The Sims 2 - Nightlife

Fun expansion, until the novelty wears off

An enjoyable little expansion for the Sims 2. But is it worth it? Well, that's what I'm here for.

CONTENT: The whole premise of the expansion is dating. It livens up the game for your romancing Sims, as well as introduce a new aspiration centered around pleasure. That sounded dirty. Anyway, it also adds the usual new chairs, new tables, and various things that you will probably never use in game. Sure we have like a hundred or so kinds of chairs by now, and even various deviants to the original design. But do people actually want those? Maybe not, since in my book those are all cheap add ins. Unless the object comes packed with a different animation and interactions, it's more or less, pointless. Though on a plus note, it does add some minor new animations for old interactions. Spot these yourself.

Hair and clothing variants aren't plenty. This is bad, because EA hasn't released a mesh editor to the public. Not to discredit the modding community for this game (which is very good mind you), but if you want to have really good quality hair and clothing, you have to depend on Maxis.

Luckily though, we are introduced to a dozen or so new objects that actually have a point to them. There's a karaoke machine, a card table, a bowling lane, and various cars. Just a few of the new stuff, which as it happens are quite enjoyable and useful seeing as how they add something to the game play.

There's also a new, status, if you will. Vampirism is in the game. And yes it still sounds as stupid as when I first heard of it months ago. A vampire really doesn't fit too well in a clean game like the Sims. If you can't make a few neighbors disappear, what's the point, eh? But I also realize it adds something fresh to the game, so it's not really bad. Plus this should cater to the gamers with a strange fetish. Or to the Goths.

Another welcomed feature is the ability to view the lots surrounding your own. Sure, the objects may not be all pretty since they seem to be the ones in the neighborhood map blown up to size, but they are still good and aren't a pain to the eyes. In fact, the quality is good enough that it doesn't destroy the illusion of being in a real neighborhood. And if you were to click on these surrounding lots, you would notice that it allows you the ability to go directly to them without the hassle of loading back to the neighborhood screen, then choosing said lots.

Mentioned above are cars. They may not be as functional as I want them, but they do their purpose for a game like the Sims. So now your Sim can drive around in his fancy new wheels. In addition to just being a carpool that you own, it has various features that go with it such as listening to the stereo, and rocking the car with your partner. Of course, the cars need to be placed in a garage or a driveway. My only quirk with this is that the driveways aren't very comfortable for me. A bit more flexibility in placement would have been welcomed.

And of course, it adds a new metropolis of community lots where most of the stuff mentioned takes place in. Of course, there's only one metropolis, which is kinda lame. If you want people to pay the price of a full game, at least put in some variety. Oh well.

GAMEPLAY: Well the game play additions are nice, though focused on something I was never really too interested in. But still, it's better than the previous 'expansion' (ha!). So now your Sim can go out on dates, as well as be attracted to other Sims, depending on variables that you've chosen before hand. Turn ons and Turn offs. I only wished they added more varieties to the choices giving the player more control. Oh well.

Your Sim's inventory is now not completely useless as there are new item to carry around and use. Like cologne and other potions to cheat your way through love. There's also a new service for match making. Hire the gypsy, and transport the Sim of your Sim's dreams to him without their consent. Then feel free to enjoy the date, which is another time based little game where you have to bring up your date's enjoyment meter. You know, kinda like dating the headmaster. Which is a capital idea my good man.

SOUND: Well, as usual the Simish tunes are in. Though most are remixes of previous tunes. But some are quite enjoyable, specifically the new categories. It has some pretty good dance songs too. Fairly enjoyable and good. Can't really say I have any objections to the audio, since i haven't really heard them all. But as you can expect of a Sims game, the sounds are certainly enjoyable, and don't end up becoming a grating noise in the background.

QUIRKS: Well, as mentioned above, I'm not too happy with the low count of new objects that don't feel like a cheap recolor. I'm sure that it takes effort to do the mesh and the textures, but come on, I'm just going to sit on it or probably skip it and use something better, so might as well spend your resources on making actual enjoyable objects.

Also another problem is that it degrades the performance of the game much like the previous expansion did. Not a problem for those with good specs, but not everyone has good specs. If you want to run this game fairly well without suffering from long load times, then I suggest you get at least 512mb of RAM. It's what seems to be important. Though if you like the music, you can always argue that long load times are good since you can hum along all you want. So have at you.

OVERALL: Well, I've presented my opinion of the various features the game offers. In the end it all depends on you. It's your cash and/or time anyway. I can't really say this one is a waste of time since it isn't an empty expansion pack. Though I'm sure the novelty will probably wear out. But then of course, if you play like me, and don't overuse the new features at once, then it should last you for quite a while. Ah, if only there were still PC game rentals.

NAME: THE SIMS 2 - NIGHTLIFE

SYSTEM: PC