The Sims 2: Pets

The Sims 2: Pets is the fourth expansion pack in The Sims 2 series of games, as well as a stand-alone game for several consoles. It is published by Electronic Arts. Pets was officially announced on July 26, 2006 and released on October 18, 2006 in North America and via digital download, as well as on October 20, 2006 to the rest of the world, except for Australia/New Zealand, where it was released on October 26, 2006. Aspyr released a port of the game for Mac OS X on November 7, 2006. It was released for the Wii on June 13, 2007. In Australia, one Australian dollar per game sold, from at least 50,000 copies of the game, will be donated to the RSPCA. Unlike the other expansions, this game does not have a new neighborhood. Instead, new lots (with Sims living in them) are available for placement in the existing neighborhoods. The Sims 2: Pets has sold over 6 million copies.

Developer(s) Maxis, EA Mobile, IronMonkey Studios (N-Gage version),
Publisher(s) EA Games (PC), Aspyr Media (Mac)
Designer(s) Hunter Howe, Charles London, Mike Darga, Lakshmi Jalapayan
Series The Sims
Engine Custom
Platform(s) GBA, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PSP, Windows, Mac OS X, Wii, N-Gage.
Release date(s) Windows, NA October 18, 2006, EU October 20, 2006, BR October 20, 2006, AU October 26, 2006
Mac OS X, INT November 7, 2006, Wii NA June 13, 2007, N-Gage (service), INT June 18, 2008,
Genre(s) Life simulation game, God game
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: T, PEGI: 12+, OFLC: M, GBA/DS
Ratings: ESRB: E, PEGI: 7+, OFLC: G
Media Cartridge, CD, DVD, MiniDVD, UMD, Blu-Ray disc
System requirements Mac OS X, OS: Mac OS X 10.3.9+, CPU: 1.2GHz PowerPC G4/G5, RAM: 256MB, Disc Drive: DVD drive, HDD: 2GB free space, Video: 32MB ATI Radeon 9000/nVidia GeForce FX5200, Windows, OS: Windows 98/98 SE/Me/2000/XP, CPU: 1000MHz, RAM: 256MB, HDD: 1.5GB free space, Video: 32MB DirectX 9.0 and T&L compatible
Input methods Windows/Mac, Keyboard, Mouse

Gameplay

Pets

Sims can own cats, dogs, "womrats" (creatures similar to guinea pigs, whose name is a portmanteau of wombat and rat), fish, and birds. Pets features 72 pre-made breeds of dogs and thirty pre-made breeds of cats. Pets can be acquired in six ways: over the phone, in "Create-A-Pet", in a pet shop, found as a stray dog/alley cat, buying a bird or womrats in Buy Mode under Miscallaneous and choosing Pets, or by having a controlled Sim give or sell a pet to another Sim. Create-A-Pet is similar to "Create-a-Sim", where one builds human Sim characters. In Create-a-Pet, players may customize a cat or dog by choosing patterns and colors of coat, body shape, facial structure, and personality, which determines playfulness, neatness, loyalty, aggressiveness, and intelligence.Pets have motives like their Sim counterparts. Sims and pets are similar except for the absence of the "Environment" motive, which "Scratching" replaces in cats and "Chewing" in dogs. Sims may also train their pets to do various tricks.Pets can follow one of three career paths: Security, Showbiz and Services. When pets get promoted, various pet-related "unlockables" are made available along with a code so players can share these items with others.Pets have three life stages: Puppy/Kitten (which lasts four days), Adult (which lasts 25 days for cats & small dogs; 21 days for large dogs), and Elder (which lasts 5–10 days). The length of a pet's elder hood is selected at random, however there is an aspiration reward object which will extend the pet's life by a few days with each use.Pets are able to breed, and doing so will produce a litter. The maximum number of pets in a household is 6. A litter consists of 1-4 puppies or kittens. The number of puppies or kittens is dependent on the number of Sims and pets currently in the house. Players can play with up to eight Sims or six pets at one time, although one can only have a total of 10 Sims and pets in a household altogether.Pets, unlike Sims, cannot be directly controlled without the use of the a cheat code. A player can view the pet's action queue when it decides to take an autonomous action, but can not tell a pet to do something else. In addition, pet actions can not be canceled. Instead of direct control, a Sim must interact with a pet to increase the likelihood that it will perform or avoid various actions. It is up to a Sim to direct a pet's "learned behaviors" through either positive or negative reinforcement. For example, if a dog decides to pee outside, a Sim can opt to praise the behavior in order to increase the likelihood that the pet will repeat that action. A pet's ability to learn certain behaviors is influenced by its overall personality. This also applies to tricks, such as rolling over, sitting up, coming when called, etc., which pets do not perform autonomously.

