"The Sims 2" Review

About.com Rating 4.5 Star Rating

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From Courtney Marchelletta, former About.com Guide

"The Sims 2"

Electronic Arts

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The Bottom Line

Addicted fans of the original without a doubt know they want "The Sims 2." For gamers who tried the first one, liked the premise, but couldn't completely get into the game, "The Sims 2" is worth a play. Many problem areas (like AI) have been improved upon, creating a game that will appeal to more gamers.

Pros

3D graphical environment
aspiration system with wants and fears
awarness of who their relatives are and share DNA
aging cycle: babies, toddler, child, teen, adult, elder

Cons

requires a powerful computer to play with all the extras

Description

Release Date: September 17, Publisher: Electronic Arts/Maxis
Aspirations dictates wants and fears, as they relate to their aspiration (family, etc.).
Create a family by using the make a child feature to pass genes on to the children.
Awareness of family tree, like who their children, spouse, and parents are.
Pregnancy lasts for 3 days before having babies. Men can get pregnant by being abducted by aliens.
Higher awareness of their environment, for example they acknowledge Sims when they enter the room.
Five aspirations: popularity, fortune, family, knowledge or romance.
The aging cycle includes: baby, toddler, child, teen, adult, and elder.
Create skins with the Body Shop. Customize hair, shirts, pjs, underwear, bathing suits, and make-up.
Build roofs, decks, basements, and multiple levels for your homes.

Guide Review - "The Sims 2" Review

"The Sims" is a franchise that needs no introduction. Gamers know about the game, whether they like it or not. "The Sims 2" improves upon the elements that made the original highly addictive.

The first obvious change, is the graphics are now 3D. The camera allows gamers to get up and personal. If you aren't use to 3D games, then you will feel clumsy moving around the game for a couple of hours. The change in graphics is eye-candy, but not the best part.

A major change is the newly added aging process. Now babies will no longer just become children and never age or die, instead babies will become toddlers, to a children, to teens, to adults, and lastly to elders. The generational aspect is intriguing and kept me from creating a lot of families within the Create-a-Family tool. Instead, I wanted to populate the neighborhood with Sims I raised from infants.

Needs are not your only concern now, wants and fears are too. If they get their wants, they will die happy. Having their fears realized, will often send into depression, which requires a shrink. Their wants will depend on their aspiration (family, romance, fortune, knowledge, or popularity). The family aspiration wants to have lots of kids.

"The Sims 2" cannot be summed up easily in a review. There are simply to many improvements. The one thing "The Sims 2" does is take the fun gameplay elements of the original, and makes them even more addictive.