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PC Games (Games)

Review: Sims 2 Nightlife 115

Posted by Zonk from the swanky-simlish dept.
Hardcore gaming gets a lot of press attention for the intense graphics and the meaningless violence. Despite this, there are millions of gamers who enjoy their entertainment in a more casual vein. One of the champs of the casual PC market is Maxis behemoth The Sims 2. The sequel to the original, much expanded, Sims is now working its way through a series of content additions of its own. The most recent expansion for Sims 2 is "Nightlife". This out-and-about addition incorporates much of the "Hot Date" material from the original game, with a generous helping of extras. Read on for my impressions of the latest attempt by Maxis to improve your virtual person's social life.
  • Title: The Sims 2: Nightlife
  • Developer: Maxis
  • Publisher: EA Games
  • System: PC
  • Reviewer: Zonk
  • Score: 7/10

The microcosm world of The Sims 2 allows players to vicariously live out the lives of the rich, popular, or phenomenally stupid. The ability for the game player to project their own hopes and neurosis onto their virtual marionettes involves a lot of set dressing. Furniture, art, electronics, wallpaper, and swimming pools are just some of the tools Sims 2 players use to tell their stories. The set pieces that players seem to enjoy manipulating the most, though, are the Sims themselves. "Nightlife" is a generous package of objects, interactions, and locations designed to make lubricating Simlish society more convenient.

Like all Sims expansions, at its core "Nightlife" is a system add-on for the basic game. The first Sims 2 expansion, "University", added on a college campus to the neighborhood as well as a young adult development stage to the life cycle of the Simlish species. "Nightlife" incorporates the highly successful dating system used in the "Hot Date" expansion for the original Sims title. Dating allows Sims to improve their relationship by attempting a 'dream date' at romantic locations like parks, restaurants, and bowling alleys. The date mechanic is extremely useful, allowing two Sims that you'd like to get together the opportunity to improve their social connection in a hurry.

Besides actual dates, you can arrange group gatherings that pull together more than two Sims into an outing. These group gatherings are even more useful for raising social standings between Sims, but can be a mixed bag. Dates and gatherings are evaluated based on how good a time the participants have. While dates, with only two participants, are fairly easy to run group gatherings can be very challenging because of the number of Sims involved. Unattended Sims have a tendency to lose track of what they're doing, and if your gathering depends on everyone being on the same page even one wayward Sim can ruin the event for everyone. While the date mechanic is lots of fun, gatherings could have used a little more polishing.

Social gatherings need interesting backdrops to be fully appreciated, and the new downtown area very much fulfills that need. Downtown is chock full of different places, each themed to a different type of get-together. Rocking out with a group of musicians can be accomplished in the park, while a date might find the candle-lit restaurant more agreeable. Each of the default areas packaged with the expansion is a well thought-out venue for socializing, and they're usually handsome looking as well.

Some more subtle system additions also allow for easier socializing. Sims now have romantic preferences, which result from turn-ons (dark hair, formal ware), turn-offs (stench, workout uniforms), astrological signs and life goals. Sims that have chemistry with each other have little lightning bolts near their names. Likewise, Sims can now have antipathy towards each other just based on their personal makeup. Sims with x'd out lightning bolts will have a harder time than normal having a successful relationship. In practice, the chemistry is just another addition that makes it easier to max out relationships between two Sims.

These like/dislike values play a large role in the life of the Pleasure Seeker Sim, a new life aspiration you can create Sims with. Pleasure Seekers want parties, fast cars, steamy dates, and expensive toys. The Pleasure Seeker Sim I made ("Hef") was a pain in the butt to keep happy. Most of the things that give him happiness are either expensive or require a lot of work to accomplish. As a counterpoint, the Pleasure Seeker isn't very good at living in the normal world. They have a hard time with jobs and chores, making them terrible room-mates. Pleasure Seeker Sims might be an interesting addition to a well developed neighborhood, full of rich families, but for a starter Sim they're just not practical.