Werewolves

Werewolves are a type of supernatural creature which the Sim can interact with or even be transformed into. Sims exist as Werewolves only during night hours. During these hours, the werewolf's energy will go up, but their hunger will decrease more quickly as well. A Werewolf can teach a pet faster than humans and can fight against burglars. They might occasionally howl at the moon, howl at player's command, or howl to summon wolves. When a werewolf howls every sim's bladder on the lot goes down halfway. To become a werewolf, players should have many trees, weeds, and untrimmed hedges on their lot to attract wolves, and must build up a relationship with any wolf with glowing eyes (the werewolf pack leader). The pack leader will eventually "nibble" the Sim it was interacting with (after their relationship becomes 100%), causing it to become a werewolf. Once a Sim has become a werewolf they may "savage" another Sim to turn them into a werewolf. Werewolves are not featured on the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, GameCube or Wii versions.

Other features

Sims are able to run pet shops if they have the Open for Business expansion pack. Among the new items with this pack is a modern phone, Atomic Age themed furniture which has the highest environment rating of any furniture up until the new Apartment Life, and items made exclusively for pets. Various stray animals populate the Sim neighborhoods, including wolves, and will occasionally wander onto lots. Stray dogs in particular will repeatedly dig holes in your Sims front or back garden. "Build" mode features a new tool called the "Sledgehammer," capable of deleting multiple items at once. Players can also create diagonal roofs, rotate floor tiles, and drag out diagonal rooms and octagonal rooms. There is an "encyclopedia of game tips" button located in the Options menu where one can view all game tips. Also, Sims with high creativity skill points can paint art from the player's image collection. You can add any photo you create within your Sims gameplay to this Custom Art section.

The Womrat


The Womrat is an update/replacement for the Guinea Pig available in The Sims 1 game. Its new cage prevents it from biting or escaping (unless you play with it). The biting Guinea Pig passed on illness in the The Sims 1. The Womrat cannot be sold back to any Sim pet store, you have to simply set it free and if kept in a Sim bedroom, running on its wheel and squeaking will wake your Sims.

Music

There are many new songs that appear in the original Pop radio station from the base game in this game that have been converted in Simlish:
* "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls
* "Chemicals React" by Aly & AJ
* "I Play Chicken with the Train" by Cowboy Troy
* "Girl Next Door" by Saving Jane
* "Free Radicals" by The Flaming Lips
* "Boyhunter" by Skye Sweetnam
* "The Compromise" by The Format
* "Turn Out the Light" by The New Amsterdams
* "Black Shoes" by The Films

Locales other than US English contain more songs:
* Danish: West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
* Dutch: Krezip - "Can't You be Mine"
* Finnish: Roni - "Never Coming Back"
* French: Kisha - "Sowieso"
* German: Kisha - "Sowieso", Krezip - "Can't You be Mine"
* Italian: Finley - "Run Away"
* Japanese: West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
* Korean: West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
* Norwegian: Lene Marlin - "What If"
* Russian: The Smokebreakers - "Baby Let's Dance"
* Spanish: La Oreja de Van Gogh - "Dulce Locura"
* Swedish: Lene Marlin - "What If", West End Girls - "Booglurbia"
* UK English: Finley - "Run Away", West End Girls - "Booglurbia"

These songs are not played in other locales (including US English), but they can be extracted from the game resources.


by : iMAm

The Sims 2: Open for Business

The Sims 2: Open for Business is the third expansion pack for The Sims 2, released on March 3, 2006, which allows Sims to run a home or community lot based business. Aspyr released a port of the game for Mac OS X on September 4, 2006.

