The Sims 2

The Sims 2 is a strategy/simulation computer game from Maxis and is the sequel to the popular game The Sims. It is a vast departure from the previous version and various updates. It is fully 3D, and, unlike in the first installment, characters age and have genetic traits that can be passed on to their children. The game was officially released on September 17 2004. Customers who pre-ordered The Sims 2 received their copy on September 14 2004. A port to Mac OS X was done by Aspyr and was released on June 12 2005. The DVD edition will not be available outside of the United States.

Description

Sims age through 6 unique stages: baby, toddler, child, teen, adult and elder. Family relationships are much more integral to this version of the Sims than the previous version. As Sims age, get married and have children, these relationships are recorded in an extensive family tree.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In this installment of the series, Sims can have more realistic marriages with engagements and parties. Sims are pregnant before having children (unlike in the previous version, where children just appeared). Other unique events such as deaths, birthdays and a first kiss also take place in a Sim's lifetime. Good and bad experiences are kept as memories and can affect the Sim's behaviour.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The graphics and house design engines have improved with more choices for houses, neighborhood design, food and clothes. The Sims Body Shop, a tool which allows a user to design a Sim's body, clothing, genetic features, etc., was available before the game's release. Modders from various sites have been designing programs, most notably SimPE, to edit things from the game, such as recoloring objects which originally could not be recolored, extracting meshes of both clothing and objects, as well as changing different aspects of the game, like Teen Woohoo (Woohoo is the sims version of sexual intercourse), and the inSIMinator, which allows players to edit various attributes about sims, such as their mood, their relationships, or even make them pregnant with any sim on the lot, including the sim that will be pregnant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Sims 2 introduces a new aspect into the game: Aspiration. Aspiration manifests itself in two ways: the aspiration which each Sim has, and the Aspiration Meter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sims will each have an aspiration which is set either when they are created by the player, generated by the game (if they are an NPC), or chosen by the player when they become a teenager. The five aspirations are: Romance, Family, Knowledge, Popularity and Fortune. A sixth aspiration, that of growing up, is possessed by all sims when they are toddlers and children.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are six levels to the aspiration meter: The highest is platinum, beneath that is gold, followed by two levels of green and two of red (red being negative aspiration and therefore an undesirable state). The level is raised when a Sim fulfills a "Want", and is lowered when a "Fear" is realized. Wants and Fears are different for each sim depending on several factors including aspiration type, age and aspiration meter level. They may change on a daily basis, and are displayed graphically in slot-machine fashion on the toolbar. When the Aspiration Meter is high, aspiration rewards may be properly used. For example, the Elixir of Life aspiration reward allows a Sim to live longer. If this aspiration reward is used before the Aspiration Meter reaches the gold level, however, it sometimes backfires and the Sim loses life days. The Aspiration Meter also affects how long an elder will live for once they enter this phase of their life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This also means that while the game still has no set goals, there is a new strategic level to balancing a Sim's life as players now have a limited time in which to fufill Aspirations, meet needs, progress in a career, socialize and possibly have a family.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~