The Sims 2

The Sims 2, commonly referred to as TS2, is the sequel to The Sims. Released in September 2004, it heralded sweeping changes from the original: most notably, the isometric view of the original had given way to full 3D. Also, Sims now have life stages (Baby, Toddler, Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult and Elder) which had them age from birth to death, and their genetics would be passed on to their children. Unlike the original Sims, where you could spend forever raising their skills, the aging system in The Sims 2 imposes a time limit on this before your Sims die.

The main aim of the game is to lead a Sim from the start of life to death. Sims will need to build up skills and relationship with other Sims, so that he can be successful in their career. A player will also need to make sure a Sim is happy and well by fulfilling wants (including lifetime wants, avoiding fears, and fulfilling motives.

Sims' personalities are also given an overhaul with each sim having an Aspiration, Wants, and Fears.

The Sims 2 shipped with 3 premade neighborhoods. Pleasantview is a continuation of the original Sims storyline 25 years later. The new neighborhoods are Strangetown, a desert landscape with paranormal occurrences, and Veronaville, which is based on several plays by William Shakespeare.

New Gameplay Options
The Sims 2 adds several new gamplay options that help expand the creation of Sims and the building of a neighborhood. These include:
 * More Create-A-Sim options
 * The Sims 2 BodyShop
 * Aging
 * Wants & Fears
 * Aspirations
 * Career Rewards
 * Aspiration Rewards
 * New social interactions
 * New items
 * Genetics

Personalities
Personalities are not only based on the astrological sign of the Sim but also on the aspiration of the Sim. Aspirations along with the astrological sign of the Sim creates a variety of wants and fears. The aspirations are:
 * Family
 * Romance
 * Knowledge
 * Fortune
 * Popularity
 * Pleasure (Nightlife)
 * Grilled Cheese (Nightlife)

Available Lots
The neighborhood screen is actually a save slot in which you can access your saved family. There are different kinds of lot for your Sims to visit:

Base Game

 * Residential lot: Sims can only live in this kind of lot.
 * Community lot: Sims can visit these lots to hang out or purchase items.

University

 * Dormitory: young adults who are attending university will live on these lots, unless they can afford to rent one of the campus houses.
 * Campus house: Houses that are on campus that a Sim can rent. The player can do the same things with this house as they can a house in the main neighborhood.
 * Greek house: A Sim can use the phone and turn a campus house into a greek house.  Greek houses require membership into the Greek house they are trying to join in order to move into an already established Greek house.
 * secret society: A secret lot that does not appear on the map.  In order to visit this lot Sims have to have membership into the Secret Society.

Bon Voyage

 * Hotel: A lot that a Sim can stay on during a vacation stay. These lots can also be placed in the main neighborhood.
 * Vacation home: A house that a Sim owns in a vacation neighbhorhood that they can visit during vacations.

FreeTime

 * Hobby Lots: Secret lots that are hidden in the hobby sub neighborhood.  The only way a Sim can visit these lots is to gain membership to the hobby lot or go with a Sims that does have membership.

Apartment Life

 * Apartment: These are apartment lots than can hold up to 4 Sim families.  Unused lotss will be replaced with NPCs.

Neigborhoods
The Sims 2 shipped with 3 premade neighborhoods. Seasons, Freetime, and Apartment Life are expansion packs that provide new neighborhoods. Sub-neighborhoods are provided in University, Nightlife Open for Business, and Bon Voyage. Each neighborhood and sub-neighborhood (except for Downtown) comes with new premade Sims. For more information on premade Sims, see Sims

Base Game

 * Pleasantview: A lot has happened in 25 years, but some new faces in town are stirring up rivalries and creating tension for the once happy families. Can anything be done to get the neighborhood feeling good again? Pleasantview story.jpg
 * Strangetown:Truth-seekers move to Strangetown hoping to discover the secrets the town holds. Do aliens live among us? Do missing Sims mysteriously appear here? In this town nothing is what it seems. Strangetown story.jpg
 * Veronaville:The Capps and Montys have been feuding for years, but that hasn't stopped the younger generation from crossing boundaries and falling in love. Will their actions lead to ruin or bring the families together? Veronaville_story.jpg

University

 * Sim State University:
 * La Fiesta Tech:
 * Académie Le Tour: Académie Le Tour prides itself on its careful balance of old traditions and new ideas. With a spacious campus and world renowned professors in every classroom, what more could a Sim want?

