The Sims 2: Seasons

The Sims 2: Seasons is the fifth expansion pack in The Sims 2. The following flyer promoting the expansion pack shipped with The Sims 2: Pets. It followed the same route set by its predecessors; it contains more than 125 new items and more intricate gameplay options. The game was released on March in Europe and March 1 in the US.



''Give your Sims a break and get them out of the house! This upcoming expansion pack for The Sims 2 lets you to take your Sims outside where they can engage in fun seasonal activities including snowball fights, playing pool games like Marco Polo, and more. They can frolic in Spring showers, fish in their own ponds, and grow seasonal fruits with unexpected consequences. Whether you build them a small Winter chalet or a Summer cabin, your Sims will enjoy every season - but watch out for unpredictable weather! Available Early 2007.''

Weather

 * Weathers includes snowstorms, thunderstorms (with lightning!), and hail storms, all of which can be deadly in various conditions.
 * Seasons impact your Sims' and your pets' relationships, moods, speed at which motives drop, wants, fears and even skill building.
 * Sims will experience sunburn.
 * Sims do not need to mop up water brought by rain.
 * You can set a pattern for the seasons for a particular neighborhood by using the Season Chooser.
 * Snow will accumulate on all objects slowly, both Maxis-made and custom content.
 * Various parts of your Sims' lives are affected by seasons, specifically friendship in the summer, skill building in the fall, family in winter, and romance in spring.
 * There will be no school for children or teenagers if it's a heavy snow day.
 * Lightning may strike your trees or other outside objects.
 * New Seasons are Spring, Summer, Autumn/Fall and Winter

New Objects

 * A rooster weather vane
 * A Jack-O'-Latern like scarecrow
 * Late Nite Garden Lite
 * Rocket Heifer Barbeque
 * New Country Theme furniture.
 * A lightning rod pole which might lead to disastrous results if used inappropriately.
 * Sprinklers for watering gardens.
 * A skating rink, Perfect Packets Hot Chocolate Maker, compost bin for gardening, the wishing well and a pool slide.
 * A Phenomenon-Ungrow can be brought.
 * Any fish caught can be hung on a wall.
 * Fish include: Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Blue Catfish and Golden Trout. All except Golden Trout come in regular and large sizes.
 * The juicer, coat stand (allows you to change clothes), New Country Theme furniture (Bathroom, Flooring, Wallpaper, Kitchen, Bedroom, etc.), and a new refrigerator to store leftovers.
 * Aspiration rewards include a weather-controlling device called Weathernaught 57X.
 * Career rewards
 * Career reward for Music career is The Rock Hammer.
 * Career reward for Gamer career is Tribal Flame a la Coconut Pinball which can be used to earn money.
 * Career reward for Adventurer career is Golden Skull of Jurnbok IV.
 * Career reward for Education career is Books First for Learning: A Bookshelf of Education.
 * Career reward for Law career is "I Object" Litigator Podium.
 * Career reward for Journalism is The Gootentaugen Award for Excellence in Journalism.

New Activities

 * Water fight and talking to plants
 * Playing Marco Polo
 * Strawberries and lemons can be combined to make a special lemonade
 * Sim kids drinking apple juices will have a short period of boosted study time, and if you can harvest some top quality crops you may be able to create "uber juice".
 * Build snowmen, splash in the pool, play catch, and go ice skating.
 * Lying in snow and making Snow Angels
 * Harvest fruits and veggies all year round and blend love potions, energy drinks, health boosters, and more.
 * Fishing, giving gifts, sliding and catching butterflies.
 * Unfortunate Sims might catch a boot while fishing.
 * Sims have new talent badges such as fishing and gardening. The more skill a Sim gains, the more options available. For example, in fishing, new baits can be unlocked.
 * Join the Garden Club by calling the club and impressing the representative sent.
 * Condition of the plants can be accessed by moving the cursor over it. Conditions will be shown by both a smiley and description.
 * Autumn leaves can either be raked or be added to compost. You can also compost newspapers.  Compost can be used instead of fertilizer.
 * Plants includes tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, strawberries, pole beans and peppers.
 * Fertilizing a patch requires 10 simoleons if you don't use compost.

Outerwear

 * New outfits includes Winter coats, gloves, ear muffs, raincoats, and Summer dresses.
 * Can assign hair styles to clothes.
 * Can define the hair to be long or short.
 * A new section of clothes will appear, namely the 'outerwear', or 'winterwear'. Sims will automatically change into this category if they encounter a cold weather. This option can be turned off.

PlantSims

 * The new life state is called the PlantSim, a flora species. They can be grown asexually and have only three needs: sunlight, water and love.
 * Becoming a PlantSim is a result of overusing pesticides.
 * New prank option: Pollen Cloud
 * Other options includes Spawn Plantbaby, Spores of Happiness and Pick Flower.

Other

 * New careers includes Journalism, Education, Gamer, Adventurer, Music, and Law.
 * New meals includes fish meals.
 * New animal is the penguin, it will mess up your house. If there is a scarecrow or a snowman on your lot, it will talk to it. Also, you can pet it. It will stay for a few hours depending on how you treat it.
 * New death is freezing to death in snowy/winter conditions if Sims do not wear appropriate clothing. This will lead to a new sickness before dying. Getting struck by lightning and heat stroke are also new ways of dying.
 * New interactions includes clicking on the mailbox to pay all the bills and clicking on food leftovers to put away and clicking on the fridge to get leftovers.
 * A new NPC (usually a monster) requires an object during Winter.
 * The new neighborhood is called 'Riverblossom Hills'.
 * New families includes Viejo (a group of older people that love gardening), Greenman (A loving family with a man, a plant-woman and a plant baby), O'Mackey (His wife left him to become a pirate. It's taking Gabe awhile to ever trust his wife again with all the relationships that's going on in their household.), and Roth (A restless wife and her adventurous husband, with her arrogant daughter and happy son. They are perceived as a copy of the Goths)
 * New building option includes curved or rounded pools, changeable pool tiles and walls and building greenhouses.
 * The new channel is Weather Channel.
 * New music is New Age.
 * New interface will include a bar to show the selected Sims' temperature and another bar to show the season.
 * New control options includes seeing beneath the snow. This is especially handy for retrieving lost items.
 * New options includes "Snow on Ground", which can be turned on or off
 * Cats can catch butterflies and fireflies and dogs can eat snow.
 * Pool water reflects and moves.
 * Snow will not only be found on your lot but on other lots in the distance too.
 * A toddler can eat snow.
 * During Autumn, skill bars will be accompanied by leaves

Reference

 * German EA Special
 * Sim Fantastic 2
 * The Sims Resource
 * My Space
 * Sims 2 Community
 * The Sims 2 Official Site