Developer(s) Maxis
Publisher(s) EA Games (PC), Aspyr Media (Mac)
Designer(s) Charles London, Hunter Howe, Amy Kalson, Robin Hunicke
Series The Sims
Engine Pixomatic Engine
Version 1.3.0.351
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS X
Release date(s) Windows, NA March 2, 2006, EU March 3, 2006,Mac OS X, September 4, 2006
Genre(s) Life simulation game, God game
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: T, OFLC: M, PEGI: 12+,
Media CD, Blu-Ray Disc
System requirements Windows, OS: Windows 98/98 SE/Me/2000/XP, CPU: 800 MHz, RAM: 256 MB, Disc Drive: 8x CD-ROM/DVD drive, HDD: 3.5 GB free space, Video: 32MB DirectX 9.0 and T&L compatible, Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible,Mac OS X, OS: Mac OS X 10.3.9+, CPU: 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4/G5, RAM: 256 MB, Disc Drive: DVD drive, HDD: 2 GB free space, Video: 32 MB ATI Radeon 9000/nVidia GeForce FX 5200
Input methods Keyboard, Mouse


New additions Changes to the main game

The main change to the core game introduced by Open for Business is a new neighborhood type - the Shopping District, the default one being named Blue Water Village (which is also the name of a British shopping center). A number of Sims live here, such as a toymaking family, a woman who owns a home-based flower shop, a family bakery, and a rich tycoon who owns a nightclub and an electronics shop.Community lots are more flexible now, removing many of the gameplay restrictions that were present on them in the original game. Players can now save the game while their Sims are visiting community lots. Reloading their household automatically takes the player to the community lot where the Sims are located. The downside of this ability is that Sims can now die on community lots, but only the one the player is.Like the previous expansions, new Wants and Fears and interactions were added, including a new Lifetime Want and several new interactions for children. Some changes to items from the base game are also present. For example, doors are now lockable. They can be set to allow only one Sim, the whole family, or just employees to enter. This is useful for home-based stores, so customers won't enter the family's house.There are many new objects in this expansion. While furniture styles and the build-mode selection have been expanded, the biggest difference is the addition of business-oriented things like cash-registers, shelves, elevators, and crafting centers that Sims can use to create things to sell.Several features from Nightlife and University, such as influence levels, turn ons and turn offs, are available to players without those expansion packs.

Running businesses

The concept of running a business is the game's main new feature. This is a new direction for The Sims 2, as it now includes elements of a business simulation game. The game allows the player to control various aspects of running a business including picking which products to sell, hiring and firing employees, crafting goods, and restocking shelves. The game also rewards the player for meeting several predetermined goals; also, a mystery shopper may visit the business and critique it.

Around the house

Open for Business adds new functionality to a Sims' productivity around the house. Sims are able to craft new items, including toys, flower arrangements and robots. Additional items include those aimed specifically at enhancing the business setting like an old-style Cash Register, Beauty salon chairs, child-oriented toys, and Mission Style furniture. Also is the addition of the Servo, a household robot, which can perform basic tasks and function like a Sim in regards to Social interaction. Some new items, called "Bots" in general, aim to increase productivity on a lower scale than Servo's operation, usually performing one task, such as cleaning the floor or watering plants. Servos also appeared in the original game's expansion pack The Sims: Livin' Large as it's known in North America and Australia and The Sims: Livin' It Up as it is known in Europe.

Architecture

Open For Business adds more functionality to Build Mode. New Elevators both open a new possibility for public interactions and create a risk for fatality by plummeting. Domed, conical and octagonal roofs in different sizes are now available. Players may also add Awnings. Doors may now also be locked by a home or business owner, to allow either the selected sim, family or employees only.

Talent Badges

"Open for Business" adds a new "talent badge" system. A Sim must repeatedly do an action that raises that badge's level. The four levels are: none, bronze, silver, and gold. The talent badges include:
* Sales: The ability to convince a customer to buy an item. A successful sale will raise the sales bar, which, when full, will cause the customer to buy the item. The sales can be accepted or rejected depending on customer loyalty, mood, and the badge level of the salesman. The different actions include the basic sale, the cheap offer, the "hard sale", and the dazzle. The higher level sales have better pay offs, but more serious consequences. A salesman can also select a customer that looks confused, and use the "Sales... May I Help You?" command. This badge is raised by using a sale interaction. This skill can be raised more quickly by having a high charisma skill.
* Register: The register badge affects how quickly an employee can ring up a customer. With this badge the process will take much less time, and reduce the chance that customer loyalty will be lost by long wait times. This badge is only raised by using the cash register, and can be raised more quickly by Sims with a high logic skill.
* Restocking: The restocking badge affects how quickly an employee can restock an item before it has been purchased. This is raised by restocking items, and can be raised more quickly by Sims with a high Body skill.
* Salon: The salon badge increases the chance that an employee in a barber shop will succesfully cut hair. Bad haircuts reduce customer loyalty. This badge is easily raised by offering free haircuts and having a high cleaning skill.
* Flower Arranging: This badge is used at one of three "craft tables." It allows a Sim to make a bouquet of flowers. The flowers are then sold, given as gifts, or used to improve the room score. A higher level badge increases the types of flowers that can be arranged. This badge is raised by arranging bouquets, and the rate of learning is increased by a high Creativity skill level.
* Robotics: This badge is used at one of three "craft tables." It allows a Sim to make robot toys and devices. The robots are then sold, given as gifts, or used for fun and services. A higher level badge increases the types of robots that can be built. This badge is raised by building robots, and the rate of learning is increased by a high Mechanical skill level. A gold badge is the only way to make a Servo, a robot that acts like a Sim.
* Toy Making: This badge is used at one of three "craft tables." It allows a Sim to create toys. The toys are then sold, given as gifts, or used for fun by children. A higher level badge increases the types of that can be built. This badge is raised by building skills, and the rate of learning is increased by a high Mechanical skill level.