A mainstay of Sims expansions are the objects. Adding new objects to your purchasing repertoire is always a goal for a Sims player, and "Nightlife" fulfills that goal admirably. The downtown areas come with a plethora of new objects specifically for dates and group gatherings, like the bowling alley or the restaurant host stand. There are many handsome new objects that are used in the new venues that can be purchased for home use as well. My personal favorite is the karaoke machine, which is a great group activity and painful to watch to boot. "Nightlife" even introduces a new type of object for Simlish consumption: the car. Sims can now have garages and vehicles, adding yet another layer of realism to the game and making traveling to out-of-the-house locations quicker. All aspects of car culture are there in car ownership: listening to music, tooling around for fun, and more amorous activities as well. While every Sim, it seems, ends up wanting to own a car as a life goal at some point they're not absolutely critical. For the most part they're simply convenient for the player who wants to wring every minute out of the SimCity day.

Practical additions, like vehicles, aren't the only features "Nightlife" offers. One completely useless feature the expansion adds is a vampire Sim-type. Vampires can now be found prowling around SimCity, and if you go looking for them you can get your own Sims turned into the restless undead. Unfortunately, it sounds cooler than it really is. Aside from turning other Sims into vampires and transforming into a bat, the amusement factor is sort of limited. Vampire Sims become quite nocturnal, making it difficult to participate in normal jobs and raising family members. The new "type" of Sim idea is interesting, but as far as this expansion goes doesn't see a lot of real use.

There isn't anything here that will shock a current owner, and likely doesn't have any features that might convince a non-player to purchase the game. That said, "Nightlife" is another solid expansion for the now venerable series. It adds on extremely useful systems to the game, opens up new possibilities for gameplay, and incorporates the ever-important new object sets into the title. "Nightlife" gameplay adds a lot of potential to the already entertaining Sims 2. Folks who don't already own the game would probably be best advised just to buy the basic game to make sure they enjoy the gameplay before dropping another $30 for this expansion. For a veteran Sims 2 player who has already tired of college life, though, a night on the town may be just what you need.
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Review: Sims 2 Nightlife More

Review: Sims 2 Nightlife

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  • Hot Coffee? (Score:4, Funny)

    by GeckoX ( 259575 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:38PM (#13630575)
    Where's the hot coffee? That'd get me to at least download Sims2 and give it a whirl! ;)
    • Aye. Sex is the only reason to do anything. Sims 2 needs to be graphic and AO rated!

      • Re:Hot Coffee? (Score:5, Informative)

        by Radres ( 776901 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:49PM (#13630679)
        Well, apparently there is a patch for The Sims 2 that makes it worse than Hot Coffee. [gamespot.com]
        • In the statement, Thompson says, "Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise ... contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."


          Sonnnnnn !!! This guy should have been born in the Victorian [wikipedia.org] age, when this kind of sentiment was rife.

        • Not at all like Hot Coffee (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Anonymous Coward
          Big difference here is that Rockstar shipped the "Hot Coffee" content with retail product as I understand it. As shipped, no Sims product has ever had realistic nudity available, with or without third party hacks applied to it.

          The third party hack to remove the censor effect/pixelation that appears over nude sims reveals Barbie/Ken doll nudity with no female nipples/pubic hair/genitalia whatsoever.... There are third party mesh/texture packs that will add the above features to the naked sims Maxis actuall

          • Not to complain about your view because I agree, but I just thought it was worth saying that technically, the term "paedophilia" doesn't apply to teenagers anyway.

            See Wikipedia. [wikipedia.org]

          • 3rd Party Hack? (Score:3, Informative)

            by SeanDuggan ( 732224 )
            The third party hack to remove the censor effect/pixelation that appears over nude sims reveals Barbie/Ken doll nudity with no female nipples/pubic hair/genitalia whatsoever....
            Third party hacks? It's an in-game console command, something along the lines of "intprop SetCensorSize 0" or so.

