their second and third year, it's realistic, those are the years where our minds change the most. Nice hairstyle, even though my fave is the short hair for girls converted to males. The objects are great, the instruments and the pool table are a must have to me. Lifetime wants are also a nice new feature Uni brings. 4-Open for Buisiness Well, I like the EP, even though I don't use its features very often. Managing a business is a full time job for our sims and it gets difficult to control both the business and the private life of them. Still, if you enjoy this kind of stuff and always wanted to see your sim at works, it's done nicely. The outfits are a bit... awkward, most of them, but their meant to be mascot uniforms or employeees uniforms, so I think they're meant to be awkward. There is some nice outfit for males, though. Hairstyles, there's one for males that's kinda cute, and of course a ton of gorilla masks and the likes. I can't remember which objects came with OFB apart from the obviously business ones, so I can't judge there. 5-Pets Don't get it. Seriously. Even if you're a pet lover IRL. I am too, but this EP is really... the worst thing Maxis could come out with. First of all, apart from pets and objects related to them, there is nearly nothing else. Well, the option to invite a whole household on the phone, but you can live without it. The space theme items are cute for kids bedroom, but nothing special, nothing you can't get as a free CC. Pets are few types, even fewer than in Unleashed for TS. Cats, Dogs, that sort of guinea pig, parrots. They need a lot of care, too much. And my pet peeve is that they can enter community lots and ruin couches and furniture in general, which is totally unrealistic. This is the EP I would uninstall if I had to. |
*My list*
Seasons - I love the weather, the gardening and the seasonal activities. I really like how different seasons are better for different interactions. I love that they brought back gift giving. Pets - I love the pets. Apparently I'm a minority, but I don't find the game annoying. The only annoying thing is pets wandering around downtown, and there are hack for that. I also enjoy the womrats and birds. I'm a big pet lover, and for me, the pets add wonderful dimension to my game. Nightlife - Downtown lots & dating stuff are fun. I actually enjoy the furiousness that came with it. Most of the time anyway. Sometimes going to downtown lots is a bit annoying, and I wish they made it so you could have hotels. University - Not the best EP, but I actually play my sims at college. I kinda like it, and it's weirdness (like the streakers and battling Mascots), although I'm glad the whole game isn't like this. Open for Business - IMO, over-rated. I don't enjoy the business aspect as much as I had hoped. I find running businesses time-consuming and not that interesting. Especially community lot businesses. Don't get me wrong, I still use it, just not with every family. If I had to remove one, it would probably be OFB. However, not gonna do that. I like having them all. Although w/ Sims 1, I did unistall Superstar, but that's because the fame thing bled into the rest of the game, not making it very optional. And I didn't like the gameplay it added, just the objects. The Sims 2 expansions add gameplay that is optional and gameplay that is not. Like you can choose whether or not to have a pet, or own a business, but you can't choose not to have furiousness. (without hacks) |
Yeah, Pets is my least favorite. That part is easy.
Now picking a favorite - that's hard. |
Seasons - the EP that doesn't need a subhood for the features to be noticed. Love the seasons, especially winter and fall.
Nightlife - Cars...my glorious cars...the clothes, the hair, EVERYTHING Open for Business - I love the toys, flowers, SERVO!!! Uni - I'm starting to love this EP, especially love Sim State University, instruments, and the bubble machine. Pets - I don't have Pets at the moment, but when I had it, the thing slowed down my game. Good thing I removed it. |
For me,my list would have to be:
#1.Seasons
It adds much more to the game and you don't even have to leave the house for it. I love the snow,autumn&spring. Seeing my sims jumping in leaf piles,kids knocking down snowmen♥ #2.Pets Unlike most people,I ♥♥♥ Pets.Sure,it was/is ultra buggy,but what Sims2 game isn't?Pets is just buggier. And yes,I admit the amount of pets is very very limited,especially compared to Unleashed. Maxis could make up for that by putting out a StuffPack,PETS REQUIRED so it would add a fair few more pets. My sims lives are more complete now and couldnt live without my kitties♥ #3.OpenForBusiness Brilliant pack. The craft tables,robots,business-♥ The craftable items are good and you don't even have to leave your house to start a business either. #4.Nightlife A good pack,the vampires are well made and the coffin and light ideas are good too. Yes it bought cars,but I don't use them anyway,my sims never leave the house. #5.University Bleh. To me, Uni is teh suck ↓ If I had to get rid of an EP,it would be University. I have to leave the house to get to University and I cheat my way through it anyway,so,bleh!! >= ( SP's Not gonna go into detail but my faves are #1 Glamour #2 Celebration! #3 Holiday 2006 #4 FamilyFun |
Okies. Here are my views:
Seasons: Love everything about it! The seasons, the new neighborhood, new Sims, etc, etc... I could literally go on for hours. LOL. Pets: Pretty cool expansion pack. Some of the pets are so adorable. Open for Business: Awesomeness!! I love making my own businesses and making fun of my Sims and their sometimes "crazy" businesses. Nightlife: It was okay. Back then, this was HUGE, as it included the cars, garage doors and driveways. Now it's like, "Uugghh..."nightlife."" lol... University: Pretty cool, although I don't like the fact that it takes FOREVER to get a Sim through university. Stuff Packs: Don't get me started...... Weee!! Benny Boy |
You know what, I can't say I have a favourite, just disappointments. Plus, some of them I haven't had a chance to try:
University Good: Cowplants! Clothes and downtown features. Bad: Uni's charm wears off for me. Ugly:The Cowplant made my sister a sadist. One family got really screwed over via Young Adult transformation glitch. Nightlife(I just got this one for my sister sooo, I don't really know too much of it) Good: Love the music. Lots of stuff to do in this EP. It seems kinda complicated, but still fun. Bad: Kinda agressive this time, aren't they? Ugly: My sister's sim just set fire to one of their ex-boyfriend's trees. o_O; OFB Dunno, lol¯\(°_o)/¯ Pets Good: Costomization's quite dandy and you can actually take advantage of glitches and make some awesome monsters. Like this cutie. ;3 Bad: Customization limited to only fur and too few body parts. Severe lack of pet diversity(ie. ferrets and such) and pet size. Ugly: Uber-biased towards dogs. WHERE'S THE CUSTOM PET MESHES?! Seasons (From what I see so far...) Good: Weather! :D Bad: Weather! D: It loads rather slow too. Ugly:....Haven't seen anything ugly-worthy yet. If I had to say it, my biggest disappointments are Uni and Pets. I guess I expected WAY too much of them. |
From favourite the least:
Seasons: I just love everything about it, from the actual weather, to the new neighbourhood, hair styles and clothing and - well, everything. The only real problem I have with it is how quickly sims freeze in winter, but that's easy to deal with. Nightlife: It's brought in cars, dating and chemistry. Vampires, pleasure sims and the grilled cheese aspiration too. I just love everything about it. But not quite as much as Seasons. University: The Young Adult stage is kinda dull and long, but there's a lot to do in it. It brought in LTWs (something I can't have my sims live without), instruments besides the piano, zombies and cowplants... Come to think of it the main reason I like it is the cowplants. Open For Business: What can I say about it? Blergh! I can't stand it. My sims can open a business? Uh, yay? So it made the Earn 100,000 want a lot easier to achieve. Big deal. Fair few new hairs and clothes (well, lots more than any other EP, I think), but most of them aren't something I'd let my sims wear in a million years. There were a few cute interactions it brought, and the ability to make any meal at any point was kinda useful, but it's something I can and do live without. Pets: I couldn't stand Unleashed and my opinion of Pets is the same. What did it add to the game? Strays, birds and wormrats that have a nearly unlimited lifespans if they don't starve to death within five minutes, and obsession with animals for any aspiration and a few pet-related items. I will admit it's better than the Unleashed in that great danes aren't the same size as terriers, but that's about it. Personally I don't have particularly high hopes for Bon Voyage. Eh, they can go on holiday. Big whoop. It's another remake of a Sims 1 expansion that I hated, just like Unleashed/Pets. It looks like there will be a few decent things in, so I'll probably like it more than Pets or OFB, but... I think the holidays would get tedious. Of course that being said it isn't out for months (until about November, I think) and there's only 3 pictures available now, so I may be wrong. Still... Stuff packs? Okay, out of the two I have here's what I think: Festive Holiday Stuff: It brought in SANTA! Come on, how could I not love something that brought in Santa? We even got a few interactions with it - mainly with the mistletoe and explosives, but also the autonomous interaction when Old Father Time becomes Toddler New Year, where all the sims make a lot of noise with pans and spoons. And lets not forget: the fireworks! So fun! So cool! So appeals to my pyromaniac side! The reindeer lawn ornament? Pure genius! Co many decorations, a fair few hair styles and outfits - there being no teen ones is my only pet peeve about it. Family Fun Stuff: Great, just what I needed: dragon, princess and mermaid outfits. They're go great with... nothing. An underwater themed room? By golly gosh! That's just perfect! Now if only I could be bothered to build them an underwater house. A castle/fairy themed room? Well isn't that just spiffing? Something else I'll never use! It really didn't make that huge an impression on me. I kinda feel like I've wasted my money on it, especially since it isn't installed on my laptop to save space, just like OFB and Pets. |
From favorite to least favorite. :3
Seasons - Usually I get really bored after two sim days, since everyday was the same. But now I find myself playing for 5 or more since the weather makes everyday seem different. I just tried gardening, and it's very fun! I love the outerwear, and the season bonuses, like learn faster in fall, make friends faster in summer. Leftovers are a life saver, and I still need to try fishing. And jobs! Yes new jobs! Pets - I was really worried that I would hate it, and almost skipped it all together, but I love it! Single sims are much funner to have now since they can have a pet. :3 And they can have jobs and earn money. I don't use accessories, so the blinking is not a problem, and my sims never seemed to be obsessed with pets in the first place. Nightlife - close tie with pets. The dating game is really fun, and I often use it to engage my sims. I love the cars, and the clothes that came with it are really cute! I often find myself using them. And it's easier to get sims to fall in love now. Uni - I haven't played the uni part in a while, but I found it really fun. o_o; I love the instruments and the treadmills. And that's about it I guess. o.o; I had it so long I forgot what came with it... Open for business - I have yet to open a business. o_o; the clothes are awesome for doing the asylum challenge with though! |
I'd also like to mention - since my previous post I've gotten the H&M stuff pack and installed Glamour Life. I LOVE H&M! The clothes are mostly awesome - there's a couple sweater dresses and stuff that are really weird but mostly they're practical or funky 80'sish and I adore 'em. Definitely my favourite stuff pack. I reinstalled without Holiday and I don't miss it at ALL.
|
I barely play the game at the moment (blame it on contests :D) but I own all EPs and only have the Glamour stuff pack installed. I recently got Family Fun, Celebrations and H&M but they're not installed yet.
