The Sims 2

Many of you have probably heard of the Sims game, released in early February of 2000, in which players were given the opportunity to control the lives of autonomous characters, or "sims". Sims were much like real people in the way that they had basic needs, such as food, sleep, comfort, and a need to empty their bladder several times a day. If these needs were not met sufficiently, your sims could refuse to do things such as house chores or go to work. If you neglected them completely, they could die. This game came with many expansions, each offering something new to the game. The Sims became very popular, and in September of 2004, The Sims 2 was released to the public.

The Sims 2 is the sequel of the Sims PC game. The Sims 2 game utilizes the same basic concept as The Sims, but the creators at Maxis took it a few steps further. One of the things you will notice upon loading The Sims 2 is that the graphics are much, much better than in the original game. The detail of the objects and houses are fantastic. If you have a slower machine, this could be a bit of a problem during play, as it slows down the game. The Sims 2 is very graphics intensive. The sound for The Sims 2 has also been greatly improved. Sims speak an improved version of the enthusiastic gibberish language, called "simlish", that was introduced in the original game. There are also many varieties of music for different parts of the game. There are different upbeat tunes that play while creating families, using buy or build mode, and while creating stories for your neighborhood. There are also several radio stations that your sims can listen to, which feature the voice of the talented Chris Parish, as well as many others.

Among the many new features that came with The Sims 2 is creating and playing different neighborhoods. There are three pre-made, ready to play neighborhoods already in the game. You also have the option to create custom neighborhoods. You can choose what kind of terrain you would like the neighborhood to be, build houses and community lots, add decorations, and create a story for the neighborhood. You can also write stories for each neighborhood. All of the stories created for each neighborhood (or each individual residence) can be altered or updated easily at any time. You can then use the Create-A-Sim option to create families to move into the neighborhood.

If you do not want to play one of the many families that have already been placed in the existing neighborhoods, you have the option to create new ones. The sims in the The Sims 2 are much more detailed and overall better looking than those in the original game. Their limbs and hands are much less blocky, and they now have individual fingers! The faces are also much more detailed. The sims now have facial expressions, unlike in the original game. When using Create-A-Sim, the player is able to choose from a variety of different hair styles and colors, eye color and facial structure. However, it is not possible to change the height or body type of the sim (other than making them fat or "normal"). The possibilities really are endless when it comes to creating faces for the sims. You are able to modify nearly every facial feature to your liking, creating beautiful or freakishly ugly families.

The gameplay of The Sims 2 is also very improved, but it keeps the same basic idea as the original game. Sims still have basic needs, such as food, sleep, and "bladder", but they now have wants and fears, as well! When creating a sim, you are asked to give them an aspiration before you can play them. There are five aspirations to choose from. These are family, fortune, popularity, knowledge, and romance. The wants and fears of your sims vary depending on what aspiration you give them. For example, a sim with a knowledge aspiration might have a want to see ghosts, while a sim with a family aspiration might wish for a large family. Fulfilling these wants, and avoiding fears, give aspiration. Each sim has an "aspiration meter" which fills as wants are fulfilled and empties when fears are realized. Each want is worth points, and each fear deducts a certain amount of points. The points go toward a variety of "aspiration rewards" that your sims can use when they attain enough points. The better and more useful rewards cost more points. The aspiration meter has three stages of good; green, gold, and platinum. If you keep the aspiration meter on the plus side, your sims will gain more points to go toward reward objects and can even lead longer lives. If your sim's meter gets too far in the negative, it turns red, and your sim turns momentarily crazy. During this time, your sim will not be controllable. A rather goofy-looking psychiatrist then falls from the sky and gives your sim a small boost in aspiration. It is then up to you to fulfill wants to make them happy again.

Another much appreciated feature that came with The Sims 2 is that now sims have different levels of aging. You now have the ability to grow your sims from baby to elder. Genetics from the parents are passed down to next generation. Sim babies will grow to have some of the same facial features as the parents, as well. You also have the option to have your older sims encourage their young to be more neat, sloppy, playful, nice, etc., depending on the personalities of the sims doing the encouraging. Older sims can help teach toddlers to walk, talk, and be potty trained to help them grow up well.

The Sims 2 offers a variety of jobs for the sims, much like the original game, with fun descriptions and many ways to get promoted. There are also "chance cards" in which you are given a scenario at work and may choose one of the two options that can make or break a promotion.

The Sims 2 game is an open ended game that allows you to plan the lives of your sims. There is no winning or losing - your sims can be whatever you want them to be. It is up to you to decide how they live their lives, perform their tasks, how they work and play. There are so many features to this game, the possibilities are almost endless. Almost everybody can find something they like about The Sims 2, especially those who enjoyed the original game.