            As for the claims of pedophelia, I know there are third-party mods for teenagers (which would technically be ephebophilia [wikipedia.org] IIRC) to WooHoo, including teen pregnancy patches, but again, that's third-party and it only wor

        • Worse? Or... better?
    • It being the "Sims" and supposed to simulate real life, you would also have to throw in "SimHerpes" to the hot coffee

      Always a good day when you can use the word "herpes" on slashdot...
    • While the Hot Coffee debate was brewing (so to speak), my wife got started playing with The Sims 2.

      Now, GTA:SA is an 'M' rated game, and the stink was about adding some extraneous clothes-on scenes to that mix.

      Meanwhile, The Sims 2 has some steamy life aspirations and scenarios that are written into the game. There are little miniscenes of "whoopie" in the hot tub with cute graphics of fireworks and post coital bliss. You can fulfill goals such as being a virtual slut (boinking at least three differen

  • Hot Coffee? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:39PM (#13630587)
    > The most recent expansion for Sims 2 is "Nightlife". This
    > out-and-about addition incorporates much of the "Hot Date"
    > material from the original game, with a generous helping of extras.

    Let's just not go there with the oot-and-aboot stuff. The last thing I need is to imagine a bunch of flappy-headed Canadian Sims, and the notions of "hot date", or worse, "hot coffee", all conflated in something that sounds like Greater Toronto Area: Sim City.

    But as long as it's too late for my mind to escape the pain, I may as well share it with you.

    • flappy-headed Canadian Sims

      <obligitory>That is a racist statement! You are a racist madam! A racist!</obligitory>

    • Re:Hot Coffee? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by WillAffleckUW ( 858324 )
      Let's just not go there with the oot-and-aboot stuff. The last thing I need is to imagine a bunch of flappy-headed Canadian Sims, and the notions of "hot date", or worse, "hot coffee", all conflated in something that sounds like Greater Toronto Area: Sim City.

      But as long as it's too late for my mind to escape the pain, I may as well share it with you.

      According to the UN and various research studies, Canadians have twice as much sex per person as Americans do.

      Maybe you're just envious of how cute Canadian gi

      • Re:Hot Coffee? (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Don't jock us Americans. Once you get to the average fatass-level we yanks have achieved through years of rigorous research, sex is nearly impossible. You can't blame us.
      • First of all, I just want to state that I have no idea where the Canadian references in the GP came from. We use "out and about" here in the US as well.

        Second of all, I'm a bit concerned -- I have been taught, even in my university courses in the States -- that the Canadian health care system is failing because it is socialized (this coming from a professor who is pro-socialized health care). I've heard that the waits for even a simple checkup are hours, if not days. I've also heard that if you have an emer

  • Wow (Score:2, Insightful)

    by FortKnox ( 169099 ) *
    Is this really a review of an addon for a game that is waay over exposed and played by millions of people?

    Is it really worthy of a review??

    If its a paid review, I'd understand, but, really, there are much better new (and full) games to review.

    • Re:Wow (Score:5, Funny)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:44PM (#13630642) Homepage Journal
      "Is this really a review of an addon for a game that is waay over exposed and played by millions of people?

      Is it really worthy of a review??"

      I bolded the part where you answered your own question.

      • Re:Wow (Score:3, Insightful)

        by FortKnox ( 169099 )
        That was part of my point. Its obviously good, because even though it is overhyped and overexposed, people are still buying it.

        Where reviews are great are for silent releases of really good games that no one has had a chance to see. That's what really makes a review golden.

        That game hidden in the corner of your local EB? Its really good or really bad. Don't tell me about something thats been out forever, or just an expansion of an already ultra successful franchise (unless its a preview, not a revie
        • Simple answer: don't read the review, submit reviews of the lesser-known games you speak of, or post a comment that says, "[linked unsubmitted game review] is WAY better than [submitted game review]." Even if it's not.