Music

A new musical genre titled New Wave is included, along with its own speaker. Major bands from the '80s each contributed one of their major hits re-recorded in Simlish. In particular, the game features:
* Depeche Mode with "Suffer Well"
* Kajagoogoo with "Too Shy"
* Howard Jones with "Things Can Only Get Better"
* Epoxies with "Synthesized"
Also, a new station known as Shopping has been included, which features the "Buy Mode" music from The Sims.



by : iMAm

The Sims 2: Nightlife

The Sims 2: Nightlife is the second expansion pack for The Sims 2, which was released on September 13, 2005 (USA and Canada) and September 16, 2005 (European Union, Australia and New Zealand). It was released for Mac OS X on March 27, 2006. The expansion pack centers on the new downtown area, which has various activities, such as bowling, karaoke, dining and dancing, as well as a photo booth, and includes a dating mini-game which allows player to engage in their Sim's relationships in greater depth.

Developer(s) Maxis
Publisher(s) EA Games (PC), Aspyr Media (Mac)
Designer(s) Hunter Howe, Amy Kalson, Charles London
Series The Sims
Engine Custom
Version 1.2.0.355
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS X
Release date(s) Windows, September 19, 2005, Mac OS X, March 27, 2006
Genre(s) Life simulation game, God game
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: T, OFLC: M, PEGI: 12+
Media CD, Blu-Ray Disc
System requirements Mac OS X, OS: Mac OS X 10.3.8+, CPU: 1.2GHz PowerPC G4/G5, RAM: 256MB, Disc Drive: DVD drive, HDD: 3GB free space, Video: 32MB ATI Radeon 9000/nVidia GeForce FX5200, Windows, OS: Windows 98/98 SE/Me/2000/XP, CPU: 1.0GHz, RAM: 256MB, Disc Drive: 8x CD-ROM/DVD drive, HDD: 1.5GB free space, Video: 32MB DirectX 9.0 and T&L compatible, Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible
Input methods Keyboard, Mouse


Description

The game is reminiscent of an expansion pack from the original The Sims game entitled The Sims: Hot Date, which focused on new social interactions and locations for Sims to visit, such as a dance club or romantic restaurant. Nightlife follows in a similar theme. Some of the items are also similar to the ones found in The Sims: House Party.New additions include inventories, new interactions, and over 125 new objects. NPCs that a player's Sim dates can now leave gifts or hate letters at the Sim's home, depending on the success of particular dates. Some of the new NPCs include party DJs, a Gypsy Matchmaker and Vampires.Nightlife also adds a new aspiration called the Pleasure Aspiration. This new aspiration is assigned in exactly the same way as any of the other 5 aspirations. Sims with this aspiration crave enjoyment in many different ways, whilst they fear embarrassment. Sims may receive wants such as 'juggle' and 'jump on lounge.' Nightlife has also introduced a new reward object called the ReNuYu SensoOrb, which enables any Sim to change their aspiration at any time. However, like all other aspiration reward objects, it can fail if the Sim's Aspiration Meter isn't at least in the Gold range, which results in the Sim using it receiving the Grilled Cheese Aspiration, and all other wants or fears will be superseded with ones revolving around grilled cheese sandwiches, such as "Make Grilled Cheese Sandwich" or "Be rejected for Talk about Grilled Cheese Sandwich." The Sim also gains a new lifetime aspiration of eating 200+ Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. If The Sims 2: University is installed, the Sim's Lifetime Want will also change.In Nightlife, Sims can own their own cars instead of relying on the carpool to get to work or the bus to get to school (parents can drive children to school and teenagers can drive themselves). There are several models and colors available. In addition, driveways (mandatory for any residential lot to accommodate a car) and garages can be built into the Sim's lot.Also new, more customized swimming pools can be designed. Included is a new diagonal shaped swimming pool tool, which can be used to create extensive shapes not previously possible. However, the pool ladder and diving board may only be attached to pool tiles square on to the lot.The lot mode has been expanded in Nightlife, so that it is possible to view the neighborhood from a lot. Players may leave one lot to play another without having to go back to the neighborhood mode. It is still impossible, however, for a Sim to invite himself or herself to another residential lot.Two new radio stations come with the expansion, Oldies and Classical stations. This expansion pack also enables those who choose to avail of a new cheat within the "bool_prop" cheat called 'The Sim Modder' allowing you to make a variety of changes to your Sim such as filling all skill bars and turning NPC's or yourself into a Vampire, or curing Vampirism.

