Sims 2 Review

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MrG
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Sims 2 Review

Post by MrG »

http://www.mrg.za.net/sims2review.html

GO TO LINK ABOVE FOR THE PROPER REVIEW THAT WAS WRITTEN

SIMS 2 REVIEW

When I was first approached to write this review, my first reaction was: "Ack! I'll have to admit to the world that I play simulation games!" Then I figured, if you are reading this, then you probably play them too...Now my question is, what can I tell you about this game that hundreds of game reviewers out there have not already covered? You don't need me to remind you that the original Sims was the best selling PC game ever and the Sims 2 is definitely better than the original. It is quite simple really, if you liked the original Sims, then you'll love the 3D graphics and extra gameplay options involving aspirations, needs, fears, genetics, career rewards and all that which is part of the Sims 2. So, stop thinking about it and go and get the game!

Having said that, since the game was released in September, I have spent most of my free time either playing the game or searching the internet for things to add to the game and the reason why I still enjoy it is this...MODS. Yes, the Sims 2 is a fantastic sequel, but to be honest, without the mods the behaviour of these little characters can become quite boring and often downright annoying. The irritating cheering about their school grades, their obsession with holding the baby and the fact that their homework depletes their needs long before they can get it done, are but a few examples. Fortunately there are mods to "fix" most of these behaviours.

Many adults enjoy this game, because it allows them to create their own stories and a great addition to the snapshot feature from the Sims 1 is the movie maker in Sims 2. While the decreasing needs and aspirations are nice if you are playing the game as it was intended, it can also be a real pain at times. The screenshot below is a good example why you should not ignore your sim's desperate "waving" for attention while you are trying to create the scene for your story. A perfect moment ruined, so this is where those mods that boost your sim's needs can come in quite handy.

The graphics are great, but I only truly appreciated how good they are when I saw the game running on MrG's PC (Yes, he plays it too occasionally). Unfortunately I have to use the lowest graphics settings on my system, which means that I miss out on all those cute cut scenes, but at least it actually does run on lower end PC's as they claim, unlike many other games. Even at the lower settings it still looks pretty good and I don't experience much lagging at all. The loading times can be a killer with slower PC's though.


I think the biggest disappointment was the fact that that Maxis really didn't provide much of a variety as far as objects, skins and hairstyles go for Sims2. They did promise that they would once again make it possible for users to create custom objects and meshes, but to date this has not yet materialized. In fact, they have made it almost impossible for us to do so. Granted, there are some very nice custom skins and game mods out there, but those meshes still can't be changed. Despite this, they have announced the first expansion for the game due to be released in March 2005, The Sims2 University and with that the promise of new objects to add to the game. Do they actually expect those who are not interested in the expansion to buy it just to get new objects? We want to make our own! This after all was one of the main reasons why the original game had such a huge following amongst teens and adults in the first place.Those of us who played Sims1 eventually had quite an impressive collection of user created objects and skins and for obvious reasons, none of those could be used in Sims2.

Lastly some thoughts on the official patch...I downloaded it, installed it and promptly uninstalled it again. I believe that it works well for most peolple and it does fix that nasty "jumping" bug issue, but I never really had any serious problems with my game without the patch, so if it isn't broken, don't fix it. On the positive side, it didn't seem to conflict with any of the countless mods that I have installed either.

The game is rated Teen and it does appear that Maxis did their best to stay within boundaries for this age group even though this was at the expense of the adult players to some extent. One does tend to wonder why they excluded teen woohoo and pregnancy when it is perfectly acceptable for an adult sim to woohoo with every sim in the neighbourhood including sims of the same gender and have illegitimate children too, not to mention the alien abduction and male pregnancy thing. Some double standards one could say, but that is a different discussion altogether.

Ok, complaining about Maxis kind of comes with the territory if you are a true Sims addict and I have to confess that I am. The bottom line is, they did a fantastic job with this sequel. The game provides hours of entertainment and the beauty of it is, that it really up to you how you choose to play it. Now all we want is for them to make it possible for us to change those meshes and not to make modding such a mission!

Final rating for the game 8/10

Reviewed by Monique Elder
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neon_chameleon
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Post by neon_chameleon »

How many topics of these reviews are there?

There's also more Half Life threads than hours it takes to complete the first instalment of the game.

Having said that I reckon it's a great review of Sims 2 and your site is great, MrG!
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MrG
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Post by MrG »

Yes, there are alot of Half Life 2 threads... thanks alot for your comment... will continue to develop the page further
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RuadRauFlessa
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Post by RuadRauFlessa »

Yeah nicely done. Hope we can see your Reader Review in the mag some time soon.
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Post by halo »

you do know that there is something like 5 reader review for Feb.... This sims2 review, Maxxis need for speed underground 2 review.... My HL2 review, Rayne's HL2review.... I wonder who's gonna win it???? best of luck to all of us....

o yes, MrG, GREAT review bro... summed up the game very well... :D
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MrG
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Post by MrG »

Glad you enjoyed it!!!
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neon_chameleon
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Post by neon_chameleon »

Yeah all great reviews, best of luck to all of you!
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someidiotsa
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Post by someidiotsa »

I think they should release the tool to make objects cozz It really does suck to have so little objects that look nasty :!:

The sims one even seems better in this case! :?
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