"The Sims 2 Bon Voyage 2" Expansion Pack (PC)

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Maxis
Genre: Life
ESRB Rating: T for Teen
Release Date: September 5, 2007

Pros:

• 3 areas to visit
• Select which friends and household members go on vacation
• Activities for ages of Sims
• Vacation prices just right
• Buy a vacation home
• Humorous animations with new dances, objects, and gestures

Cons:

• Can't run hotels with "The Sims 2 Open for Business" installed
• Runs slower on older computers

• Sims and their family and friends can now escape the routine of their lives and go on vacation!
• 3 unique locations to go on vacation.
• Collect vacation mementos.
• Learn the gestures and dances by local Sims.
• Stay in a fancy hotel or rough it in a tent.
• Book a flight for immediate departure or at a later date.
• Leave the kids at home and hire a babysitter.
• Sims take part in activities unique to the location.
• Go shopping for souvenirs.
• Buy jewelry and coordinate which you want to use for a specific outfit.

Those three places are available as pre-made neighborhoods (you can your own) for your Sims to fly away too. The activities vary for each area and provide something for all ages (except babies). Everything from spas to axe throwing. Allowing for some downtime and hanging out with the locals (you need to do learn their gestures and dances), you'd be hard pressed to do everything in one visit.

Booking a flight to your destination is done by phone or computer. You choose when you leave and where. The earlier you leave the more expensive. It pays to plan ahead for large groups. You can choose your accommodations when you book the flight or wait until you arrive. The flight is just part of the cost of a vacation. Food and hotel costs add up quickly.

When booking a flight, the Sim making the plans can invite household members and people they know to come along. Not everyone in the household has to come (second honeymoon for the parents, perhaps?). The girls can have their getaway to the spas and the guys can take that camping trip and master log rolling if they wish. Most any combo of Sims you can think of can vacation together as long as they know each other.

Vacations are suppose to be relaxing. But that doesn't mean the time away will go perfectly. On the first night of my Sim's vacation on the beach, it rained (I have "The Sims 2 Seasons" installed too). On the second night, the teen girl had her wallet stolen. And to round out the trip, a couple of them were sunburned. Sims don't let the negative events cloud their fun memories.

As long as the good outweighs the bad, Sims will end their vacation with the memory of having a fantastic time. To keep the Sims happy and busy on making those vacation memories, "The Sims 2 Bon Voyage" comes with new activities (new dances that can be learned on vacation and then spread through the neighborhood) and objects around the 3 themes of vacation neighborhoods. The list includes: going on tours (random events occur like jobs), visiting monuments, massages, and eating the local delicacy. All of these things will earn Sims special vacation memories.

There is plenty to explore in each of the 3 destinations. You'd be hard pressed to do everything in one vacation. It is possible, just doesn't fit into my goals of playing. Taking Sims on vacation is the perfect way to get relationship scores up or meet new people without worrying about work for days at a time.

"The Sims 2 Bon Voyage" offers a bit of everything for all Sims of ages and relationships. The combinations of who to send on vacation and where will add hours of game time. "The Sims 2 Bon Voyage" is a good expansion for players who enjoy making stories and actually playing, not just building houses.