New gameplay mechanics

As with previous expansion packs, not only does The Sims 2: Nightlife come packed with more content, but also adds something to the overall gameplay of the original game. New aspects of gameplay that are added to Nightlife are:

Fury

The Sims 2: Nightlife introduces the concept of fury. Of limited duration, this generally affects which social interactions are accepted. It is most likely to occur when a spouse is caught cheating with another Sim. If another Sim becomes furious at the player's Sim, their Sim will be subjected to vandalism, such as having their newspaper stolen, or their trash can kicked over. This can be resolved through making friends with the person that is furious at them.Players can receive a Flaming Bag of Poo, which can set fire to a house, because of a bad date. The alternative, a bunch of roses.

Contacts

When a Sim has a successful date or outing, they may be contacted by a previously unknown friend of their date. The caller is added to the Sim's relationship panel as a friend, and their portrait is covered with a blue film representing the contact period. During the contact period, the length of which is determined by how successful the date or outing was, the two Sims can become friends more easily. If the two Sims do not build their relationship up to the normal friendship level by the end of the contact period, the friendship status disappears.

Vampires

The Sims 2: Nightlife introduces NPC Vampires, the Count and the Contessa, who can be found in the Downtown neighborhood at night. If a Sim builds a strong enough relationship with one of the vampires, they can ask to be bitten and thus turn into a vampire. Vampire Sims have sharp teeth, red eyes, and gray-blue skin, have no reflection in mirrors, and can turn into a bat and fly. If they are exposed to sunlight, their needs decline steadily, eventually causing death. Their needs decline during the day at a very fast rate, which can make them difficult Sims to play. Removing the windows in a Vampire Sim's house does not prevent the sunlight from entering, and their needs will still decline until nighttime falls, which occurs at 7:00 pm. On the other hand, their needs will not decay at all during the night and while sleeping in a coffin. Vampire Sims are also immortal and will not age, although Teen vampires will age if sent to college and again upon graduation. Vampirism can be cured with Vamprocillin D, available from the Gypsy Matchmaker NPC.

Attraction and Chemistry

All Sims in the Teen life stage or older now have turn-ons and turn-offs and are affected by a system of attraction and chemistry. Sims can be attracted to any other Sim that is the appropriate age, and is not a relative. The amount of attraction is determined by turn-ons and turn-offs, personality, aspirations, and astrological sign. If two Sims are attracted to each other, they will also get a chemistry score, represented in the relationships panel by lightning bolts. Positive chemistry can be between one and three lightning bolts, and negative chemistry is represented by a lightning bolt with an x through it. Sims who share chemistry can build relationships more easily and have access to different interactions.