          For example: Blender [dyndns.org] is WAY better than The Sims 2 Nightlife!

        • Re:Wow (Score:2)

          by mph ( 7675 )

          Its obviously good, because even though it is overhyped and overexposed, people are still buying it.

          I [mcdonalds.com] don't [microsoft.com] follow [britneyspears.com] your [peapod.com] reasoning [budweiser.com].

    • Well, some expansions to popular games are terrible. Just ask any veteran Everquest player.
    • Mandatory Penny Arcade reference [penny-arcade.com].

  • Why so prominent a review? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by XretsiMisterX ( 852140 ) <{glenn.loosaustin} {at} {gmail.com}> on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:41PM (#13630605) Homepage
    Does this review of yet-another-game-in-a-franchise really belong on the main page of slashdot? I mean, I like gaming news, I'm an avid gamer, but this isn't a new or innovative title. How is this frontline news-for-nerds?

  • The best part of the Sims 2... (Score:5, Funny)

    by RobinH ( 124750 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:41PM (#13630613) Homepage
    The best part of the Sims 2 is that my wife can't tell me that I play the computer too much, 'cuz I'll never catch up to her playtime anymore. :^)
    • I'm guessing that you guys have more than 1 computer in the house, or else it would be WAR!!
    • My buddy complained that his wife ignored him now and never wanted to hang out, talk or take any interest in him whatsoever. He said it started when he installed Sims2 for her. I installed Sims2 for MY wife that very night.

      Parent is right, too. I've not heard a single complaint about my gaming (PC or console) since. As long as I keep the expansion packs coming...

      • My buddy complained that his wife ignored him now and never wanted to hang out, talk or take any interest in him whatsoever. He said it started when he installed Sims2 for her. I installed Sims2 for MY wife that very night.

        And that's a good thing? :)

        Parent is right, too. I've not heard a single complaint about my gaming (PC or console) since. As long as I keep the expansion packs coming...

        Well, if the goal is to get some quality gaming time in, that would work, but still...

  • What people really want (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:42PM (#13630620)
    I wish they would stop beating around the bush and just give the people what they damn well know what they want online, hardcore simulated sex!!!
    • Only on slashdot could such a comment be modded insightful.

      • Re:Ah, slashdot (Score:3, Insightful)

        by swb ( 14022 )
        But it IS insightful.

        Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, sex IS the outcome of all successful dating situations (even for religious zealots who wait until they've confirmed their dating status with a state called "marriage").

        There's a ton of simulation that could be put into encounters that involve sexuality -- aggression, passivity, willingness to be adventurous, the level of emotional commitment required/desired, and that's just scratching the surface.

        The depiction doesn't even have to be super hard
    • There are plenty of very vocal Moral Majority types out there who will make sure a mainstream game publisher will never do that by making sure big box retailers will never carry such a game, and making sure the publisher's reputation will be ruined forever by labelling them as nothing more than smut peddlers.

  • Does this mean... (Score:5, Funny)

    by aftk2 ( 556992 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:44PM (#13630636) Homepage Journal
    That now we can make "Blind Date" style Machinima, using the Sims 2 engine? Sweet! I can just imagine how it would go...
    "Everything was going great, until she took a dip in the pool. All of a sudden, the ladder disappeared, and she couldn't get out! I tried to give her my hand, but she wouldn't take it! Big-time bummer!"


    "I was really having a good time, until he invited me into his place: there was nothing but chip bags and empty soda cans everywhere. Plus, there was some chick ghost wandering around upstairs, and a bunch of tombstones the backyard. Really creepy."

    "Shit...I thought I was gonna get some play - until we started getting down to business, and she was all pixellated and blurred out! Where's my nude patch at?!"
    All...right someone out there with too much time on his or her hands - get to work!