I'm not the one who expects too much from the game but I'm often happy with what I get. Well bugs don't make me happy though.What is your most favorite/least favorite expansion pack, and why? My most favorite EP is Seasons. I just love all the effects and the new interactions. I guess Pets is my least favorite EP. I enjoy them but they add very little to the game play. What is your most favorite/least favorite stuff pack, and why? The only SP I have installed is Glamour and I like it. If you could rank how much you like each expansion or stuff pack in order, what would your order be? 1. Seasons 2. Nightlife 3. OFB 4. University 5. Glamour 6. Pets If you had to remove an expansion, which one would it be, and why? I'd rather play the game with at least all EPs installed but I think that I won't miss Pets. Pets are cute but they're not essential. |
What is your most favorite/least favorite expansion pack, and why? My favorite is definately Nightlife. xD I wouldn't be able to live without it and my least favorite is OFB. The only brightside to it is the lock door option. What is your most favorite/least favorite stuff pack, and why? I don't have any installed. :P If you could rank how much you like each expansion or stuff pack in order, what would your order be? 1. Nightlife. 2. Pets. 3. University. 4. Seasons. (Gah. It's so annoying!) 5. OFB. If you had to remove an expansion, which one would it be, and why? Probably OFB. :/ I never use the businesses. |
My opinions are as follows. The two on the top are way above the rest 3 of which order I'm not 100% certain.
I don't have much experience of stuff packs to have a very useful opinion, but Glamour seems best for me. If I had to remove an EP, I'd probably remove OfB. I could do without that. Pets is not that critical either. Uni has some items that are just too useful. The cell phone especially. Edit: Bon Voyage - Not sure where exactly I'd place it on the list above. Probably just above or just below the Pets. It's middiling EP. Once more the main theme is uninteresting, but it adds lots of other stuff that makes it worthwhile. Beaches, jewelry, and some nice vacation lot themed stuff that can be used in ordinary lots and sims, for example. Also I like how the time is universal in the vacation hoods. Makes going to community lots less annoying. Edit2: FreeTime - Oooh, this is a good one. Wedges Nightlife off from its second best position... So now its Seasons, FreeTime, Nightlife, and so on. Adds lots of interesting stuff that you don't have to go to community lots to enjoy. No good creature maybe, but that's okay. |
Top 3:
Seasons Nightlife University All three of them are necessary to me. There wasn't anything I didn't like about Seasons. My only complaint about Nightlife was that some of the furniture and clothing was goofy, but the Chemistry system is invaluable. I don't even remember what it was like in the pre-NL chemistry-less times... And I just like University. My Sims always seem to want to go, and I actually like playing through it. It's only boring if you play it wrong. |
#1=Seasons
I love the weather and all the new careers. The lack of weather in the game bothered me. I (and this may sound rather...pessimistic) love having funerals on rainy days and I love snow days. Also the introduction of gardening is so nice. It makes a big change, and all my old, retired grannies have something to keep them entertained. Also all the benefits of the different seasons is nice. #2=Nightlife It added the downtown, more townies, or downtownies, cars, dates, the going out with a group, and so much more. It made me a happy gal. Also, this was before the days I knew of custom content, and it had good clothes. Except I found my Sims all wearing the same outfits and with the same hairstyles...slightly problematic. #3=OFB Mmm, I thought that this expansion would be boring, but boy was I wrong. I have memories of my first business when I didn't know how to label anything for sale, and I was getting people constantly complaining. Fun! Then Dina Caliente opened up a successful business, and got filthy rich. The one downfall was the servos. They annoy me. I thought they'd be so much better, but I was wrong. -cries- #4=University When I first got Uni, I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I loved the new careers and the cowplants. Then I realized how BORING sending Sims through University. So I resorted to cheating. I think this expansion's best factor was the zombies. They made life so much more fun. But yeah, I certainly found it boring. #5=Pets GAH! I can't believe I wasted my money on that expansion pack. The animals just annoy me and dig up my Sims yard. I hate it. They aren't remotely cute. I thought Pets would have so much more, like more interactions, pet shows and more activities. But no. Now I'm stuck with annoying little...pixels! :handbag: And now you know about my passion for the Sims 2...which is quite sad really. |
So far I only have two, nl and uni. When I was deciding my first one to get, I was going to get either of those. I thought nl looked a little better, but in the end, I got uni, and it was way better than I expected. It added this whole new aspect of gameplay, college. After about a year I decided to get another expansion. I decided to get nl. It wasn't as great as I thought. I didn't get that same feeling that it added so much to the game. It basically just added a lot of small, semi-cool stuff. I might be biased though, because since my computer is really slow, it never seemed worth it to me to load the downtown lots.
|
Since I got the base game with Pets for 50% as a special pack, I only have Pets. And don't have money to buy a new expansion pack. I'm satisfied with what I have. *shrug* :D
|
1. Nightlife - It adds a whole new experience to my game. Instead of just staying at home and inviting people over for a party, my sims can now go out on a group outing. I love the cars - a must have even though i dont really use them :P. And the Vampires were cool. I enjoyed having a different looking sim with unusual interactions.
The downtown area was cool. I love the idea of dates, and the waiters, lol . A very nice ep. 2. Pets - Well, pets was OK.. I mean i do regret buying it because the pets were not-so-good looking. (I mean the kittens and pups were cute, but when they grow up they are mostly ugly) And I was very dissapointed with the interactions with the pets. (They should at least let you have a leash for them, lol) And the ep was just suckish. I loved the pets, but the graphics were simply terrible. I believe they could have done alot better with this one. Those are the only two eps i have. My next ep destination - Seasons  Oh - And if i had to uninstall one, - pets would be out the door, period. (Actually, I already uninstalled pets. It really slowed down my game ) |
The Expansions I Currently Have that i can Review (In order of most favorite to least)
Nightlife - It adds so much to the gameplay. Adds a nice downtown where my sims can hangout, adds lots of new interactions, cars, build mode items... Its just amazing. Pros - Adds a whole new dating game into the gameplay, Lots of new items, interactions, Turn ons/offs, Cars... Cons - The guests you invite to your outing (They can't order themselves...) and adds a bit more glitches. Overall - 9/10 University - It adds a whole new world of education and fooling around. Sims can go to University, enjoy the life and get an extended life span (unless you use the Aging off Cheat). Pros - Adds University (Whole new gameplay), New buy mode objects, Young Adult Life stage (Only if you attend University), new interactions Cons - Needs to improve on the University life because its just going to class and coming back to do work or something. Why not make them create a project which means bringing a whole group over? You could even slack off and still pass. Needs improvement on that. Overall - 8/10 Next expansion i'm going to purchase - Open For Business After that, i need you guys to help me decide, should i get Pets or just skip it and get Seasons? Pets adds almost nothing but pets which seems cool and also slow down the computers performence but it seems like a rip-off to purchase. Seasons seem so worth the while to purchase though. Help me decide! Tim |
Follow up to my review of The Sims 2 Expansions
Well since i've bought Open For Business, here is my basic review for now since i've just started playing it... Open For Business - Adds more functionality like opening businesses, more build mode things, and much, much more. Pros - Adds Businesses which you can manage, Can now purchase things from the catelog at the stores, More Build Mode functionality Cons - Needs to improve the stage for more usability, need to be able to have more businesses to run, Need to change when Sims are changing into their uniform, their faces should not change... Overall - 8/10 Bottom Line - Business are fun to operate but will be like being at work from home Tim |
My ranking:
NIGHTLIFE: Great new features, like visiting downtowns and restaurants, nightclubs, bars, shops, etc. Vampires are pretty cool and even useful if u want to do something fun with a boring sim. SEASONS: Seasons has great weather effects, with little to no game lag. (i guess it depends on your pc specs) winter is my favorite season. OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Bakery is my favorite business!! i also love running a furniture store! its got some great objects to. PETS: Not much added to the game, except some nice lounges. The cats and dogs are just annoying ESPECIALLY THOSE D**N STRAYS!!! (Sorry for the caps) The strays are really annoying. UNIVERSITY: Not much to say here, university is just boring, some of the objects are useful, thats about it. |
so basically...most people like seasons and nightlife because of the cool graphics, pretty things, cars, more fun interactions and most people didnt like pets because it got annoy, too extreme, andrepetitive..so the next EP that comes out should be based on that...i was thinking something along the lines of...
Social Sim/Neighborhood EP! -being able to have your sims talk to their neighbors -communicate better between themselves, lie to each other -jog around the neighborhood and spy on their sim friends (walk dog for those with Pets EP) -teens could egg and TP houses -teens, younger sims , and actual vampires and zombies could go trick or treating during Fall (have a Sim version of Halloween) -social status based on neighborhood, income, size of house, number of cars/lovers -networkingsucking up/doing favors for/ with fellow sims in order to get things for free or get better jobs even though sims dont have enough skills/friends for it (would be good for people who have OFB) -mowing the lawn -big BBQs and "block parties" -garage sales -parking on the sidewalk especailly downtown where lots are smaller so you might have to drive around and look for parking -get parking tickets for parking on wrong side of the street like in Downtown when theres street cleaning (adds more excitment to cars from Nightlife) -wash your car -get in trouble for walking around neighborhood at night by the cops because of curfew -garbage trucks pick up trash on certain days -if theres a flood sims have to climb on roof to wait it out and theres the occasional death from a shark attack during a flood hehe -tornadoes knock down trees and blow off roofs |
I'm really surprised how many people don't like Pets all that much, considering how much everyone wanted it before it came out. I never really cared either way about pets in the game, especially since Unleashed was my least favorite EP for TS1 (at least there were no raccoons this time around).