Cars

The Sims 2 Nightlife is the first expansion pack that includes private cars. The expansion pack includes 5 Maxis-made car models with different paintjobs: a hatchback, a pick-up truck, a minivan, a sedan car, and a sports car. The Sims 2 Website (www.thesims2.com) includes 6 more cars which can be downloaded: Ford Focus, Mustang, Fusion, Edge, Ford Escape Hybrid, and the Montgomery Hawker from Burnout Paradise. These cars are available for download for people with Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, and Freetime. In the cars you can install an alarm, take your kids to school, take a spin, and go to community lots. Teens, Adults, and Elders (Young adults with University installed) are the only sim ages that can drive cars. However, cheats or custom content can create the illusion of a child, toddler, or baby driving.Recently, the official website has included a garage set that allows users with any combination of games to have cars.


by : iMAm

The Sims 2: University

The Sims 2: University is the first expansion pack for the strategic life simulation computer game The Sims 2 developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on March 1, 2005 to mixed reception[citation needed]. The expansion pack allows the player's Sims to become Young Adults and go to University to earn a degree, allowing them to take up any one of four graduate-exclusive careers. The expansion added several key gameplay elements which have been included in all expansions succeeding it. The Sims 2: University has won two Editor's Choice awards from syndicated game review publications[citation needed].

Developer(s) Maxis
Publisher(s) EA Games (PC), Aspyr Media (Mac)
Designer(s) Charles London, Hunter Howe
Series The Sims
Engine Custom
Version 1.1.0.284
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS X
Release date(s) Windows, March 11, 2005
Genre(s) Life simulation game
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: T, OFLC: M, PEGI: 12+
Media CD, Blu-Ray Disc
System requirements Mac OS X, OS: Mac OS X 10.3.8+, CPU: 1.2GHz PowerPC G4/G5, RAM: 256MB, Disc Drive: DVD drive, HDD: 3GB free space, Video: 32MB ATI Radeon 9000/nVidia GeForce FX5200, Pre-installed The Sims 2 game.Windows, OS: Windows 98/98 SE/Me/2000/XP, CPU: 800MHz, RAM: 256MB, Disc Drive: 8x CD-ROM/DVD drive, HDD: 3.5GB free space, Video: 32MB DirectX 9.0 and T&L compatible, Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible, Pre-installed The Sims 2 game
Input methods Keyboard, Mouse

Features

University adds a simple instrument system, comprised of the new Guitar, Drum Kit and Bass objects. Multiple Sims can play together. Sims can make money by playing at their homes or at community lots such as music clubs or coffee shops. The Sims can play three different types of musical styles with these instruments and once a Sim begins playing one of the styles, the others who pick up instruments to play join into the same style. Although Sims cannot have actual vocalists, the new action "Freestyle" or "Freestyle For Tips" will allow another Sim to rap along (in Simlish) to the instruments being played or a cappella to have fun and annoy or entertain other Sims nearby. Students also have a variety of new objects centered around college life, including a fruit juice keg , togas, ramen noodles, and a bubble blowing machine.University also adds the Young Adult life stage between Teen and Adult. Only Sims at college become Young Adults, and any Sims who do not attend college make the transition directly to adults. The new college towns are linked to a specific neighborhood and preserve the same separation home neighborhoods do. University comes with three pre-packaged college towns:Sim State University, La Fiesta Tech, and Académie Le Tour. In the towns, are three further types of residential: dorms, private housing, and Greek Houses, although there are no Greek Houses in Académie Le Tour. In communal dorms, computer-created Sims fill in the house vacancies. A Sim with enough scholarship money may start out in a private house. Greek Houses function the same as a dormitory, but have increased Relationship and Motive benefits. The premade neighborhoods generally include recreation centers, libraries, and other student centers.

College education

The biggest aspect of The Sims 2: University is the college system, which introduces classes, majors, and rewards.Students have the choice of eleven different majors. These majors require the advancement of specific skills in order to get the highest possible grades. The majors available are: Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political science, Psychology, Art, Biology, Drama, Economics, History, and Literature.Sims must complete four years of university to graduate. If a Sim fails a semester, they are placed on academic probation and must repeat the semester. If the Sim fails the semester on academic probation, they are expelled, no matter what stage of being a Young Adult they were at, they will become an Adult, and a fourth fear slot will be added. No fear slot is added if a sim drops out. A Sim who is expelled from college can never go back. During class hours, Sims simply walk off the housing lot and return when the class is over, but just going to class is not enough to graduate, as it provides minimal education. Advancement through semesters is done through skill building to open up education gates, completion of a Term Paper, completing assignments and researching using the bookshelf as well as talking to your professors. In order to gain any advancement though, your Sim must open the education gates through skill building. A message will pop up to warn the player if these gates are not opened allowing advancement.Good grades are rewarded by college through grants or a spot on the Dean's List. In addition, Sims are also enhanced upon completion of a school year, being rewarded with additional Want slots and the opportunity to change Aspiration. A Sim can also graduate with Honours, which accelerates his or her career in Adulthood. By completing college, four new careers, Art, Natural Science, Show Business, and Paranormal, are opened to Sims. These careers pay better than the original ones, but demand higher skills and more friends for promotion.

