The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack

Amazon priced this item just shy of the $25 mark to entice us cheapos to add another item and get free shipping. That is a good marketing strategy since this Seasons expansion is such a worthwhile title.

That said, The Sims 2: Seasons is what I would call a legitimate expansion pack for The Sims series. Unlike the Stuff Packs or some other expansion packs, Seasons really rounds out the series in my opinion.

Being a cheapo, I like spending $15 on a DVD that is 123 minutes as opposed to 93 - I feel I am getting my money's worth. Also, I like spending $25 for a Sims expansion pack where new career paths (and rewards) are added, lots of new items are included, and game concepts are added or upgraded.

The Sims 2 Seasons is legitimate in my opinion because it does just that: gives 6 more career paths (Adventure, Games, Law, Education, Music, and Journalism); new clothes (for each season, all ages) and items (like the Country decor theme); and new interactions, aspirations, and rewards.

Besides all the busy micromanagement that so many of us Simmers love, I mentioned that Seasons rounded out the series. What I meant was that now you don't have to focus so much on the careers just to make money. Nightlife and Open for Business are much like Seasons in that regard - you can make money by being a DJ, bartender, lemonade salesman, or garage saler.

In Seasons, it really expands what you can do outside of the normal "grind for your boss" routine. And if you remember the first The Sims where you make magical potions and cast spells (Makin' Magic expansion pack), that also kind of ties in with Seasons.

Basically, you can now grow fruits and vegetables, catch fish, and other hobbies, then use them to make cash, health drinks, special potions, etc. Also, gifting is introduced (when you don't want stuff but think your neighbor might).

This slows down the game quite a bit because (A) now you're interacting within the frame of each season and (B) you can still be productive and working towards certain goals without the typical bustle of The Sims 2 that we know and love. Now you can just be a farmer and tell the rest to go to hell. I appreciate that.

The other thing I'd like to point out is the basis of the game: the four seasons. Living in San Diego, CA, we only have two seasons: Paradise and The Next City's Best. In The Sims 2 Seasons, you have more control over the weather than you might think.

First of all, you can determine which neighborhood(s) have seasons and which seasons you'd like to have occur (and when) - for example, one neighborhood can only have spring and winter, if you want. Next, with the new neighborhood Maxis provided ("Riverblossom Hills"), they added some of their own content, but since the seasons can be applied to any neighborhood, I just ripped off what I liked and rarely played the new neighborhood.

Another thing I love in particular about Seasons is the expansion of Wants and Aspirations. I also love how this expansion pack ties into the other expansion packs (Maxis tries to keep them all interwoven to maximize their value - so we all buy every expansion!). You can get a fishing badge (like the sales badge from Open for Business) or find new Wants for each Aspiration (like Romance where the wants change during Springtime).

A lot to build on if you love the series. Of course, as I always like to mention, if you wait another 5-10 years, all of these will be included on The Sims 2: Complete Edition for about 1/3 the total cost. :)

One of the nagging problems of the Sims 2 series has been the lack of a strong feeling of time passing. While you could watch your sims age, the only real impression of time going by that I've ever gotten is my own frequent glances toward the age bars to see how much time each sim would have left in their current life phase.

Separate from the many wonderful features that have been added to the game, the real golden improvement is the immense amount of atmosphere that the weather provides. It hadn't occurred to me before I started playing that something as simple as snow on the ground would change the feeling of the game so much. There's a distinct coziness in having your sims sit inside in front of the fire on a snowy winter day that was never present in the previous eternal summer. It also creates a feeling of time moving on for the entire lot as a whole, without depending on any kind of nagging need to check whether the teen is going to have to leave for college soon, or similar things.

There are also a lot of functional additions. The sims have new ways to die (heat stroke, struck by lightning, etc), their progress in different areas of their life varies by season (for example, it's easier to build family relationships during the winter), and the sims can garden and make juices that boost their abilities or moods.

One thing that you should certainly note is that it's an especially good idea to backup your existing houses with this pack. With an expansion like Nightlife, if you decided you didn't like the general feel of the new content (largely a matter of going downtown and going on dates) you could just not use those and your gameplay would be impacted very little. With seasons, however, the closest you can get to turning the features off would be to set up a neighborhood to be in summer permanently. In most ways this would be a very close match for the game prior to seasons, but you might find it aggravating to have to keep an eye out for your sims getting heat stroke if they spend too much time working outdoors, or get into an outdoor hottub on a warm day.

There's a new "country" decorating collection that can be a bit annoying in some ways (the roosters on the floor tiles I don't like a bit), but they also have some very charming pieces as well. Additionally, a few of the homes and families don't appear to have been QC'd very well. There's one included family in which the mother Sim is already pregnant, and once the babies aged enough that I looked at their family tree I found that another woman was listed as the second parent rather than the family's father. Sure, they do strange things with the family backstories sometimes, but I couldn't find any mention of something to explain this in any of the character descriptions. There are also homes where they simply left small gaps in the (indoor) walls rather than installing arches or doors as one would expect.

I'm extremely pleased with the changes that Maxis has made. While there are some remaining gameplay issues that could be addressed, overall I think that this expansion has more positive impact on the game than any of the ones that have come out previously.