Anyway, my ranking: Seasons Definitely the best one; by far my favorite. It completely changed gameplay for me. Its so easy to keep track of "neighborhood time" now, by just keeping every house on the same (or close to the same) season. That alone made Seasons better than all the EPs. But then there's gardening and fishing which both give Sims something to do and make money or food (my sims eat fish all the time now, its more filling than any other meal). And leftovers, I don't know how I lived without them before, I have my good chef of each house serve a meal every time they're idle and package each plate for the fridge so there's always food (I wish the process of doing so was a little less annoying, but the amount of time it saves later is worth it). Children no longer have to eat chips and juice and muffins when there's not an adult around to serve them. Plant sims are the only supernatural sims I really enjoy playing with (I made a vampire once, but all the sims around him just wanted him to be cured, so I gave in), they are the perfect gardeners and they never need to sleep. The weather is fantastic as well, I love watching the snow fall during blizzards, and when the thunderstorms are really strong (where I live we hardly ever get heavy snow or thunderstorms  ). Seasons changed the whole game around, making it so much more involved and fun to play, especially for those of us with weak computers that hate going to community/downtown lots. Nightlife My favorite before Seasons came out. The process of attraction and dating gave me a way to find mates for the sims in my neighborhood who lack predestined lives (and you can have a date at your house, which is ten times easier than going anywhere). Cars are pretty handy too, especially when my sim misses their carpool/schoolbus or get promoted to a new job and I don't want to wait a day (when the new job is 3-10, for example, and they get home from the old job at 3 or later). The other three I have mixed feelings about. OFB has a lot of cool things you can do with it, but its more like a game onto itself, its very involved. I have only run one or two (both home) businesses, and they've been somewhat annoying to deal with. I liked that the option is there though. Pets are alright, about what I expected. Its nice for realism, and its cool to see neighbors walking by with their dog or cat. University I just about hate. Its dull and repetitive putting a sim through college, and so many teenagers are obessed with it (and get big aspiration hits for not going). I do like how they get out and can get a good job right away (especially as I've been trying to play my young sims with as much realism as possible, no $20,000 for nothing). I like some of the things they added, but the EPs that just add to regular day-to-day gameplay are more fun. |
1. Pets - I can't live without cats, neither can my witch sims - but to be honest, there should have been more to it than what we got.
2. Seasons - I love everything about this one, especially gardening. I'm still discovering this one since I'v only had it for less than a month now. 3. OFB/Night life - I cant deside any more. On my hp it was deffinately OFB - beucase going downtown was a pain - but now on my mac going to downtown is an actual option for funness - so this one is rising now to be one my favorites. 4. Uni - blaah |
I voted Pets and Seasons. I love having pets in the family, and the seasons add so much more reality to the gameplay.
|
I have only University and Seasons.I like seasons the most.It's more real then everyday sun.University is sometimes very boring.It's is too long.
The only SP I have is H&M.The only maxis-made clothes, I love! |
Seasons - Simply the best Espansion pack with way too many great new things to list :D
Nightlife - Well mainly cos it gave you all the nightime things aswell as CARS! *big boom of light and holy opera voices!* Open for business - Nice new hairs and clothes aswell as stores, elevators and a few new build stuff. Pets - Never bought it :P |
Funny Pets is last so far, despite it being so highly anticipated.
I voted Nightlife as my favourite, as I think it brought so much to the game earlier on. I especially like the dating system, with turn-ons and off, cars, and the downtownies (with inventories!) brought more choice for mates! A very close second would be Seasons. I haven't explored the gardening actions fully yet but they seem great, and the weather graphics are a lot more detailed than I thought they were be. I had no pre-conceptions of this EP, and was really pleasantly surprised. Pets, OFB and University I have mixed feelings about. University is boring to play - once you have done about 4 semesters, it is the same for every single sim, and the wants are annoying if you don't want to send your sim. However, I like having the extra careers, objects, outfits, and wants slots if they do go to uni. OFB is quite time-consuming. I wanted to be able to have Sims that were moguls, with lots of businesses, but it just takes too much work for a game thats supposed to be fun. I haven't really done much with home businesses though, so I might try those out next. I like the clothes and hair that comes with business. Pets I was kind of looking forward to, (not in an OMGZ!!1 way, just because it was something new) but pets got old quickly. Only a handful of my households have animals, as they can be so irritation, but I found that in Unleashed. I was disapointed in the lack of substance to the pack. They could have added different types of animals. I think if I was to remove a pack, it would Pets or University. I only have the H&M stuff pack. I haven't been tempted by the others, but I really liked the clothes. I know it is Blatant Advertising, but I liked the content. The only other I would consider getting is Glamour Life Stuff. |
Uni and Pets. I love the music that came with uni and the universities are lovely! Especially La Fiesta Tech. Even if uni takes so long I just love the uni premade sims. And the objects are cool too!
And for pets..... I don't care much about the pets right now. My sims haven't had pets in many months and I had the Kims (premade family which came with Pets) give away their two pets because of their two new kids and an instable marriage. Too much to do.......But the good thing with pets is the very cool furniture and buy mode things. All of the catalogue things from pets make up for the whole Seasons EP. And the Kim family are an awesome family to play..... Much more fun than any Riverblossom Hills families. How many times shall I say that I love what came with the pets expansion???  futuristic/scifi furniture, fantastic universe wallpapers etc. If only the stuff packs could give us that much..... Here are my opinions on the packs (one sentence): University- brilliant idea and an extremely good way for your short-lived sims to meet new people, form relationships and be young before they start their own families. Nightlife- very interesting but there should have been more possibilities like a bigger city and more dating options. OFB- Bluewater was really damn boring even if the neighborhood template was one of the most beautiful in the game. Pets- there should have been more to do and more fun even if the wonderful buy items make up for it all! Seasons- very good for the ones interesting in playing sims at the country but not necessary for the "urban simmer". |
My thoughts.
OFB. I think the object building and opening a business a great idea. Finally a way to take the sims to work. I think the talent badge is a really nice idea and I hope they will expand upon on that for Sims 2 and for Sims 3, such as a dancing, singing, swimming etc. This give the sims something new to build on rather than just the cooking, body etc. This would split attributes and skills, something all good RPG games should have. Seasons. The weather changes is nice and gives variety to the perpetual sunny days. I have not yet fully explored the gardening but it looks fun. The secret recipe is a nice touch. What I do not like is the sim dying from heat, surely fainting would be more suitable. The constant looking out the window when it is raining and snowing was just stupid. Finally, why no umbrellas ? Nightlife. The car is nice. The downtown is well build. Would have been more useful to allow skill building on some lots. I have a hack for that so my sims travel to the gym a lot but I think this should have standard. The dating game is neat and I think this can be expanded upon in trying to guess what the dates wants, which place is visit etc. Right now it is rather simple. And Mrs (Miss ??) Crumplebottom is back with a vengeance. Pets In a way, Pets is well done except I do not use it much. I find it much easier to train the pets than in Unleashed. I think the pets having a career is silly. Just having them guard the house, chase away pests would have been enough. University. I found this to be rather boring. The reason I send the sims to Uni is to get the other careers. The career boost is okay but it should have restricted to the matching discipline and not all. Some of the new careers awards are neat, such as the Cowplant. |
I like seasons the best, followed by ofb and pets.
|
1 pets
I know that the pets EP is kinda limited but I don't really use any of the features from other EPs, and it is nice to have pets, they make the game more interesting. 2 open for business Open for business added significant new features that havent been seen before, and it is fun not for sims just to have dumb generic jobs that you don't get to control 3 university I was quite dissapointed by this EP, University could have been so much better than just a neighborhood for campus and dorms. I can't see maxis putting much effort into this EP, maybe it had good new Items, but I don't remember what Item came from what pack. 4 nightlife Nightlife was pretty lame, apart from cars, which aren't as cool as I expected. Being able to go downtown isn't great, sims could go to community lots before. For features like outings, it takes a long time for transport and stuff, and by the time its over all their needs are to zero, so why not just stay at home? The Biggest Loser All the stuff packs are just stupid, especially family fun stuff and the Holiday one. Who needs quirky extra wallpaper that you will never use |
My Vote
I Have All Of The Expansion Packs and 3 Stuff Packs (The Stuff Packs aren't Installed) So Here's My Top 4
FreeTime FTW! - Secondary Aspiration - Different things to do for different hobbies - OMFG Violins! - Sewing - Pottery - too bad you can't sit to do a "Ghost" thing - Not enough for toddlers, just blocks and drawing? Seasons -Gift Giving -Different Weather Effects -Different Wants for Different Seasons (Winter = Family, Spring = Romantic, Summer = Friends, Fall = Skill Building) -Skating Rinks (looks cool with the stuff from Nightlife) -Gardening/New Skills -Plantsims -Leftovers Nightlife -Cars -Dates -Outings (this is so much easier if you want to have a gettogether) -Groups -New Downtown Lots -Cool Stuff (Reminds me of House Party) -Cooler Clothes Open For Business (tied for 3rd) -Running Your Own Business -Skill Badges -Servos -Probably one of the EPs with the least glitches? -Making (many) Group Meals/Single Plates, then putting them in the leftovers away (With SSN) -You May Get to Go Downtown in Nightlife BUT you can RUN the Businesses Downtown. Bon Voyage -Your Sims Get to Go On Vacation Finally -Chance Cards on Tours (too bad you couldn't get to join your sim but i'm not complaining) -Vacation Rewards -Community Hotels -3 Vacation Locations -Gets Boring after a while. Eh, University, I didn't really like the furniture, but I liked the new interactions. I also thought the YA Sims were a bit strange because they sounded like teens but looked like adults... MEH, at least it was something new though. I actually liked the stuff in Pets but I felt that wasn't enough, and this WAS when Maxis gave EA the power to make the EPs unfortunately. |
It's ironic that I found Uni so dull, since I'm in college at the moment. I guess it's because the fun part of actually being at a university is (to me) all the amazing classes and getting to learn about things I love, and the Sims isn't really about academics in general. Uni is the only EP I don't have. I miss the workout equipment, but even if I had it I might not install it. I hate all those "go to college" wants, and I hate feeling guilty for never sending my sims to college.
My favorite is still Nightlife; Chemistry was a brilliant idea and I don't think I could play the game without it. At the moment I don't have Nightlife on my computer, and I miss it sooo much. I love dates, the whole downtown area, vampires, and that oh-so-romantic slow dance interaction. Actually, I think one of the best things about BV is the new attractions. I really like the romance aspect of the game, so that was cool. Pets are cute, but not nearly as good as I'd hoped. They don't really do much, and something about them looks a little odd. Seasons: oh, the rain! I love Seasons so much because it's just so beautiful. My Seasons disk is broken (rrrgh) and I really miss it. All those seasons were so pretty, and farming was really fun. |
Okay, this is my list and reasons.