  • I don't like it. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ChrisF79 ( 829953 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:45PM (#13630649) Homepage
    I recently visited a friend and while he and his wife were at work during a rainy day, I stayed at home and played The Sims 2 on his PC. I have to tell you, I couldn't get into it. I played it for a couple of hours, waiting for the fun to start and it never happened. This isn't meant to be a troll post, just my $0.02. The thing is, the game felt like work to me. Managing the lives of these characters was really a pain, and it just felt like it was just keeping me busy instead of actually entertaining me. I used to love to play Sim City ironically, but this one I just couldn't get into. Anybody else agree with me on this one?
    • At least you didn't pay $50 to find that out. I've had it for over a year, and I think I've played it a grand total of three times. I've read the review, but I don't think plopping down another $30 is going to make it any more fun.

      I'll be honest; I don't get the appeal. Give me GTA any day of the week.

    • Mostly women like the game. Are you female? If so, then I would be a bit surprised if you didn't like it.

      This game was designed to allow women to play "Dollhouse" or "House." Threads like this try are basically reviewing the game and expansions for geeky GUYS who are clueless about the game.
      • You do know that females read /. too, right? Or that a Sims player, male or female, might be interested in a slashdot review of the expansion? On my own end, I'm kind of glad Zonk decided to review a game from this genre - it would be easy for slashdot to fall into a 'geek guys only' cliche on their game reviews.
      • I was trying to explain to my Grandmother over the phone what my wife was doing on her PC, and I said "it's like a virtual doll house". Wifey got ALL bent out of shape over it. She tried to draw a comparison by saying I would be insulted if she referred to Half Life 2 as "like a virtual game of war". Then she got mad at me for not being offended by HER analogy...

        The point is: don't call it Virtual Dolls in front of an addicted woman. She'll get pi$$ed.

        or not. . . what the h3ll do I know about women?!?

        • Call it "house." My wife has created a Sim version of us, and unlike real life, the Sim versions of us live out her current fantasy, having kids.

          I've heard many stories of stuff like this here, especially in the realm of women creating a sim version of a guy they like, and living out their fantasy of being married to him, kids, growing old together, etc.

          It *can* be creepy...
          • Personally, I find it a bit disturbing when you get the people who spend hours getting the sim to look just like the other person, then have them burn to death [queenofwands.net]. ^_^ It does lead to the occasional amusing incident, like the time a girl I knew in high school rang me up, and accused me of knocking her up. Seems she built Sims resembling various people in her life. For some reason, the sims representing me and her kept hooking up and suddenly there's spawnage.
      • His is posting on slashdot, therefore he is male.

        My daughter loves the Sims and has been drooling over Sims2 for months, but her computer isn't fast enough to play it.
    • I played it waaaaaaaay back in 99/00 when it first came out. My roommate picked it up and we used his projector to have it on the wall.

      zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

      what a borefest. I do not understand how/why this is fun to so many people...but hey, whatever floats there boat.

    • I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment - I used to waste hours at a time on SimCity 2000 (my favorite of the 4). But Sims felt tedious to me...after I made two female roommate sims go lesbian, and killed the creepy family one by one, I got bored.

      I especially hated having to wait for them to go to work & sleep & whatnot.

    • People play the game in different ways. For instance, I like fucking up people's lives and watching the entertainment that ensues afterward. Every neighborhood I create has several lesbian grandmas who sleep around, seducing the wives and girlfriends of all the unsuspecting working males. Naturally, I throw in a few tense moments where the male just happens to walk into the bedroom at the wrong time. My old, prominent politician has a lesbian grandma wife, HA-HA!

      I also always have the trailer in the cor
    • I dont play it legit at all, money cheats for the win.

      I want to build that sweet dream home with 3 stories and a pool with an arcade. Play your SIM like he/she is a rich trust fund kid, break up marriages, sex every over sim in the neighbourhood, or murder them all and have a collection of ghosts haunting your house. Knock up girl after girl, have hot gay/lesbian sex. Seduce the maid.. gardener, repair man pizza boy... its good times and debaucery at its finest.