The Sims 2 Seasons is probably the best expansion pack so far. In this expansion pack, there are many new features and activities such as gardening, fishing, ice skating, roller skating, and of course; your sims now get to experience all four seasons (winter, autumn, spring, summer). Each season lasts for five sim days, and eventually progresses into the next season. The expansion even allows you to design your own climate scheme. Basically, if you want, you can have Spring all year long! (well, all twenty days long). Or you can have spring for two seasons and winter for the other two seasons. There is even a whole new country-themed furniture and kitchen set which blends well with the feel that Seasons gives. I personally don't like the rooster-country wallpaper the expansion offers, but the kitchen sets are very nice.

-Gardening

One of the great things that Seasons offers are the various activities. Gardening is fun, but it's important to keep constant check on them or they can die pretty quickly. The best thing about gardening is the rewards. You can purchase orchard trees (orange, lemon, and apple) and get fruit, or you can create plots and plant vegetables and fruits such as cucumbers, tomatoes (fruit OR vegetable?), pole beans, strawberries, etc. From growing these, you can harvest them and stock them into the Main Squeezer 235X juicer from the catalog. Once you have enough stocked, select the juicer you should be able to mix and match the different produce to make tasty juices. If the produce is "mouthwatering" then the juice will have special effects. To get your produce to be mouthwatering, you have to make sure your plants are thriving. You can improve your garden by adding lawn decorations and even invite the Garden Club over and allow them to judge your garden. And with enough gardening experience you can earn a gold gardening badge.

Magical Juices consist of:

Apple Juice, Beauty Cocktail, Eggplant Juice, Lemonade, Orangeade, Orange Juice, Pureed Boot (yum!), Pepper Punch (no comment), Tomato Juice, Strawberry Lemonade, Strawberry Juice, and Vegetable Cocktail.

It's up to you to figure out what the effects are. As for what the ingredients are, the titles of the juices are pretty self-explanatory for what the juice will consist of.

-Fishing

Wahoo, fishing! Even fishing has it's own good effects. Sims can create ponds in front of their house and fish. Depending on how much experience they have and the badge (bronze, silver, or gold) sims can catch more or less fish. I have to say there isn't a very large variety of fish, but there's just enough. Sims can grill fish for a much more satisfying meal.

-Riverblossom Hills

What could be better than all the features that Seasons offers? A whole new neighborhood!

Riverblossom Hills a new neighborhood that actually kind of focuses on the activities that seasons offers. There are premade families in the neighborhood of course, each with their own story. The first house I entered in Riverblossom Hills was the McGreggor Household. I recommend going into the McGreggor Household first because there is a barn and an orchard, plus there's only one person living in the house, so it'd be easy to familiarize with everything in seasons with overwhelming yourself, although it doesn't really matter.

-PlantSim

In seasons, sims can now become PlantSims. Your sim becomes a plantsim by excessively using pesticides on plants. There is a premade family in Riverblossom Hills with a plantsim (The Greenman Family) if you can't be bothered to create your own PlantSim. To cure a PlantSim, invite one of the members from the Garden Club over and buy a potion. Sims have new aspirations; "Become PlantSim +2,000", "Be Cured of PlantSim +5,000" (examples, I don't know if those are the exact aspiration points)

-Community Lots

In Riverblossom Hills there are new community lots with different activities. Sims can go iceskating during winter and rollerskating during the summer. These also have new aspirations; "Go Ice Skating +500". And I have to say, watching sims fall-- I mean, ice skate is pretty entertaining.

-Outerwear

Of course sims need the appropriate clothes if they want to last through those harsh winters and brutally hot summers! Seasons offers a wide variety of different summer and winter clothes, (coats, snowsuits) even for toddlers! (Toddlers can eat snow, by the way. It actually increases their hunger motive)

-Season Effects

Seasons effect your sims (depending on the season). They may want to see snow or rain or hail (aspiration: See Rain +500). Seasons also have effects on things that your sims do everyday:

Winter is a time to stay at home, drink hot chocolate, and bond with relatives.

Autumn is a time to fast-track a sim's career and skills. Even rake autumn leaves and mess them up all over again!

Summer is a time to relax and increase relationships with friends.

Spring is a time to create a wonderful romance.

So, seasons aren't just pretty, but they have effects on your sims as well!

-Penguin

This is a mild factor of seasons, but during the winter season a penguin actually will visit your sim's home. I was disappointed to know that you couldn't tame the penguin. :P

-Sim Actions

Sims have new actions. During winter you can have snowball fights and during summer you can have water balloon fights. Also during winter you can create devilish snowmen and snowangels.

-Pool

Sim swimming pools used to be pretty limited. But now you can add curved walls to your swimming pools and different wallpapers. Spruce it up a bit and add in a fun swimming slide. Add another sim and have a fun time playing marco polo.

-Leftovers

This has to be one of my favorite things that Seasons offers: LEFTOVERS! I'm sure most of you are tired from making lunches and dinners for seven when you've only got a family of two. But now, leftovers! After your small sim family is done eating, just click on the plate and it will say "Put away Leftovers." and voila! Once leftovers are in the fridge they will not spoil.(Thank goodness!)

Overall, The Sims 2 Seasons is excellent. The graphics and gameplay are wonderful, althought they can be glitchy at some points. The most dramatic and best season of the four is probably Winter, and the I suppose the 'boring' one is probably Summer. So yes, Seasons is well worth your time and money... And your Summer!