The Sims 2: Apartment Life Expansion Pack (PC)

For the few who don't already know it, 'The Sims 2' is a Life Simulator game, the far more sophisticated successor to the huge hit game 'The Sims'. You create incredibly lifelike little people, put them in houses and then watch them live out their lives, sometimes giving them a helping hand to guide them with milestones such as getting a job, dating, getting married, buying a house and so on. But mostly, you can just let them run amok and watch what ...
...more features that massively enhance the gameplay of the base game have been added, starting from the ability to go on dates, own and drive cars and go to University, through to being able to have pets, own a business, have seasonal weather, go on holidays abroad, develop new hobbies and interests, and in the latest expansion, live in apartment blocks and get involved in helpful social networking.

And now, the latest expansion pack, ... more

For the few who don't already know it, 'The Sims 2' is a Life Simulator game, the far more sophisticated successor to the huge hit game 'The Sims'. You create incredibly lifelike little people, put them in houses and then watch them live out their lives, sometimes giving them a helping hand to guide them with milestones such as getting a job, dating, getting married, buying a house and so on. But mostly, you can just let them run amok and watch what sort of (often surprising and usually very funny) things they get up to.

Via a series of Expansion Packs, loads more features that massively enhance the gameplay of the base game have been added, starting from the ability to go on dates, own and drive cars and go to University, through to being able to have pets, own a business, have seasonal weather, go on holidays abroad, develop new hobbies and interests, and in the latest expansion, live in apartment blocks and get involved in helpful social networking.

And now, the latest expansion pack, 'Apartment Life' has become a part of my worryingly enormous collection.

With 'Apartment Life' comes several new features:

- Apartments!

You can have up to four families living under one roof (if the apartment building has more than four apartments, the other apartments will be filled by game-generated NPCs, non-player characters). Sims can visit other families in the building or invite them over, and can intermingle with each other in common areas such as gardens or back yards.

Sometimes the NPCs living in other apartments can be helpful to your character, for instance if you are friendly to them they may tell you that you're such a great person they are going to tell everyone they know how wonderful you are (enhancing your reputation via social networking), or by revealing that they're friends with the landlord and are going to ask him to reduce your rent. You can also take on helpful roommates and ask friendly neighbours to babysit rather than hire a nanny. If you don't get on with your roommate, you can kick them out!

- Reputations!

As mentioned above, your interactions with NPCs can now make or break your reputation. If you're nice enough, others may be able to help you advance in your career or make new friends. But if you're unfriendly, the opposite can also happen.

- Witches!

As with the supernatural characters added by previous expansion packs, such as werewolves, zombies, vampires, aliens and plantsims, 'Apartment Life' adds witches. They come in three types, good, neutral and bad. You encounter them while out on the community lots, and can interact with them.

If you befriend a witch, they can teach you witchery and give you a spell book and cauldron. You can cast spells, make potions and even travel by flying on a broomstick! If you do decide to have your Sim choose to be taught witchery, your Sim will be immediately turned into a witch, complete with witch's peaked hat and robes and curly-toed shoes, and start flying around on your own broomstick! Quite fun.

Your Sims will only encounter witches when they are out and about - witches will often appear on community lots. You may see an 'Atrociously Evil Witch' at a nightclub, who will cast a spell that brings a bolt of thunder and lightning and covers the pavement with huge bugs that freak everyone out, or a lovely good witch who will cast a happy spell that causes loads of pretty multi-coloured stars to appear all over everyone!

-New actions and objects!

You can now do such wild and wonderful things as brush your teeth, jump rope, and a romantic combination of kissing and dancing with the object of your Sim's affections. New decoration objects include elegant spiral staircases, handy pull-down beds and walk-in closets. There are lots of new clothes, much of it of a nifty Boho style.

'Apartment Life' does add a great new dimension with the ability to design and build your own apartment buildings and have your families interact with each other all in the same building. If you've never played 'The Sims 2', I can wholeheartedly recommend the game - it has far exceeded my expectations for sheer fun and immersiveness, and the extra features of each expansion pack keep giving it new life each time.

Also on ciao.com as EsmeraldaDragon, dooyoo.co.uk as thereddragon, and Helium as Esmeralda Draic. 

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