Student finance

Each student starts off with a budget separate from any family they may have come from. In University, students can spend their money on luxury objects in their living spaces, excess clothing, electronic gadgets (i.e. mobile phones, mp3 players and portable video game consoles) or even on renting a private that can be a private home or can be converted into a Greek House. There are several ways to receive income as a student, including tutoring and physically training other Sims. Students may also play Instruments or freestyle for tips or work part time as cafeteria workers and baristas. Before they go to college, Sims may apply for scholarships which depend on factors such as their skill points, grade level and home experience. Having an A grade point average will get you the Sim City Grant. Having 8 out of 10 skill points filled with get you a scholarship based on that skill. There are also scholarships for teens who have lost both parents and teens who were abducted by aliens using the telescope. Note: You can only be abducted using the most expensive telescope in Buy Mode. You can also get a scholarship if your teen is an overachiever.

Influence and wants

University includes the Influence system. By achieving specific goals, Sims gain a number of Influence points, which may be spent on directing other Sims to do certain things. Sims now have a Lifetime Want which puts the Sim in Platinum mood for the rest of their lives if achieved. Contrary to its name, more than one Lifetime Want may appear during a Sim's lifetime, since when one is accomplished, another appears but this does not affect permanent Platinum mood status. Over the course of a Sim's college years, towards the end of their education, the player is given the chance to change their Aspiration.

Social interactions

There are many new social interactions in The Sims 2: University, including pranks, instruments, and pillow fights. University adds several categories of interactions, including "Influence To..." and "Hang Out". Sims can comprise study groups, providing social interaction while boosting grades. A common interaction between University Sims is "Kicky Bag", a hacky sack knock-off in which multiple Sims try to keep aloft a small bag filled with beans by kicking it to each other.

New NPC's

University has new NPC's in the form of peppy cheerleaders and the nice mascot/evil/amorous mascot. Cheerleaders and the Nice Mascot, usually a Llama, will generally repeatedly perform the School Cheer for your Sim, can enter homes at random without invitation through their lifetime (if you marry a mascot, they can walk into any neighbours house without knocking for their lifetime). The 'Evil' Mascot usually takes the form of a Cow and will be constantly pranking and provoking you and your fellow classmates. The final is the 'amorous' Mascot who can create problems for dating Sims by flirting with and kissing your Sims. Most mascots, if they cannot gain access to a house (using the new with Open for Business "Lock" option on doors or putting a "Myne" door on a house), will sit outside endlessly doing homework, performing a cheer or waiting for your Sim to return from class to 'poke' or 'flirt' with them.

Zombies

University introduced Zombies, a new type of Sim. When using a Resurrect-O-Nomitron (a career reward for the paranormal career track), you can pay the Grim Reaper to bring back an imprisoned Sim. If you don't pay enough, the Sim may come back as a zombie. The zombies have gray skin, always shamble when walking, and dislike whoever brought them back from the grave. Zombies also lose some of the skill and personality points they had when they were humans.

Man Eating Plants and Other New Career Rewards

In addition to career rewards such as the Resurrect O-Nomitron mentioned above, Sims can earn a man eating plant as a Career Reward. This plant, after consuming an unsuspecting victim, can be milked by your Sim and produces the Elixir of Life which makes your Sim younger when consumed. Career Rewards are only achieved once you have reached a certain level in that job and you can obtain multiple rewards over your Sims lifetime by having them 'Find a Job' once they receive their career reward and you move it into your Sims inventory.Once your sim has got a career reward the sim can use their reward to achieve platium moods and good needs. These inventory items can then be passed on to teen Sims going to college.

Music

The new College Rock Radio station features songs from independent bands. All of the lyrics are in Simlish.New songs in this expansion pack include:
* "Black Shoes" - The Films
* "Come On" - Steadman
* "This Conversation Is Over" - Acceptance
* "Beautiful Life" - Charlotte Martin
* "Outsider" - The Daylights
* "Sway" - The Perishers
* "Pretty People" - Dexter Freebish
* "Very Very Rich Town" - Go Betty Go
* "The Compromise" - The Format
* "Big Sky" - Abra Moore

by : iMAm