#1: Nightlife This EP is by far the best ever. If anybody is going to have one EP, you must have this one. You can go clubbing, go to the whole new downtown area which has so many things for your sims to explore (ie Vampires!) The whole new dating system is awesome! It makes falling in love fun, and having a great date has rewards too. All new social interactions, turn ons/offs, chemistry and of course, cars! I love this EP and couldn't live without it. #2: Seasons Seasons is great. Finally there is weather in the sims world, which we all wanted since the first sims game came out. Autumn is particularly lovely with gorgeous lighting. Rain, hail, snow and shine. I love winter too becase the snow gradually increases and sims can make snowmen, get into snowball fights and even make snow angels! But I dislike the whole "Its raining/snowing/hailing" thing that sims do whenever the weather does happen.... and they wake up in the middle of the night... but, that was fixed with a hack that removes that. So its all good. #3: OFB Okay, so this may not be the best expansion pack ever, but it does have some perks. You can run a business or your own home business which can be fun but it becomes stressful and annoying down the line for me. I've never ran a business past level 3 without flipping out and cheating! But it comes with some great hairs, clothes etc and some cool objects too. #4 Uni Ugh, this is a boring EP. Okay, but boring. So sims go to university, they hibernate in their bedroom in my game studying and building skills and occasionally ringing up home to get their social bar up, but I don't really see the point, other than getting a degree in something and not having to start a career all the way at the bottom. But uh, the fact that teens get this want automatically as soon as they grow up is really annoying. Some people don't go to uni, so why can't sims choose to not go without having aspiration failure? lol. I pretty much rant about this expansion and the bad outweighs the good with this one for me. #5: Bon Voyage I really don't like it. Boring as all hell, and after my first vacation I got tired of it. So many bugs, issues and complications that I find its hardly worth all the hassle. Besides you can't even go to the Alps? A ski resort? You think after making seasons they would incorporate all of the eather features into the vacation destinations, but no. That really bugged me,because I was so looking foward to sending my sims to a lodge burried deep within the snowy mountains with rustic decor, sitting before a fire drinking hot chocolate while it blizzards outside, and then waking up early to have a ski day. But no. And the destinations aren't really that great. The far east is worse than I expected it to be, as well as the mountain thing, so this EP rates really badly for me! Leastly and lastly, at #6: Pets No need to put a description for this one, because the title says it all. You get pets. Generic, small and annoying pets that chew up your time and money. They didn't even bother throwing in some cool interactions, objects and clothes/hairstyles for your sims. Just, pets. Horrible, horrible excuse for an EP IMO. |
Poll results zeroed now that BV has been out a little bit - previous favourite EP was Seasons.
|
Thought I'd get in on the fun before I have to go to work. Blech work!
What is your most favourite/least favourite expansion pack, and why? Most favorite is Seasons, because it's so rich in content and gameplay! I love it! Least favorite is University. It's just plain boring! What is your most favourite/least favourite stuff pack, and why? I've only got Celebration Stuff, and it's not that great. I might not reinstall it when I get my new computer. I want H&M, Teen Style, and Family Fun Stuff. If you could rank how much you like each expansion or stuff pack in order, what would your order be? 1) Seasons! 2) OFB 3) Pets 4) Nightlife 5) University If you had to remove an expansion, which one would it be, and why? University. I don't like it, there's not much to do with it, and I never send my Teens to Uni anyway. |
Er... Would it be possible to make it so people who have already voted, vote again?
|
Here's my list:
Seasons: I just love it. A lot of extra things came with it that are just amazing. The leftovers, the seasons (duh) and their interactions. I wouldn't be able to play the game without seasons now. Nightlife: When I bought TS2 I was a little late and was able to buy Uni with it. But I didn't play it much because I needed to get on dates and go out into town and everything. The only thing I don't really like is the loading times. Open For Business: I just love it that the Sims can start their own businesses and make some money out of it. With the Sims 1 I made all these gnomes and then sold them, so I was delighted that now I could make them a real business. University: It has some nice things, the careers and some nice stuff. But getting your sims through uni is soooo boring. They should have halved the time or something, It just takes ages. Pets: I had such high expectations, I even pre-ordered (which I never do) and I was so disappointed afterwards. The only thing it adds is pets and after you played it once with a pet, you've seen it all. |
my list
1. Seasons--the weather really adds another dimension to gameplay, the lighting and effects are gorgeous, the vegtable gardening is great and long overdue, and the objects that came with this pack were terrific--the whole country theme sets that actually had lots of matching pieces are among my favorties thus far.
2. Open for Business--again, tons of new gameplay options with great opportunities for variety; one is not limited to only a few kinds of shops, you can sell anything, so its well integrated with the content already included in the game. Some decent build item sets. 3. Pets--though I rarely have pets in my game, they're done pretty well, don't get too annoying. Otherwise, this one, like Seasons, I think had some of the best new object sets available. 4. Uni--Underappreciated EP, in my opinion. Added a lot of good things to the game, new careers, more opportunites to get sims skilled up and befriended, so it doesn't take as long to get to the top of career tracks. Some decent objects, though the walls and floors were a joke. And that sofa that looks like lips--gah, that still gives me hives. 5. Nightlife--the least interesting of all. Can't say much good about this one. I thought it was dull as dirt, though I like the dating thing. Stuff packs--Glamor Stuff was great, had an excellant bunch of objects, most of which matched. Family Fun stunk, and H&M was actually repulsive, not worth buying at all. Can't offer opinions about BV yet--I've got it but haven't installed it yet, waiting for my new 'puter to get here before I can--or the other stuff packs, which I wasn't interested in. |
Here's my list:
1) Seasons + Gardening + Fishing + Leftovers + New jobs + Weather effects (even if the snow slows up my game) - Furniture/wallpapers. It's nice, but I have very little "quaint" houses for it. 2) Bon Voyage + Themed lots + Many new activities + New chemistry types + New landscaping items (trees, beach lots) - Geared towards adult sims. (Example: no native outfits for other ages.) 3) Nightlife + Chemistry and attraction + New playable subneigbourhoods for all sims + More modern build/buy mode items + Inventory - Cars. I just don't use them much. 4) Open For Business + Bluewater Village terrain + Making money without jobs + Many nice new walls/floors + Workbenches - Costume clothing/hair. Never use this. 5) University + New careers + New hairs + More want slots - Influence. I never understood the need for this. - Uni subhoods are nice but don't interact much with the rest of the game. 6) Pets + Skunk (hey, it's cute but don't try to pet it!) - Too many strays digging up my flowers - Too many strays going shopping with me - Too many strays chasing my guests around the yard - Nothing new for families without pets I think Seasons and Bon Voyage are the most diverse additions to the game. OFB helps break job monotomy and Nightlife adds a lot of basic things. Uni and Pets are the most limited ones - but unlike Uni, Pets invades all your lots whether you want it or not. Glamour Life is my fav Stuff Pack - I use its furniture a lot, especially in bedrooms. H&M brought some nice clothes, but the others are disappointing. |
Which exp should I buy? OFB or BV? Most seem to prefer OFB, but what do you guys think is the best one?
|
My favorite EP is a tie between Nightlife and Seasons. They both add so much to the game, I love them. My least favorite is probably Pets. I don't hate it, but it's just sort of..."eh" to me.
My favorite SP is probably H&M. I don't like a lot of the women's clothing, but the stuff for the guys is great. My least favorite is FFS. Figgi: Hmm...I'd say BV. Unless you really want to own business, OFB doesn't do much. BV has a lot of cool new interactions and items. |
My fave EP is:
All of the Above Sorry can't decide which one, for me all of them is the best :D |
Quote: Originally posted by cosmough
Yeah..same here!!I install all the SP and EP..of couse..I only have 3965 things in my download folder..... :anime keep it neat and tidy...) |
Seasons is definitly my favourite, as it has completely transformed the game for me. I didn't use to play very intensively, but that has completely changed once I got Seasons. I'm now a proper addict
Pets was disappointing when I first got it, and it hasn't managed to convince me. I now actually find it rather annoying and will uninstall it soon. |
What is your most favourite/least favourite expansion pack, and why?
I think Seasons is really great. It makes The Sims look like a completely different game. And the weather is just beautiful (I love the snow, the rain, everything). I think it's by far the expansion that I really like the most. The least favorite one would be Pets or Uni. I never send my teens to Uni since it's so long and boring, and all there is in Pets are JUST pets... I think none of my Sims actually own a pet! What is your most favourite/least favourite stuff pack, and why? My favorite one would be H&M, because I love the clothes there is in it. There are just so many, and they're actually good looking (well at least most of them). The least favorite one is Family Fun Stuff because I felt like it didn't add so much to the game. If you could rank how much you like each expansion or stuff pack in order, what would your order be? 1 : Seasons 2 : Nightlife 3 : OFB 4 : Bon Voyage 5 : Pets 6 : Uni. If you had to remove an expansion, which one would it be, and why? Uni, since I never use it anyway |
Ooh, I was considering whether to treat myself to a stuff pack (I have Amazon vouchers, yay!) and debating on Teen Style or Celebration. On the one hand, TSS seems to have more and looks better made, but I don't see myself using all the stuff and I've never really felt myself lacking for teen stuff while playing. Celebration Stuff doesn't seem to have an awful lot, and some of it looks pretty poo in terms of quality, but I tend to want more party stuff in game, particularly for weddings.