    • I agree completely. There are moments when the game was funny, like watching a male sim slap up his wife after I got her to sleep with a female neighbor (how is that realistic!). But the entire game is like one big chore... you never accomplish anything, except making more money, and it isn't very hard to reach the top of the job ladder - it's just a tedious task trying to balance forcing your sims to do chores or build up skill points. The fact that you can buy the enternal youth potion makes even old a
    • I love SimCity 4 and play it at least twice a week to this day. But I didnt like Sims when I tried it. I didnt play Sims 2, though.
    • I couldn't enjoy Sims 2 at all, then I tried the university expansion and I got hooked. I found out what made the difference. The busywork of need-attention pissed me off to no end. I don't CARE about having my sims fill needs. In Sims university, my characters had meals prepared for them, and "work" only takes like 3 hours of their day. Their houses are already equipped with all the necessities. Plus plenty of NPC dormmates that will automatically fill their own needs, while still being in the house for yo

  • Not so sure about that (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:45PM (#13630653) Journal
    "All aspects of car culture are there in car ownership: listening to music, tooling around for fun, and more amorous activities as well."

    What about license and registration renewals, car inspections, insurance payments, getting ripped off by mechanics, spiraling fuel costs, and getting into accidents?

    • getting ripped off by mechanics

      So be your own mechanic! It never ceases to amaze me how gullible people are when it comes to repairs on, well, anything. Computers, washing machines, cars - they're all incredibly simple from a technical viewpoint, but the punters queue in their droves to pay other people to 'fix' them. And then they complain when they get 'ripped off'.

      I'm just a regular geek, no special training or skills, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times in my adult life (say,

      • "So be your own mechanic! "

        My time is more valuable to me than that. I'm not going to spend an entire weekend day just to save a couple hundred bucks, especially when doing so will violate my warranty.

        I pay someone to repair a machine because I value their expertise and experience dealing with things that are over my head. If it's brake pads or something else easy, I do it myself.

        Besides, it was a tongue-in-cheek post, did you leave your sense of humor at home today, or did you just want to brag tha
        • I'm not going to spend an entire weekend day just to save a couple hundred bucks, especially when doing so will violate my warranty.

          What kind of warrenty do you have that you have to pay for your repairs? Generally speaking, when a repair is costing you cash warrenty isn't an issue any longer.

          I pay someone to repair a machine because I value their expertise and experience dealing with things that are over my head.

          That's a very valid point, sometimes the "do it yourself" attitude costs more than it was
          • "What kind of warrenty do you have that you have to pay for your repairs? Generally speaking, when a repair is costing you cash warrenty isn't an issue any longer.""

            Routine maintenance isn't covered under a lot of warranties. Some warranties don't cover non-drive train repairs after a certain period.

            "That's a very valid point, sometimes the "do it yourself" attitude costs more than it was worth if you're not honest to yourself about your abilities."

            Or, if there are barriers such as equipment (I don'
            • Routine maintenance isn't covered under a lot of warranties. Some warranties don't cover non-drive train repairs after a certain period.

              I don't have a ton of experience here but no warrenty I've ever had has ben broken by the user doing their own routine maintenance. As for the drive train, like I said, if you're paying for the repair than the warrenty is not an issue. If you've had an incident where you've done work to one part of a car unrelated to the drive train and had the warrent voided by that work
      • So be your own mechanic! It never ceases to amaze me how gullible people are when it comes to repairs on, well, anything. Computers, washing machines, cars - they're all incredibly simple from a technical viewpoint, but the punters queue in their droves to pay other people to 'fix' them. And then they complain when they get 'ripped off'.

        Being your own mechanic tends to require things that not everyone (particularly the Slashdot demographic, which tends to involve a lot of college students) have. Like a Gar

        • Maybe you need a garage if you live in the north and your car breaks down in the winter. I'd hate to replace a serpentine belt in a blizzard.