Nightlife

 * Downtown:

Open for Business

 * Bluewater Village:

Seasons

 * Riverblossom Hills: Many Sims have relocated to the quiet, comfortable countryside, in the hopes that life and family can firmly plant their roots in the middle of nowhere. Fresh crops aren’t the only thing growing in the farming community of Riverblossom Hills – love is in the air and many a relationship is on the verge of blossoming. Unfortunately, problems are bound to sprout in a town this small. Things are looking up, but hearts can always turn cold with the onset of winter.[[Image:Riverblossom Hills.jpg|235px]]

Bon Voyage

 * Three Lakes
 * Takemizu Village
 * Twikkii Island

Freetime

 * Desiderata Valley: Serenely nestled in the hills, Desiderata Valley is a place of dreams, hopes and aspirations. Many have found the quiet hills a wonderful place to relax and pursue their favorite pastimes.  Who knows what destiny has in store for the Sims of Desiderata Valley? [[Image:Desiderata Valley.png|235px]]

Apartment Life

 * Belladonna Cove: From far and wide, Sims have been drawn to beautiful Belladonna Cove! Some are looking for a quiet place to settle down, others to tango with the hustle and bustle of the more exciting districts and a distinct few who have been drawn by rumors of mystical energies.  Will they all be able to get along? Belladonna Cove.jpg

Returning Families

 * Goth: Cassandra is ready to start a family of her own, but can she tame the town Cassanova? And can Mortimer bounce back after the disappearance of his wife Bella? [[Image:Goth_Main.jpg|220px]]
 * Burb: John, Jennifer and young Lucy have decided to trade the fast-paced city life for some fresh air, and hope to make a nice home here in Pleasantview.
 * Pleasant: On the surface, Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant seem to have the perfect life, but is their love a flimsy façade? And can Angela and Lilith make the right choices when it comes to love? [[Image:PleasantFamillyPhoto.jpg|220px]]
 * Kat (Pets): For generations, Tara’s family has always felt a special link with the feline species. Now Tara happily lives with the two cats left to her by her mother and one of her own. How do her cats feel about the newest addition to their family?

Deceased Sims
Some Sims do return but are deceased in the game.
 * Bob Newbie
 * Betty Newbie
 * Gunther Goth Sr.
 * Cornelia Goth

Type of Sims
Several new types of Sims are introduced in order to enhance gameplay for the user. The new Sims that are introduced give the player more gameplay options and assists with the creation of player storylines.

Babies
The mother will spend 3 days pregnant before giving birth to a baby. Babies can also be adopted over the phone. Babies are nameable. After 3 Sims days, the baby will become a toddler. Babies can only be adopted or born. They are not createable in Create-A-Sim.

Toddlers
Toddlers are able to learn skils and have more interactions with other Sims. After 3 Sim days a toddler becomes a child. Toddlers can be adopted.

Children
Children are able to learn skills and have more actions than toddlers and babies. After 8 Sim days a child becomes a teenager. Children can be adopted.

Teenagers
Teenagers have more actions and are able to choose an aspiration. They also are able to date and get jobs. If University is installed a teenager will age into a young adult as soon as they go to University if not, a teenager will become an adutl in 15 Sims days.

Young Adults
Young adults are not able to hold job and reside only on University lots. A Sim can remain a young adult as long as they are on the University lot. When the Sim graduates, drops out of college, or gets kicked out of college they automatically turn into an adult. The lifespan of a young adult depends on the number of days spent in University. Young adult females cannot have babies and young adults cannot get married unless Bon Voyage is installed but they can get engaged.

Adults
Adult Sims can get married, have children, and have careers. Sims will be adults for 29 days before they turn into elders.

Elders
Elders can retire. The lifespan of elders depends on how the Sim grew-up during its life. Sims with good lifes live longer than Sims with bad lifes.

Playable Sims
Playable Sims: Sims directly controlled by the user. Playable Sims come from: Creatures: Sims that the user creates from a playable Sim or using an object. These Sims include:
 * Create-A-Sim
 * Adopting or giving birth
 * Marrying Townies or inviting Townies to move in.
 * Premade Sims
 * Downloads from the Exchange or other websites
 * Aliens (Base Game)
 * Zombies (University/Freetime)
 * Vampires (Nightlife)
 * Servo (Open for Business)
 * Werewolf (Pets)
 * Plant Sim (Season)
 * Witches (Apartment Life)

Townies
These Sims do not have a house in the neigborhoood although some will stay in dorms (University) or apartments (Apartment Life). They roam around the neighborhood and frequent community lots. They range in age from child to elder. See Sims for a complete list