Decisions, decisions. My Expansion Pack hierarchy goes: Seasons - a brilliant addition to the gameplay, as well as including a fair amount of nice stuff to use in your Sim's home whether you really pay attention to the weather or not. Gardening and fishing are great ways to pass the time, too. Open For Business - adds a whole new element of gameplay, making The Sims challenging for the first time in ... well... ever. Unfortunately it doesn't include many new non-business items or options but the variety of the businesses you can run make up for that. Nightlife - not just an original Sims rip-off. It has driveable cars, come on! The restaraunt podiums and the DJ booth make it easier for you to find something to do once you take your Sim out of the safety of their house, and it's always fun to watch Sims be more randy and flirtatious. Bon Voyage - again, far more than it's original counterpart. The holidays are fun and it's possible to go back to the same destination and find something completely new that you hadn't discovered before. The way Sims show off their new local ways can be a tad annoying, though, so you might want to think twice about teaching them all the greetings gestures. The game was also severely buggy for a lot of people, but fortunately not for me. One great new option: the ability to walk to lots rather than take a car or a taxi. University - the first expansion pack was at least a brand new idea and something that was certainly lacking in Sims lives. The groovy hippie themed objects are also useful to have if you happen to like groovy hippie themed objects. The downside is that university life takes you away from the main gameplay and can be tedious to get through. By the time your Sim is in their last year you have half a mind to make them drop out and go back to the main neighbourhood. The plus side is that if they do make it, there are shiny new jobs available and these jobs are much better paid. Still, it's a bit weird for an artist to be instantly better paid and require more qualifications than a doctor or a polititian. Pets - the EP I would uninstall if I had to get rid of one. I don't specifically dislike it, and the cats and dogs look great and are quite fun to watch. But you can't interact with them very much, and non-pet related objects are sorely lacking. There is an 'atomic' theme that I find even less useful in-game than the Myushuno device. Although pets are a signifcant part of real world living, they don't add much to The Sims except their cuteness. Perhaps if training them in the basic house rules was more difficult there would be more to keep you on your toes, but once they've stopped eating/peeing on the furniture they just mooch around and occasionally want a food re-fill or a cuddle. Best feature: the strange but adorable Womrat trying to climb up the side of its cage. |
I was wondering if anyone had all of the stuff packs and could compare them for me? I'm going to be getting the lot of them (except FFS, which I have, and TSS which I, for all intents and purposes, will have) but it's staggered and I wanted opinions on which I oughta get first, and all of the posts here are more about the EPs than the SPs. Any help would be appreciated
. Thank you, and have a lovely day! |
Quote: Originally posted by FurryPanda
Ask, and ye shall receive! Fave to least fave SP (IMO) 1. H&M-I adore clothes and these came with awesome outfits, especially for female Sims. There's also some great recolors out there. 2. TSS-Again with the clothes, lol. I also like the beds and desks. 3. GL-Decent-to-good clothes. I'm a fan of the paintings (though I usually don't care about paintings in the game, lol) 4. Celebration-A mixed bag of clothes. It does include cute toddler dresses. The new cakes are nice, but the new wedding arch annoys me b/c it does not use the same animations as the previous and rushes the wedding along. 5. FFS-The objects were okay but *hated* the clothes. Every time a toddler ages to child and is wearing the dinosaur outfit or the swimming gear with the rubber ducky, I think to myself, "That kid is soooo gonna get his butt kicked at school!" 6. Holiday-Mostly because my disk was messed up and installed wrong. I know I'm forgetting one, but I hope that helps! |
1: FreeTime
- new activities - hobbies -contests - genie lamp (ability to resurect a family member!!!) - the only bad things I have to say that the clothes and hairstyles are more "color ful and fantisical" then to my liking. They are almost like what the matchmaker wears in Nightlife. 2. Nightlife: - FINALLY CARS!!! - turn ons/ turn offs - bars and clubs -karaoke - only thing I dislike about it is vampires. They are sort of freaky and have no concept to me what so ever. 3. Season: - the weather affects are really cool - new pool accents - sledgehammer tool (REALLY USEFUL!!!) - ability to choose hairstyles for each category of clothing - gardening/fishing - country collection - leftovers - only bad thing really is that there is another way to have a fire (lightning) 4: Bon Voyage - saunas and massage tables and springs - BEACHES!! - pagoda roofs - new ways to get your sims out of there house - hammocks - unsavory chattalon (he is quiet hilarious, yet freaky... best NPC ever!) - cameras - only bad thing is really that to complete all the memories you have to go everywhere over and over again and it gets boring and hard. 5: Open for Business - cheesecake and berry pie... mmmm - new way to get twins - ability to give others makeovers - toys, robots, and flower arrangments - at first it can be really cool owning your own business, but afterwards it gets really boring and you get tired of it because there is so little to do. and when hiring employees they only give you 5 of the worst who don't even have what you want. It's practically uneeded those are the only EP's I have. I want to get UNI just for Legacy perpouses but I am not going to get pets. you can't control them and there is more of a hassle. plus, who wants animal ghosts in there home? But animals could make some profit for business. |
I'm not really sure which EP is my favourite, but it's probably seasons. It's the most realistic addition to the game without being useless or intrusive.
I don't have bon voyage or freetime, but... Seasons + Weather + Gardening & Fishing + Plantsims! + I use the new furniture a lot because all my houses are fairly small and it looks really cute. + I liked a lot of the new AF clothes - very little new hair, and the hair that was added is kind of useless (awkward hats and earmuffs) - autonomous catch and water balloon fights bug me. a lot. <_< Nightlife + Cars, which I find useful when my sims have annoying carpools like the helicopter. + Downtown. Even if I'm usually not in the mood for dragging my sims downtown, it's a neat option, and buying the downtown lots with OFB makes things interesting. + LOTS of new clothes, as well as the option to use some of the teen and uni (?) clothing on adults. + Dates, chemistry and being able to meet new sims over the phone (friends of friends call after great outings) - a minor annoyance, but I hate how almost every time a friend calls to 'chat', it turns into them inviting my sim downtown. - also a minor annoyance, I think the driveways are wayy too large. I usually only build on 2x2 lots, and I think the driveway + garage combo takes up an unrealistic amount of space. - crap new hairs. OFB + I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but if you don't have Uni or Nightlife, installing OFB adds influence, chemistry and turn ons & offs. + home businesses are pretty fun to run and can generate a HUGE amount of money if it's successful + lots of new clothes, even if a lot of them are kind of useless + crafting benches! I really like this aspect because I think it adds a bit more uniqueness in the game. having items for sale that can't be bought in catalog (without altering the game) is fun, especially servos and snapdragons - running a business on a different lot is kind of tedious, and I've never really worked a business up enough for it to be able to generate significant revenue by "checking in" from home. - "own 5 top level businesses" lifetime want >_< Pets + Realistic. Certain families seem so much more fun when they have pets in them. + Pet jobs add a small amount of income, say when a single mother is on maternity leave, her pet can still go to work to earn enough money in case the bills come or something. + Some of the furniture is actually alright. - pets can get fairly useless after awhile. at least in TS1 Unleashed, dogs could pee on your plants to water them, you could get them to "attack neighbour", cats could hunt mice and there were shows. - seriously, whats the deal with the unlockable fur colours? i've never used them. University + I love all the new careers and career rewards, especially the artist camera. + Realistic addition, since people who go to college or university do tend to get further in their careers from the start + new want slots and the ability to lock two wants at once after graduating - getting through university is far too long and tedious, the community lots there are kind of useless - scholarship requirements are a bit unrealistic. i mean, having to have a skill almost completely maxed by adolescence? come on. - groovy stuff was completely useless to me. i haven't made a single hippy sim yet. |
I'm getting a new expansion pack soon, but I'm not sure which one. The only ones (excluding SPs) I don't have are...
OFB BV and Seasons I'll probably get all of them eventually, but which one of them is the one I should get next? Many have told me Seasons is their favorite, but OFB sounds most interesting to me at the moment. |
If OFB is the one you think is most interesting, it is the one you should get.
|
IMHO OFB is a waste of money. If your computer has good enought specs I would definately recommend getting Seasons. It adds the most to your gameplay and it's overall the best EP [IMO]
|
I only think it's the most interesting because I know next to nothing about any of them. Other than the obvious (you start a business or go on vacation or you have seasons.)
Which one adds the most gameplay to it? (oh, and my computer can support any of them. I checked.) |
tough decision, but seasons is the most fun
|
Now that I have all the SPs except Kitchen and Bath... With ratings 0-10...
Holiday: Outright sucks. Bad. The objects are cute but I never have holiday events for my sims. Tons of spam of the walls and floors section (who the hell fully re-wallpapers and re-floors their house for the holidays?!) and the windows section (with frosted windows - useless if you have Seasons. If you just love Christmas it might be worth it. But even then probably not. Rating: 1. Family Fun Stuff: Lots of brightly-coloured plastic and weird outfits. They're all pretty well done, but I don't think I'd ever use any of them on my sims or in their houses. I don't do cutesey kid themed rooms and the outfits are just too strange. If you really like the cutesy cartoon thing and you like sim kids to wear goofy outfits, you might like it though. Rating: 3. Celebration Stuff: Lots of formalwear that seems a little awkward - most of the female dresses seem to be strapless with weird tops. The textures are pretty nice though. I -really- dislike the objects... they come in strange colours and really aren't that useful. Rating: 2. Glamour Life Stuff: The clothing isn't too bad... some of it is a bit special-use but I do like the men's suits and the textures are nicely done. The objects are well-made and versatile and quite stylish. Rating: 6. H&M Fashion Stuff: This one I actually really like. The clothing is quirky and cute (especially for women) and though some of it falls into the fugly catagory, most of it is really nice and kind of 80's-ish. The casual stuff for men is excellent, and there's one male suit that is quite sexy. Not much in the way of objects besides some stuff for doing H&M stores, but at least you're not spammed with it. Rating: 9 Teen Style Stuff: Cute clothes in fun themes, and great objects that are good not only for teens but for other sims too. Focused on teen sims which I don't tend to play much, but it does fill a gap. Rating: 8. Poll numbers reset since Free Time has been out a while now. Previous results: University - 10 votes Nightlife - 38 votes Open for Business - 27 votes Pets - 15 votes Seasons - 110 votes (clear winner - more votes than all other EPs combined!) Bon Voyage - 15 votes |
I can't vote in the poll again. Is that intended?
|
My favorite expansion pack would be OFB. I love everything about it and Im not even done trying out all the different types of businesses yet.
My least favorite would be University. I didnt find the whole experience entertaining and the whole process takes way too long; I always get bored and fustrated at Junior year. I dont own any stuff packs since there are already lots of great free stuff online! Ranking: 1. OFB 2. Seasons 3. Freetime 4. Nightlife 5. Pets 6. Bon Voyage 7. University |
here is my EP top that nobody will read:
1. >.> university; it's just so original(the jobs that come with it) 2. open for buisness; nice overpowered bonuses =) 3. free time; more annoying popups for my sims woot... 4. seasons; except for weather effects, everything unbalances the game 5. pets; a nice editor, that's all... 6. bv; nope... not my cup of tea 7. nightlife; i HATE it... it pales in comparation with hot date; as you may see, remakes suck... a MM remake would be the only one that dosen't suck my sp top that nobody will read: <...> stuff packs are too insignificant to make a top for them... the only noticeable ones are happy holiday(build mode spam and santa outfits that lags when i pass near it in cas), h&m(CAS clothes spam) and K&B(good for themed houses =) ) family fun, glamour and teen style don't make such a blast in my game... only with themed rooms |
My fave EP was seasons, because it brought so many new things to the gameplay :D
|
I haven't posted in this thread in over a year now, and I just thought I'd come back and do a final run over my favourites again.