          I've worked on cars quite a bit, bein' as how I'll gladly spend the time to save me $200 in labor for something simple. Can't say I've ever worked on a car in a garage, though. I'm from Oklahoma, so nine months out of the year the weather is fine for working outside. I'd imagine most of the southern U.S. is that way.

          I agree though, these newfangled cars often requi

  • Looking forward to the next release... (Score:5, Funny)

    by ballsanya ( 596519 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:47PM (#13630665)
    I can't wait for the next expansion...Sims 2, the Morning After, including fun mini-games like where's my f*cking coffee and who the hell are you?
  • Zonk has been reviewing so many games that aren't so much games but addictions. So is he getting his Sims drunk rather than reviewing stories for grammer for falsehoods? Petting his Nintendog whilst posting a dupe?
    Zonk, you've got some 'splaining to do ;)

  • Sin City redux (Score:5, Funny)

    by RingDev ( 879105 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:53PM (#13630727) Homepage Journal
    Someone needs to make a Sin City redux of Sim City. That would be significantly more entertaining.

    -Rick
    • Someone needs to make a Sin City redux of Sim City. That would be significantly more entertaining.

      There is a video cheat that lets you turn the animation to black and white with grainy kind of like in Sin City. You might try playing it with that mod on.
      • But can I shoot people? Take a stroll through hookerville? Hang out at a strip joint?

        What's the fun of a virtual life that's just like normal life? Give it some edge. Go to the bar, catch a great show, have fun with the buds, and run a 10% chance of getting gunned down! 40% chance of bar brawls breaking out, 30% chance of getting arrested, 15% chance of getting laid, etc.

        -Rick

  • Hot Coffee - Sims Style (Score:3, Funny)

    by TrevorB ( 57780 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @12:55PM (#13630740) Homepage
    Man, we thought Hot Coffee was bad. Now that Nightlife is installed Sims will gleefully Make Woohoo (have sex) 4 or 5 times on a single date. In the bed, in the car, in the hot tub, in the change booth in the clothing store, in the photo booth... there's no stopping these sims. They're like rabbits.

    Now if only I can make it so that my vampire can have sex in his coffin... My new house was too small for both the coffin *and* a double bed...

    • Man, we thought Hot Coffee was bad. Now that Nightlife is installed Sims will gleefully Make Woohoo (have sex) 4 or 5 times on a single date. In the bed, in the car, in the hot tub, in the change booth in the clothing store, in the photo booth... there's no stopping these sims. They're like rabbits.

      Sounds like the character I'm doing in Sims 2 with University add-on .. I get him to do Woo Hoo in a hot tub, he wants to do it in a bed, then he wants to do it in public, and so on.

      The only thing that I have to
  • It seems that if people dont like the game/expansion its not worth the review.

  • Hot Date vs Nightlife (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TrevorB ( 57780 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @01:13PM (#13630911) Homepage
    I will say one thing for Nightlife. I found the original Sims "Hot Date" expansion frustrating and just downright not fun to play. You had no real idea what you were doing right and wrong, and this seems to have been fixed in the latest version. You're able to see your dates wants and fears, and these are changed to stuff that's fairly easy to do on a date (eat out, tickle etc) so keeping your date happy is fairly easy. (Remember you can influence people to do stuff to you, which sometimes they want)

    Now if only on real dates we could have a list of four different things that would make our dates happy, updated as the dates progressed...
    • You're able to see your dates wants and fears, and these are changed to stuff that's fairly easy to do on a date (eat out, tickle etc) so keeping your date happy is fairly easy.

      Wow, I didn't realize they upped the ante so far on the Woo Hoo options...
    • You had no real idea what you were doing right and wrong

      Ever been out with a real-life woman? The game's working fine...
  • Going on dates, attractiveness between sims, extra options are actually the main draw for Sims 2 fans here..namely my wife who loves that people can get downright pissed at each other now. Extra objects are really a bonus, not the focus IMO.