Service Sims
These are Townie Sims who perform a service in the neighborhood. They range in age from teen to elder. Service Sims include:
 * Maid
 * Repairman
 * Exterminator
 * Bartender
 * Police
 * Firefighter
 * Pizza deliverly Sim
 * Mailman
 * Paper deliverly Sim
 * Social worker
 * Chinese food deliverly Sim (University)
 * Professor (University)
 * Gypsy Matchmaker (Nightlife)
 * Pet Trainer (Pets)
 * Gardening Club Members (Seasons)
 * Apartment manager (Apartment Life)

Community Lot Sims
These are Townie Sims that appear on a community lot and perform a specific task relative to the community lot. They range in age from teenager to adult.
 * Cashier
 * Cafeteria Worker (University)
 * DJ (Nightlife)
 * Master Vampiers (Nightlife)
 * Waiter/Waitress (Nightlife)
 * Host/Hostess (Nightlife)
 * Housekeeper(Bon Voyage)
 * Hotel Clerk (Bon Voyage)
 * Tour Guide (Bon Voyage)
 * Big Foot(Bon Voyage)
 * Hobby Lot Sims (Freetime)

NPCs
These Sims have special functions and cannot be controlled by the player without hacks or cheats.
 * Grim Reaper
 * Sim Shrink
 * Repo Man
 * Taxi Driver
 * Ghosts
 * Mrs. Crumplebottom (Nighlife)
 * Unsavory Charlton (Bon Voyage)
 * Witch Doctor (Bon Voyage)
 * Ninja (Bon Voyage)
 * Wise Old Man (Bon Voyage)
 * Genie (Freetime)

Activities
There are serveral activities for Sims to engage in that will help them furfill their wants and needs. There are also items in the game to assist Sims with achieving these activities.

Careers
There are several careers that come with the game that require skills and a certain number of friends in order for promotion. Success in these careers unlocks career rewards and higher salaries plus bonuses. Sims also will receive chance cards. Correct answers to these chance cards will create rewards for Sims while incorrect answers could cause a Sim to lose its job. Nightlife and Apartment Life allow Sims to gain promotions through social interactions with other Sims. For a complete list of careers see Career Tracks

Skill Building
There are several skills that Sims can build in order to fulfill their wants and needs. Some skills are hidden while some create talent badges. Skills are added in the Freetime, Apartment Life, Open for Business, Seasons and University expansion packs.

Basic Skills

 * Cooking
 * Mechanical
 * Charisma
 * Body
 * Logic
 * Creativity
 * Cleaning

Toddler Skills

 * Walking
 * Talking
 * Potty Training

Hidden University Skills

 * Dancing
 * Pool

Life Skills

 * Parenting (Freetime)
 * Fire Prevention (Apartment Life)
 * Anger Management(Apartment Life)
 * Lifelong Happiness (Apartment Life)
 * Physiology (Apartment Life)
 * Couple Counseling (Apartment Life)

Talent Badges

 * Sales (Open for Business)
 * Restocking(Open for Business)
 * Robotics (Open for Business)
 * Flowering Arranging (Open for Business)
 * Toy mMking (Open for Business)

Other Skills

 * Meditation
 * Painting

Hobbies
Hobbies are introduced in The Sims 2 Freetime. Sims can choose any hobby they want to persue but they will have one hobby that they will be better at. Each hobby is associated with a certain skill and having high skill points in that skill can help the Sim reach hobby levels quicker. When a Sim reaches the highest hobby level, they can get "In the Zone." This allows Sims to complete the hobby without needs dropping quickly. The ten hobbies are:
 * Arts and Crafts
 * Cuisine
 * Film and Literature
 * Fitness
 * Games
 * Music and Dance
 * Nature
 * Science
 * Sports
 * Tinkering

Expansion Packs
Eight expansion packs (EPs) were released. Expansion packs add new gameplay options as well as objects.


 * University
 * Nightlife
 * Open For Business
 * Pets
 * Seasons
 * Bon Voyage
 * FreeTime
 * Apartment Life

Stuff Packs
Ten stuff packs were released. Stuff packs add items to the game and usually don't add any new interactions. Holiday Party Pack and Mansion and Garden Stuff were the only two packs to add new interactions.
 * Happy Holiday Stuff
 * Family Fun Stuff
 * Glamour Life Stuff
 * Happy Holiday Stuff
 * Celebration Stuff
 * H&M Fashion Stuff
 * Teen Style Stuff
 * Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
 * IKEA Home Stuff
 * Mansion and Garden Stuff

The Sims 2 Store
The Sims 2 Store is a place where players use real money to purcahse items from expansion and stuff packs. Exclusive store items are also released for players to purchase. Money is converted to Sim points and $1 = 100 Sim points. Items range from 25-250 Sim points.