I have all EPs and this is how I would now rank them: 1. Open For Business. 2. Seasons. 3. Freetime. 4. Nightlife. 5. Bon Voyage. 6. University. 7. Pets OFB just has to be my favourite now because I am always playing businesses, whether its home shops or community restaurants, I just enjoy it not having to make every single sim get a career where they vanish off screen for several hours every day. Seasons is number 2, because I have always wanted weather since Sims 1 days and then we got it. This was deffinitely the most exciting expansion pack for me, I could not wait to get it! Had a countdown timer and everything, just dying to give sims rain and snow. As sad as it sounds, thats what I was like. It would come second now, because we've had 2 EPs since it, and now the weather effects which used to be totally amazing every time I saw them are now, well, I'm used to them being there. "Oh, another rainstorm. Cool." It's no longer exciting, but still an amazing EP for the game. The most recent EP, Freetime is my number 3 because it gives sims so much more to do with their free time. While I like the idea of the talent thing, I am not so keen on how it decays over time, especially if the sim has maxed the talent. If you were a world class pianist, you wouldn't just start to forget everything you know slowly over night? Hmm maybe it is a little realistic and I just want it to be simple. I have a hack for it anyway so that stops this EP from sucking. The nuisance phone calls about magazines are annoying though. Nightlife, for many people, is considered to be totally amazing. And, it was, back in 2005. Wow! Cars! Holy Moly! Yeah, they were exciting, but like weather, the fun factor has been taken out of it. It's just a common thing in my game these days. And, with EA offering a driveway and car online for free too, this makes Nightlife pretty obselete. The dating system is great, but since cars can be downloaded for free now, the whole EP just doesn't stand out anymore. Attraction was added into every other EP anyway, am I right? The 5th position was a tough choice. I decided on which EP I use most, which is Bon Voyage. Going on holidays/vacations in real life has always interested and excited me, and I though in the sims it'd be just as good. Vacation in Sims 1 was pretty fun. I liked the music. This time round, however, I wasn't that fussed. Each area just feels like another subhood. Nothing made them special. Yeah, we got beach lots, but I'd have prefered fully themed areas to visit. Instead, the island resort just looks like my home neighbourhood but with a few beaches and a pirate ship. The mountainous area is also just a snoozefest. I would have prefered a snow/arctic resort. The Far East location is alright because it had the special roofs (can't remember their name) and all the right decoration. However, the locals just looked like regular Goopy's wearing dresses (forgot their name too). University comes 6th in my rank of things. Yeah, it sounds lame, but the EP is still amazing. I'd be doomed without the drums, guitar, and snooker table. The objects from this pack were fantastic, and the new careers were great. The cowplant is deffinitely exciting every time but the whole university feel of things can get really boring at times. I find it alright with just one sim, but trying to play a whole group just baffles me. Trying to keep them entertained but make sure they've all studied enough, and keeping track of all their classes and exams was just a challenge in itself to me. Many people say they'd like having young adults in the normal hood, without college, but I disagree and think I'd get bored really quick and age them up. Young adults are just adults, they just can't propose marriage and have kids. Pets was last on my list. I was hyped for this EP, I really was. Even told my cats how much I couldn't wait to make them in my game. But, after the whole cutesyness of the animals, I got bored. They annoy me, they dig holes in the gardens, tip over trash cans, and just destroy everything. That annoys me. Oh, and the fact that once all the sims have gone to sleep, EA expect me to sit here and watch the pets every move since it doesn't speed time up. I know I can do it myself, but then I always miss when a sim wakes up and they all go and die before I can slow the game down. Basically, I need the auto-speed-thingy. And with pets, it's not possible without cheats, forcing the pets to go to sleep at night too. Since I have all the stuff packs (besides Kitchen and Bath) I thought I'd quickly sum them up too. Here they are in order: 1. H&M Stuff. 2. Glamour Life. 3. Teen Style. 4. Celebration. 5. Family Fun. 6. Happy Holidays. H&M was a stuff pack, that at first, I thought was a little odd. All about clothes? Wtf? But, it turns out to be an amazing stuff pack and well worth the £10 I paid for it. All of the clothes are great (well, most) and the objects to make your own H&M store are also pretty good to use on community lots. Glamour Life (does it have life in the title? cannot remember lol) is a stuff pack I like because I pretty much ALWAYS use the bedroom set. The living/dining room sets are kinda meh in my eyes but the bedroom is always a favourite. Expensive style, and my sims like it. Great stuff pack, once again, worth the money. I'd say I like Teen Style stuff because it has great clothes for the teens, particularly the lads, there's finally some stylish stuff for them to wear! And the themed bedrooms based on stereotypes are pretty cool. Means my sims can express themselves during their teenage years. Another great stuff pack. This is where stuff packs kinda go downhill. Celebration stuff was kinda lame to be honest. The stuff used hideous colours nobody would ever use for everything. The party stuff was lame, and I never bother with cakes, so they were useless. The clothes were ok I guess, but I can't say I liked the women's wedding dresses that had manky purple/green/whatever color stripes going down the back. Family Fun Stuff is another wierd stuff pack. Firstly, and I'm sure somebody out there has noticed this, it's initials are FFS. And to me, this is an abreviation of For **** Sake. Not that this affects the game in any way, I just like to point it out. The clothes are disturbing. I hate when a toddler grows up and gets a horrible rubber ring as a swim suit and some disturbing dinosaur outfit for their PJs. The themed bedrooms were cute at first, but lost appeal. Not too fussed on this pack. And finally, to end my ranting, Happy Holidays stuff. As HP said earlier, this SP does well and truely suck. Being honest, yeah, Christmas can be fun, but after trying it once in game, it just sucks. What annoys me is that the trees/windows all have seperate objects. It'd rock soooo much more if they were recolours. The silly New Year party is lame, and causes my game to create two "throw a party" pie menu's on my phone. Whether thats meant to happen or if it's just my game, I don't know. The flooring and wallpapers were not neccessary. Like HP said earlier also, who redecorates their bleeding walls for Christmas? Nobody thats who. And you wouldn't want holly on the wall all year round, it's just stupid. Would have been better with more wall decor and rugs to decorate the rooms sensibly, rather than literally make over the house for one day. Well, that sums up the SPs and EPs in my game. It's just my opinion in the end, and though I'd recommend people to buy the best EP's in my list (*cough* OFB, Seasons, Freetime, FTW!*cough*) it is totally up to them. Stuff pack wise I'd recommend Glamour and H&M and if you have any money left, Teen Style. =] |
1.Seasons.
2.Open For Business. 3.Freetime. 4.Nightlife. 5.Bon Voyage. 6.University. 7.Pets Seasons- Adds real life weather effects OFB- Adds great building nessesities FreeTime- Adds more fun for your Sims. NL- Adults go out! BV- Adds oceans/beach lots! Uni.- Adds University and YAs, but Uni takes too long Pets- Adds great Deco., but nothing else, but Pets... |
My list from favorite to least favorite, along with reasons.
1. Nightlife: This EP brought a much needed dose of reality to the game with more active community lots and turn-ons. It came with some nice clothes and the ever amusing vampires. 2. Open For Business: This EP extended the realism of NL with the choice to work from home, adding elevators, allowing Sims to purchase community lots, and giving each Sim its own inventory. With the right hacks installed, the Servos are very useful. Out of all the Maxis clothing in the game, I liked the outfits that came with OfB best of all. 3. University: I think I'm the only player who adores this EP. Uni gives Sims an extra life stage and a college neighborhood. This neighborhood comes with free places to live (dorms), free food that your Sim doesn't have to prepare (cafeteria staff), and community lot skilling. Your Sims can spend this entire life stage building up their skills with expensive items that they don't have to pay for! During this time, you can also rack up a lot of aspiration points by fulfilling simple Wants, like "Go to Class" and "Do Assignment." Combined with the inventory feature of OfB, your college Sims can buy stuff that they'll need after graduation, store it in their inventory, and use it when they get their first real home. Overall, this EP makes your Sims' transition into adulthood 100% easier. 4. Seasons: Farming ftw! The new option of Sims growing their own food is a lot fun. And remember all of those useless ponds? Now you can catch fish from them. Combined with OfB, your Sims can have their own fish market or farmers' market, and can also buy a community lot to build a farm on if their Residential lot is too small for one. The transformation to a Plantsim is pretty neat too, especially for Family Sims who don't want a partner of the opposite gender. 5. Pets: I feel odd about calling this my "least" favorite. I love this EP. Having pets in the game is fun and useful, especially for loner type Sims who don't have many friends, but still need a way satisfy their Social need. Breeding puppies and kittens provides Sims with both a hobby and a secondary source of income. Plus, they're just plain cute. I think I would sooner just stop playing Sims 2 altogether than part with any of these EPs. I refuse to purchase Bon Voyage as a matter of principle, and the descriptions I've read of the Free Time EP don't sound very interesting. I am, however, looking forward to Apartment Life. |
Here are my favourites!
1. Seasons. The weather is awesome, as are the objects that come with it. I love the gardening. 2. Free Time. The clothes are fab and quirky, and I love how you can develop a sim's personality with hobbies. 3. Nightlife. One word: VAMPIRES! 4. Pets. I actually love the pets that my sims have, plus the atomic range is quite snazzy. 5. Open For Business. I've never really used it to its full potential. I think that the worst thing about these are servos. SO pointless and annoying. I do like the craftable objects though, especially the toys. 6. University. If it wasn't for Lifetime Wants I'd uninstall this in a heartbeat. Thank goodness for the college adjuster! I don't own Bon Voyage, I never got round to buying it. Plus I think that it'll lag my game and I don't think that I'd use it much anyway. I have a few stuff packs too.. 1. H&M. Love the clothes, and there sre some nice recolours out there too. Most of my sims wear H&M! 2. Kitchen & Bath. Again I love the clothes but I also like the bathroom stuff. The kitchen stuff.. not so much. 3. Teen Style. I love the furniture, most of it I use for kid's bedrooms too. The clothes are awesome too. 4. Family Fun. I like the objects to create unique children's bedrooms. The clothes are just ICK. I love the kid's PJs with the bear feet, they're my favourite! 5. Glamour Life. I don't really use the items or clothes from this stuff pack. |
my favorite handsdown is Seasons. ever since ts1 ive always thought how cool it would be for the sims to have weather. i love all the fun interactions that come with it like gardening and fishing. i also love that sims are affected by seasons (higher romantic relations in Spring, fast skilling in Fall, high family relations in Summer). it makes the game more realistic.
my second favorite is of course Freetime. with hobbies, sims can become more of their own person with their own interests instead of just cookie cutter personalities. it definitely adds some more realism to the game. i hoping ts3 will enhance this with the vast choices of personality traits ive been hearing about. my least favorite would be University. i hate sending sims to college because it takes forever for them to graduate. its fun to make them have parties alot i guess, but it gets boring fast. i own Uni but i dont have it installed just to avoid the annoying no college memory. the only part i like about Uni is the instraments that come with it (guitar, bass, drums) but i can live without those. |
I only have three expansions, but out of those -
1. Nightlife: I don't know what I did without it, honestly. The dates, the chemistry, the entire downtown area... everything about it added SO much more to my game and gave me an entirely different way to play. Plus there are vampires, which are awesome. 2. Freetime: SECONDARY ASPIRATIONS! That's seriously the entire reason I bought it, it's something I've wanted for so long. The hobbies are nice too, gives my Sims a wider variety of things to want to do. Plus it added a ton of stuff to my game that came with other eps that I don't have, like leftovers. 3. University: I don't dislike this expansion but it's not as great as the first two are. College is fun, I love the evil mascot and all the random violence that happens there, but it gets really old fast, I'd never be able to stand it without the college adjuster. Plus I hate how my Sims cry for AGES if, for whatever reason, I decide to just let them grow up without going to college. Not everyone has to go to college. For me, the best things in this ep are the cowplant, the resurrection thing, and the zombies. If I were to ever get another expansion, it would probably be Seasons... I like the idea of being able to harvest your own food, and I'd like a Plantsim, but I have a feeling the temperature meter would annoy me slightly. I'm too used to not having to worry about hot or cold. I've also thought about getting Pets before, but I think the animals would get on my nerves eventually. No desire for OFB or Bon Voyage, nothing about them appeals to me, and I've never bought a stuff pack. |
opinions on Free Time?
the only EP I have is NightLife (as it came with Sims 2 Deluxe) I can see that the overwhelming favorite EP is Seasons, but the idea of attics getting too hot or cold, and basements flooding, just seems to add a little too much realism to me. I want my Sims to be happy!
