The lifespan of an entry in The Sims series used to be much shorter, with The Sims 2 only four years after its initial launch. This ambitious successor had a lot to live up to, with The Sims as a legacy PC game, easily one of the most iconic of our time.
But The Sims 2 didn’t back down or skip a beat, and launched in September 2004 with a slew of improvements to the base game alone – like the 360-view camera and taking genetics into account when two Sims had a baby, just to name a few. to name a few. And while the base game itself was great, it wouldn’t really be a Sims game without a few add-ons.
Eight expansion packs were released over the course of the game’s five-year run, each with new ways to brighten up our digital dollhouses. Some were new variants of expansions from the first game, while others brought completely new things to the series. We wanted to look back and reminisce about the various expansions released for The Sims 2.
8 good trip
The Sims are back to bring your families another set of vacation packages with the Bon Voyage expansion pack. This time we got a forest area, the return of a beach destination and an invigorating dive into the cultural contrast of the Far East. Similar to the vacation expansion of the first Sims game, in each location your Sims had other things to do in their spare time: swimming and sunbathing, camping and chopping wood, or for a massage and a dip in a hot spring.
Your Sims can even get bonuses from their vacation, whether successful or not. Boring trips provided the “jetlagged” bonus, while enjoyable trips could sometimes send Sims home with a career boost or even an extra wish. And if you really didn’t want to come back after a taste of paradise, there were also vacation homes for sale in the relief worlds.
7 Pets
While The Sims 2: Pets didn’t come with a new neighborhood, it did come with several ready-made lots and families to put into existing ones, each quite pet-oriented. Cats and dogs returned to the series, this time bringing birds and gerbils. Adopt your new family member, if you like, or head over to the new Create-a-Pet system to create your own, choosing from 30 different cats and over 70 dog breeds.
Your furry friends can also make a living in The Sims 2, with pets that can start careers that pay out Simoleons and rewards, just like the jobs of your real Sims. This expansion also introduced werewolves, a supernatural spectacle that has been attached to the series ever since.
6 Apartment life
The latest expansion released for The Sims 2, the new world of Belladonna Cove is huge and very obviously inspired by the real New York City. Find some NPC roomies and move to a new place downtown to start your big city life.
The world came up with things like libraries, coffee shops, parks, supermarkets and even a trailer park, but the main draw, of course, was living in a city apartment. The expansion also introduced magic into The Sims 2, in addition to other things that were missing from the second installment in the series: play furniture, a vibrating bed, and more ridiculous things like helicopters and butlers.
5 nightlife
Another pack designed to get your Sims out of the house, Nightlife, introduced a downtown area specifically designed with parties in mind. With new places such as shops, restaurants, nightclubs, and residential lots, your Sims now had a whole new way to have fun. And if the party scene wasn’t for them, Nightlife also introduced other central features, such as vampires and vehicles.
Here we also saw the infamous Grilled Cheese Aspiration introduced. If your Sim tried to change their original ambition using the ReNuYu SensoOrb but were unsuccessful, this sticky bun would be all they wanted to eat, talk, or even think about.
4 Seasons
Weather-related packs were usually the ones that changed the Sims games the most, and The Sims 2: Seasons was very similar. For the pack, sunshine was near you every day, but Seasons introduced a weather system that also allows rain, hail, lightning, and snow, along with internal and external temperature controls, for your Sims and the world around them.
Riverblossom Hills was the new neighborhood in this pack, and it was where your Sims could do all kinds of weather-related outdoor activities: jumping in puddles, raking leaves, making snowmen, or even getting sunstroke and sunburnt. In addition, PlantSims were introduced in this pack – they were green, could reproduce asexually, and were made for much more effective gardeners than human Sims.
3 Open for business
The entrepreneurial spirit was brought to The Sims 2 with the Open for Business expansion pack, introducing the world of Bluewater Village as the new place for all your shopping needs – buying, of course, but also selling. You couldn’t be alone To go shopping in the new range of stores, you were also able to own and operate said stores.
You’ll find a toy store, florist, baker, and a wealthy tycoon who has both a nightclub and an electronics store by default, but your Sim can also get involved by opening their own store. Choose your inventory, hire and fire, and sell to earn a living in this new career. If your Sim is tech-savvy, let them earn the Robot Badge. This way they can make their own Servo, the robot from the first game that so lovingly cleaned our houses instead of maids or butlers.
2 Leisure
Maxis understood that everyone has different interests and tried to introduce several new options for all three in the FreeTime expansion pack. Your Sims could now pursue up to ten new passions: fitness, cooking, music and dance, sports, nature, science, movies and literature, gaming, crafts, and crafts. And if that wasn’t enough, you could now switch jobs for things like dancing, entertainment, intelligence, architecture or even oceanography.
In addition, each hobby had a handful of ways in which it could be pursued. For example, cooking enthusiasts can watch food-oriented TV shows to contribute to their hobby, unlock new recipes, participate in food contests, and even use a nectar table. Scientifically-minded Sims were able to find aliens, who were sometimes abducted by them, and, if male, occasionally came back pregnant with an alien bundle of joy.
1 University
Ah, college – the first time young adults were free from their parents (and, fun fact, the first time young adults were in the Sims). There were three schools your Sims could attend if you bought The Sims 2: University, with 11 majors requiring related skill development to graduate and gain one of four graduate-only careers. Usually you moved into a dorm and lived side by side with other students, playing pranks, having pillow fights and forming study groups to socialize while you learn. There were also grants that allowed you to move into private residences or Greek homes, if college life was more your thing.
Classmates could bond by spending time at a bubble machine, hitting the juice barrel together, or just playing Kicky Bag in the quad. This first expansion for The Sims 2 made the biggest impression and University, nearly two decades later, is still widely regarded as the best expansion pack for The Sims 2. It introduced many of the things that were central to the gameplay of the series, such as an influence system, the ability to play instruments and lifelong desires.
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