Ditz Witz

The Sims 2: a walkthrough and a bit of a review

the intro.

Why did the computer nerd cross the road?
to get the latest Sims version (2) from target<---- highlight for answer!

So. anyways.
The other day I went to target with a $75 gift certificate in hand.
And when I came out, I had the latest version of the Sims; The Sims 2.

This game was so interesting, that I just had to do a personal opinion review on it, so, here it is:

the review.

After 30 minutes of popping in all 4 download discs for the Sims 2, it had finally downloaded. I was ecstatic!

Now, no need to worry about the wait time, you'll find something other to do in the mean time.. Or, if you feel up to it, you could play a game the creators installed to "cleverly" disguise the wait. A game which they call, "Grow Your Own Sims!", which is just a simple memory matching game. But anyways, on to the next thing.

The first thing you will be presented with is a screen that let's you choose which town you'd like to play in (but don't worry, this doesn't mean you have to play in this town all the time!)

The first community is Pleasantview-
Pleasantview was my favorite community of all (compared to the others). It was nice, green, and reminded me a bit of the version 1.

The second community is Strangetown-
Now, this town goes hand in hand with it's name, honestly. The story is that there are aliens sighted in this town quite often, and a nasty rumor going around that the aliens are actually living among the sims! :o
After playing awhile, I stumbled upon a family named "Smith".

It appears that Pollination Tech #9 (yes, that's really his name) and his son have settled down on Earth. EA did such a good job at this guy's appearance, it gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I have not played in that town since.

The third community is Veronaville-
Veronaville apparently has some conflict going on in there, but, it looked alot like Pleasantview, so I quickly exited out of there.

The Sims 2 is a great sequel to the original, less-detailed game. Unlike in the first one, here, you can actually have family relationships, roomies who are just roomies, and children. EA Games has come up with an ingenious way to create your sims. When you come to the create-a-family page, you are first presented with the decision of name a name for your character, then, a gender, and finally: what stage in life are they? Rather than the original "one face fit's all" type version, they give you the opportunity to change the body exactly how you want it. It all ranges from about the decision of what hair style the sim should have, to how fit they should be.
In the screen shots I have below, it shows you how the ages can range:

(it appears that I forgot a screenie of an infant, but oh well)

a child (who I've named after myself ;D)

a teenager (who I named after my cousin)

an adult (who I've named after my auntie<3)

and an elder person (who I've named after my grandpa)

You can also create a child, toddler, or teenager with their create a baby type thing. It's all based on "genetic traces left from the Sims' parents". But, I never like using this feature because my babys always turn out ugly. -.-;

After all your family is created, and you've clicked the check mark button, you're presented with a screen like this, that shows all of your family members in a different pose, depending on their age, wants, and so on.:

Now don't mind the fact that this isn't the same family, I just forgot to take a screenie when this page appeared for them :D

This screen is new, and much more refreshing than the older-version, blank screen. Although, I did get frustrated with the long wait times for things to load, but hey, with new things comes new challenges. Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough!

You now have a bunch of different options for your Sim' living environment, and they all start with the home they live in. Sadly enough, the sims still only start the game with §20,000 (20 thousand simoleans), so you're not given much of a choice on houses. But, the game creators provide you with 3 different options for your house.
1) you can buy a home already placed on a lot
2) you can buy your own lot and make your own house (and unless you don't mind a lot of new, annoying sounds, but a better, replaying soundtrack, I would suggest this option)
3) now you can but premade homes from a catalouge in the game, and they're available to as many people who can afford them. You may place them on the lot where you'd like them and everything.

Now, if money is a pickle for you, I found a cheat code that gets you §50,000 at a time, but please, don't just cheat for the sake of cheating. That makes the game less interesting. The only time I would suggest using this code is if your Sims are dying of hunger, and you have no more money left. So here it is:

1) Push the Keys Shift, CTRL, and C.
This should open up a white box at the top of your screen. Most players call this "the cheatcode box"
2) Type in the word: motherlode
Now remember, only once per line, so, if you'd like more, you're going to have to hit enter and retype it.
Now you should be rolling in simoleans.

To get rid of that annoying little box, click on the little text box where you typed things in before and hit the ESC key. And viola!`

Now your family aren't hobos anymore!

Along with the new game, you are introduced to a couple of new things, such as Aspiration Points and Rewards. Aspiration Points are just something your sims want to do, and if you do them, they get aspiration points. The rewards come after you've reached about 3000 points (and trust me, it's not hard to get up there fast). You can choose from all kinds of things for rewards, and yes, even a money tree that you harvest and water to get more cash.

And that's pretty much it.
(most of the review part is below)

So, all in all, the Sims 2 was a great sequel to the original. The new features that were introduced, I now treasure dearly while playing the game. I don't think I'll ever go back to the original. Although, there are some things I could do without (such as the long wait times), but hey, I'm willing to give it a shot. ;]
I would definatly recommed this game to anyone who doesn't play it already, and are interested in buying it. I got it for about $40 at target at regular price. But who knows, you might run into a sale. :D
But remember. This game is a lot les kid-friendly, with a T for Teen+ rating, I found out that there was a bit of adult content, and some violence. Such as slap fights. Rather than just having the usual "annoy:poke" or something like that, your sims can now slap eachother silly.
So please, if you're under 13 and want this game, consult your parents or gaurdians first.
Also, make sure that when you purchase it, the adult is the one who hands the game to the cashier, because they DO ask for your age.

Happy Gaming!

if you have any questions, comments, or just liked this review (remeber, it is only one of my first) please comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts. ^^

DONE!

Wow, that didn't take very long at all. C;
the new layout's up, and I'm ready for anything.
Feedback would be nice, so go ahead and comment. :D

New Layout

New Layout; Coming Soon (currently under construction)
Sorry about the mess. :D

New Header

I just finished making a new header for the blog.
I think it'll look great, but hey, that's just my oppinion.
I'll put it up in a bit :D