I love having a car and visiting community lots. Is there an EP that lets you visit other residential lots? What I really want is for my Sims to be able to make things like they could in Bustin' Out for xBox. In Free Time can you make vases, statues, new paintings, or other decorations that you can keep and place around your house? The only stuff pack that looks worthwhile to me might be the new IKEA one, but do I really want to pay for stuff when there is so much free cc on MTS2? |
Quote: Originally posted by melethana
Nope, you'll have to wait for The Sims 3 to be able to do that!
Quote: Originally posted by melethana
Yes, you can make vases, custom clothes, curtains, rebuild a car, teddies, etc. |
Quote: Originally posted by melethana
Attics specifically don't get too hot or too cold, unless for some reason your sims have an attic with a wall missing.... In fact any indoor area will always be at the perfect temperature, its only when your sim is outside (defined as a place not completely encircled by walls and a roof) that temperature affects them. And even outside its not that big of a deal, unless your sims spend five hours at a time outside. Which can be taken care of by making the seasons only spring and fall when the temperatures aren't extreme enough to cause your sims problems. Basements don't flood as long as they have a roof over them, rain doesn't fall in roofed areas, the only way to flood an enclosed roofed area is with the toilet. |
1. Seasons(new ways to increase sim's IQ, plantsims, gardening, weather, all cool stuff...)
2. Bon Voyage(tons of cool new actions and stuff) 3. Pets(just for cuteness) 4. University(new career stuff... and new career stuff... and don't forgot about the new career stuff) 5. OFB(not the best idea they had; i just like the servos) 6. Freetime(plain annoying and useless) 7. Nightlife(adds nothing too special....) AL will proabbly be in the second half(places 5-8) |
I got Seasons with Sims 2, and I bought Pets as well, I love the rain and snow and thunder and lightening in Seasons, I enjoy having cats in my Sim houses, I give them the toy that sticks on the wall and watch them batting it about like mad!! I think the cats are very realistic especially when a sim plays with them using the cat teaser. They earn money for the family going out to work too!
Having read [most] of this thread I think I'll get OFB and Holiday EPs as well *heads off to Play dot com* |
Everything worked better when I installed all the packages BUT pets. That was how I gave up on it, even loving cats.
My favourite expansion pack and much useful is Seasons, followed by Nightlife. |
I'm not noticing anything glitchy about having Pets on ...
|
Not glitchy, but I, having a not-that-powerful computer, experienced slow downs and that sort of stuff. It seems like a way heavy package for features I don't really need.
But may be a matter of taste or just bad computer processing. |
Ohhh, this'll be fun to post... I've got most of the basic EPs. University-Bon Voyage, nothing extra... I'll post them in the order of most fave-least fave.
Bon Voyage- You finally get to go to exotic new places. New NPCs, new clothes that really helped make most of my sims, and cool new furniture. It's also the one EP that I started using mods on, and it's really a cool game now. Nightlife- Cars? Vampires? Downtown? New and amusing items to use, plus the karaoke machine that I love? AWESOME! Seasons- There's weather, which really rocks my socks. Also, being able to have scarves is awesome. (I wonder if someone could mesh one?) And the furniture, wallpapers, and such is nice. University- They say college life is the best years of your life. That could or could not be the case here... Parties, college, careers, and all the good stuff are just wonderful here! Open For Business- Owning a business was excellent. It brang home the bacon when I really needed it, and throwing garage sells when I was bored was fun. Pets- It was okay, owning my own pets and having cool new furniture and such. But I got bored of it in like two seconds... |
After buying all of the EPs to date:
Free Time: LOVE this EP. It added a new dimension to my game. I always felt that my sims were missing something from their lives and hobbies was that. Plus with secondary aspirations, something I never thought would be included in the game, and many other things, FT makes up for the half-arsed ideas EAxis comes up with sometimes. The things I don't like about FT are the wacky, costumey clothes and the annoying phone calls. Seasons: Weather and gardening. Nuff said. Nightlife: I occassionally let my sims go on dates, put cars in almost every household but rarely use them, hardly ever go downtown, and never had a main household with a vampire. So why do I like NL? I feel it's necessary. I wouldn't have made sense to have pets, weather, vacations, ect. without cars and remaking Hot Date. Plus, I'm trying to use NL more by going Downtown more often and having my first vampire in a main household soon. The clothes that come with NL are nice too. University: I like Uni because it gives my sims so much to do. University, new careers, instruments, cool decor. I let all of my teens go to university since it's a tradition in my game. Open for Business: Even though I find running a business a bit too hard for my taste, the open-endness usually beats it. Plus, the craft stations are a nice touch. Pets: Finally broke down and got it and, surprise, I actually like it! The dogs and cats are great for my childless sims and are really cute. Still wish EAxis included more animals to make the thrill last longer. A lot of times, pets are like animated objects instead of mini simmies. Bon Voyage: IMHO, the worst EP yet. Vacations are so boring, 90% of the outfits are cheesy and incredibly out of place in a normal neighborhood, and objects like throwing axes and hot springs doesn't fit within a normal household of mine. The only things I liked about BV is the new Turn-ons/offs (included in Free Time), massage tables, and the beaches. Plus, it made my game move a lot slower, so I had to uninstall it. If you want to buy Bon Voyage, I think you should save your money for Apartment Life. |
Can't say I particularly have a most favorite or least favorite EP... I love aspects of each one of them, and have problems with each of them, so they're all kind of equal in that way. If I had to say any one of them honestly enhanced my gameplay the most, though, it's probably Seasons because it was the first one that really gave me something for my Elder sims that honestly fit to a retired lifestyle (otherwise, they tended to just sit around all day, watching tv or playing chess and making frequent trips to the bathroom).
University . As long as I'm not playing it for the sake of grades, it's actually really interesting to play through a sim's college years. I have a lot of fun making the frat boy who's constantly going around to the community lots or throwing parties, neglecting his classes and classwork until right before the final exam, when he realizes, "Oh crap! I'm going to get a D!" and does an assignment at warp speed. Or the artsy kid who spends most of the time painting and going off to cafés. Or the group of friends who decide to start a band in their downtime, playing at parties or school amphitheaters. Basically, any little things that honestly let them live a college life. The objects are both cute and quirky as well as practical; I loved the addition of handheld electronics, the Groovy theme is versatile in that it could work in dorm rooms as well as in kids' rooms (or if you feel like putting together a Bohemian-themed household... or feel like making some hippies), and the Medieval theme works very nicely in some more gothic-themed homes or if you want to put together a chapel or graveyard. New careers made for nice choices, and the addition of lifetime wants was cute (although I never bother with them anymore). The downside, of course, is all of the NPCs who just waltz on in at any hour of the day. Cheerleaders and mascots coming up in your face, trainers waltzing in (and then congregate at your bubble blower) and yelling at you until you drop and give 'em 20. Well, that and it can get tediously boring if you just play it to everyone a 4.0. Nightlife . Without a doubt, added some of the most fun things to do when taking your sims out and about. Nightclubs were possible before it, but not as practical and certainly didn't have their own flavor and ambiance. Restaurants and diners were a very welcome change, particularly for any of my sims who 'don't bother' learning how to cook (I do have a couple of them who subsist on pizza, Chinese food, and instant meals). Dates and outings are particularly interesting, especially when you're not trying to constantly get perfect ones (I do kind of love the flaming poobags when you've had a disastrous date), and chemistry added an interesting twist to getting sims to like each other, and fury is always kind of amusing to me (I kind of laugh at sims stealing your newspaper, or kicking over your trashcan, just to get revenge on you). On the other hand, I don't particularly enjoy the vampires, especially since they always tend to start brawls in the middle of dance clubs in my game, and it can be too easy to get rich just by going on a few dream dates because of surprise gifts (and the post-date bonus if you have a good or dream date is way too good; in a test once, I managed to have a couple go on five dates in a row, with the controllable just asking for a new date again and again at the end of each one before the other sim could leave, without either needing espresso or passing out). The objects added were pretty awesome, loved the addition of cars (they turned out to be a godsend for some Captain Hero or other who missed his 'carpool' due to a traffic jam of kids at the doorway and couldn't get to work any other way), and a lot of the clothes were really nice... but others were very touch-and-go. Open for Business . This one added a nice dimension to the game. I liked that it actually took children into account, honestly, by giving them the lemonade stand as well as having craftables for them to use. The floral arrangements, I felt, were nicely done, and while snapdragons make things way too easy in a household, they do work nicely in a restaurant or bakery's kitchen, if only to keep the chef from quitting on you really quickly. I like the challenge that small businesses provided, the struggle to stay afloat with having to restock, pay employees well, keep customers happy, and hopefully get a good review. Talent badges were a nice change from standard skills, as well, and I was really, really happy when I saw the bay window. Also, the ability to lock doors was a very neat idea. My only real complaints about it are that a lot of items are too specialized (it's tough to find too many places outside of toystores to use the Storybook build objects sometimes, in spite of how beautiful I feel they are, for instance) and the customers can get too whiny sometimes. Also, the differently-shaped roofs, while cute, are hard to work with. They don't subject themselves to the same standards of other roof types (for instance, placing a roof on the floor above where a conical roof is doesn't remove part of the conical roof, so it'll cover inside of a room) and, unless I'm remembering wrong, roofslopeangle does not apply to them, making them difficult to fit in. Pets . The builder in me loved this expansion for a lot of the different features that it gave. Also, the more sleek, modern look of the Atomic Age furniture was a nice addition to give different flavors to homes. As for the pets... I really think they're pretty adorable. I love when a mama cat will nuzzle one of her kittens, for example, and the way that the sims talk to them. That they're uncontrollable can give an extra element of surprise, and I even kind of like the strays (even when they tear up the yard), because it was something unexpected. Also, pets really do help out with single sims who can't seem to find time to make friends to keep their social levels higher, and even in families, the kids really seem to love them. However... the novelty wears off way too quickly a lot of times and then you're just left with sims who only want to do things related to their pets, or to strays that they happened across once in the park. Seasons . Weather was a fabulous touch to the game, as well as any unexpected issues that it causes. Walking