    She was giggling with glee as her bisexual Sim did "woohoo" with another Sim in front of the other Sim's ex, and then the two Sims getting in a fight afterwards.

  • Real Life Dating (Score:3, Funny)

    by ZipprHead ( 106133 ) on Friday September 23, 2005 @01:17PM (#13630944) Homepage
    I think time spent improving my real life dating skills is a much more worth while endeavor.

    No thanks!

  • Dating allows Sims to improve their relationship by attempting a 'dream date' at romantic locations like parks, restaurants, and bowling alleys.

    Its not all that often you get to see a bowling alley described as "romantic".

  • ...'hardcore' gaming and 'hardcore' violence. There are plenty of non-violent games that can suck you into your computer for extended periods of what I would call 'hardcore' gaming.
  • They don't put violence in video games because its meaningless, it obviously attracts an audience and increases sales.
  • I don't own a machine powerful enough to play S2. So could somebody tell me: is it any better than the first game at dealing with contention? I mean the silly problems that happen because the designers didn't anticipate the deadlock that can occur when two Sims are competing to use something. Like one wants to go one way through a door at the same time another wants to go the other way — they just stand and stare at each other until one or both of them "forgets" why he or she wanted to go through the
  • What pisses me off the most is that they never released a patch for the University expansion set... with all the bugs that were included (in particular, a nasty bag that left invisible kick bags [simshost.com] all over the place and made houses mostly unsuable.)

    I still fret when I see my sims start a game of kicky bag.
    • There's a mod out there, at http://www.variousimmers.net/vsimforum/ [variousimmers.net] I think, by TwoJeffs (scroll down and you'll find him when the site is up again) that gets rid of the stuck kicky bag. Just buy the object TwoJeffs made, and if there's a stuck kicky bag, you can delete it.

      Mind you, Maxis is working on a patch for both University and Nightlife, but experience tells me the patch will only give us more bugs.

      So just use the mods that are all over to get rid of these, though as they change parts of the so

  • Ewwwww! (Score:2)

    by fm6 ( 162816 )

    Sims now have romantic preferences, which result from turn-ons (dark hair, formal ware), turn-offs (stench, workout uniforms), astrological signs and life goals. Sims that have chemistry with each other have little lightning bolts near their names.

    Sounds like they still haven't addressed the biggest reality gap in the original game — sexual preference. Rather than deal with that issue at all, they just made all Sims bisexual — any Sim can get it on with any other. I guess there's no place for

    • I think the idea is that you decide their orientation.

      It's interesting that all of your sims are bisexual.

      I wonder what that says about you? ;)

      I'm just messing with yah. In all seriousness, they might have thought about it, but what fun would it be if you couldn't make the wife sleep with the husband's mistress?
      • Messing with me or not, you make a good point. Still it seems strange that a Sim will refuse to do all kinds of stuff like look for work or play chess if they're in a bad mood -- but they'll kiss anything that moves if you catch them in a good mood!
  • So, where's the Torrent? ;)

  • Hate to be negative... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by diorcc ( 644903 )

    But staring a simulation to see how the character you created will play for you, in the house you designed for him, within the limited options of the game, and with no obvious objectives/victory conditions, does not sound productive or fun at all.

    Say you play a RTS game, waste a good 1 hour developing your bases and armies in an online play, you win/lose get an allied victory/ or whatever. The objectives are obvious, and fun.

    However with this "game", rather simulation, its like looking at a bunch of rat

    • I felt about the same way about the original Sims. I don't get virtual pets either, maybe for the same reasons. What drew me into The Sims 2 was the "genetics" model. I actually get kind of a kick messing around with the variables and seeing how the progeny turn out. For the most part, the game is a breeding simulator for me. *rolls eyes* And yes, I know, if I spent as much time working on my RL breeding skills, I could go about it in regular life...

      Really, I kind of wish they modeled more parameters than

  • Sims are getting ridiculous, I wonder when will the ax murdering sims come out.

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