around outside in a rainstorm? Suddenly, bzzzzzt, lightning strike. I've had a lot of unexpected deaths due to weather-related accidents in my game, and it really makes for a more interesting change. As I noted above, I loved the addition of gardening and fishing to the game because it gave something for my elder sims to do with their time that really fits with the whole retirement lifestyle, but also because it gives you the chance to play families that don't get jobs and instead have to make their way with a tiny little home and a garden, growing their food themselves and surviving just with that. Winter's coming? Let's hope you've got a good stock. Fishing was also cute as a family bonding method; I know that, when I was growing up, my father taught me how to fish, and even though I never really went fishing with him for real, he'd take my brother with him, so I tend to have Family aspiration fathers take their sons with them to fishing lots that I create as a little Saturday trip. It's a cute way for them to spend the day. The seasonal activities were also a really nice touch (jumping into leaf piles, marco polo in the pool, roller skating and ice skating, snowball fights, snow angels, and snowmen... it's all stuff I remember doing as a kid). I even like most of the seasonal bonuses, and the Country furniture is beautifully done (and the racecar set is adorable for little boys' rooms). I loved that there were new careers; it'd been a while since we'd gotten any new ones, after all, and it filled some of the gaps and voids. However, I find that autumn can make things way too easy (the only thing I like going faster is homework for the kids, so that they can go off and do their own thing). Also, the penguin was cute the first two times he came around. Coming into the houses regardless of locks (I've had him get past every single one) whenever he pleases is annoying at best, especially when he sits there thrilling at your fish hanging on the wall for hours. Bon Voyage . I actually really like the vacations, as long as I stick to shorter ones. A nice beachside getaway as a reward for a hardworking family, or a family camping trip up to the mountains, or spending those simoleons on exploring the Far East...I liked the different touches that came with each place. I love having sims start to learn some of the vacation habits, but not complete learning them, because then they go and spread them around town and you've suddenly got a townfull of wobbly people attempting to bow or hang loose, every last one of them doing it wrong; it gives me a little chuckle. And, yes, giving them bad vacations can be just as amusing as giving them good ones. (Also, I particularly like that you can go along for honeymoons now.) I've had sims 'give' vacations to their family for special events, like a husband booking a trip for the family because his wife got promoted to CEO, or one of the kids grew up from a toddler into a child or child into a teenager, so let's all celebrate. I've even had retirement vacations. Also, the beach lots are stunning, jewelry was a nice addition, and the new objects are beautiful. On the other hand... there can be too many vacation wants sometimes, long vacations become tedious to the point of ending the vacation early (I attempted one seven-day-six-night vacation, never again), and I'm not too fond of Big Foot. I'm also yet to run into the Unsavory Charlatan, which kind of upsets me. Freetime . Very, very fun, I have to admit. I love all of the new interactions that were added, the objects are fantastic, and it gives the sims a little bit more personality of their own. The idle animations are superb, I love when artsy sims pause to size up an area, or musical sims start whistling or drumming on their legs or doing ballet stretches (I've got one teen girl who spent most of her time on the ballet bar, so it's really adorable when she starts doing those stretches). I love the career additions again, I'd been wanting dancers and architects for a long time. I do, however, have a little problem with the amount of hobby-obsession that they have (watch a movie once, and they'll want to watch one constantly), and I'm at the point of never choosing Knowledge as a secondary aspiration ever again if it takes over one more sim's primary aspiration (I've got Family sims who just had kids, are spending all of their time with their family, I keep trying to get them to roll wants off "play with (child's name here)" or "talk to (child's name here)," anything involving the children, and all they ever roll up since picking a secondary aspiration is "reach Cooking level 8" or "maximize Cleaning," or something therein). Also, hobby enthusiasm decreases way too quickly. I could have someone with max arts & crafts, she'll paint three pictures in a day, and then the next day she'll sleep in, make herself a salad in the afternoon, and suddenly, "_____ is losing enthusiasm in Arts & Crafts." Bwuh? Also... lifetime aspiration benefits come way too quickly unless you purposely keep their moods down; I personally hate permaplat (part of why I don't pay attention to lifetime wants anymore), and I've had sims reach it in their early teens because their parents paid attention to them as toddlers, and once a child gets an A+, they're never out of platinum, so their LTA meter just keeps going up and up and up and up and up. And as for Stuff Packs, I've got all but Family Fun Stuff (considering just grabbing it at some point, though, if only for making more kids-themed bedrooms), and I'm really glad that I did; the objects and clothes are usually pretty nice, and they fill in some niches that are otherwise left out. Kitchen & Bath was a godsend, because those are two sections that usually seem left out in the expansion packs. I honestly kind all of them for the little bits they add; Celebration Stuff was great for me because my sims are always throwing parties for things, so it gave me some more ways to decorate. I admit the Holiday pack (I've only got the first one from '05, never got the mini-pack add-on in '06 to complete it) was mostly ignored for me until I got Seasons... now I decorate their houses up for the holidays in winter. Teen Style is fantastic for me because I love playing teens... Glamour Life had a lot of more modern-style objects that I love to use in a lot of homes... they all have their uses for me, so I'm pretty happy with all of them. |
I love FreeTime!
OMG! I just got FreeTime this weekend, and it is awesome! The only other EP I has was NightLife (as it came with Deluxe) so this my first "new" EP, but it is still awesome! Leftovers are great! So when the nanny spends all day swimming, practcing at the ballet bar (new in FT) and making lobster for HERSELF! the children get leftover mac and cheese and feed themselves. I usually have such big families, that there are no real letfovers, but having mom cook 3 or 4 lunches on her day off so the children can feed themselves a meal is great! The mirrors now have the option for adults to change the appearance of toddlers. Thumbnails of little girls in tuxedoes bugged me, espcially after I had gone out to buy them sundresses. You can now change the hairstyle for each type of outfit. Yay! I love all the new clothes, very loud and colorful! The new kitchen appliances are great. Finally a GOOD stove that comes in rainbow colors! (with a whole new set of coordinating appliances) The desk accesories are fun. You need a desk for the kids to do homework, but then adult always put the mail and paper there. I was getting tired of all these desk lamps, so desk accesroies are great to fill the second square! I can't wait until the Sims get skilled enough to make their own clothes! :spin:
Oh! and some random guy leaves a computer on the porch the first or second day in a new house! |
Quote: Originally posted by hikamiatemu
Really?! I've not had that happen - yet! |
University. This is a nice, but not critical, addition to the TS2 experience. I personally enjoy playing university students, but it clearly isn't to everyone's liking. A Sim will spend roughly 3 - 4 Sim weeks in college, which I know some people consider far too long. If you have other EPs, you'll probably want to either create custom colleges or update the Maxis colleges so that your college Sims don't have to leave campus to take advantage of more of the community lot features added later. Some of the nicer objects added to this game were the new musical instruments (though Sims are a bit obsessive about these without the behavior adjustments introduced in FreeTime) and the espresso bars (a nice way to keep your Sims energy up on community lots, but they do tend to draw visiting Sims away from any other features on the lot).
Nightlife. This is the one EP that I would consider absolutely critical. Not only does provide a broader array of community lot activities (most notably restaurants), but it introduces the ability to group which is pretty much a must-have feature if you want Sims to do anything together away from home. Vampires are also a nice addition if you are into that sort of thing. Open for Business. This is a particularly useful EP that provides your Sims with a whole new way to earn money without pursuing a career ladder. One of the nicest touches is the ability for Sims to run a business right out of their home (just make sure to take advantage of the door locking feature to keep your customers from inviting themselves in to your living areas to watch TV and play video games). Pets. I absolutely love this EP, but would consider it entirely optional. If you want cats and dogs, get it. Otherwise you can take a pass. Most of the new objects introduced in this EP are centered around pets. The animal animations and the new Sim-to-pet interactions are really fun. Pets can even get jobs to bring in more simoleons, though the time required to train them up doesn't really seem to be worth it. Seasons. Though it is not an abosolute must-have like Nightlife, I would consider this to be the best of the EPs to date. This EP probably enriches the game more than any other with the introduction of seasons and weather. It also introduces gardening which provides your Sims with a whole new time-consuming activity while at home. It also includes some nice new objects, including the roller and ice rinks which have some really fun animations. Hint: Sims get excessively excited about new weather. When they autonomously queue up the action to check out the weather, just let them do it. After doing this a few times, they will finally get over it. Bon Voyage. This is another really nice, though not critical, EP. A bunch of cool new objects are available, though some of them are themed to the various vacation destinations. The vacation hoods are a nice change of pace. Like University, this EP provides a chance to play your Sims for an extended period away from their base neighborhood, providing a somewhat different feel to the game. FreeTime. This is my second favorite EP after Seasons. I would almost consider it a must-have (it certainly is for me). The hobbies provide your Sims with a whole new range of activities and goals outside of the usual skilling and career climbing. This EP probably has the best selection of new objects out of any of the EPs, most of which are hobby oriented, but which are also just nice additions to the game. This EP also tweaked the Sims behavior some so that (in theory) they behave more age appropriately. In other words, adult Sims don't spend all their time on community lots playing on the swings anymore. Also, if you have University, another nice feature about this EP is that Sims hobby interests seem to influence the objects they are attracted to, so now it is more likely that the random Sims who head off for the musical instruments on a lot will actually know how to play them. Unfortunately, this was a pretty buggy EP, and even with the patch a few minor, but annoying, glitches remain. |
Quote: Originally posted by Lobelia Overhill
I tend to have very unlucky (or very stupid, take your pick) sims who like to go run around and splash in puddles during thunderstorms with low needs. If I'm busy paying attention to a different sim in the house, I don't always catch them in time, and then lightning-death. The most heartbreaking one was with a single father of four. |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:47 PM. |
Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.0.14 · Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.