The Sims 2: Apartment Life

The Sims 2: Apartment Life is the eighth and the last expansion pack for The Sims 2. It was released on August 26th 2008. It's notable that apartments, despite the name, won't be the biggest asset of the game. Most community-requested features, including magic, butlers, ceilings, etc. are added.

Belladonna Cove
Belladonna Cove will be the neighborhood added. "Bella donna" means "beautiful lady" in Italian and may be named after Bella Goth. Belladonna is also another name for deadly nightshade, a highly poisonous plant often used in witchcraft. The neighborhood contains apartment lots as well as normal residential and community lots.

The neighborhood showcases many of the pack's new features, mainly apartments. It has very distinct districts, including a trailer park, an industrial area, a middle class/upper middle class area, and an upper class area that has very large houses and apartments with luxury options like large swimming pools and, even on one lot, a helicopter pad.

Apartment Lots
"Apartments" are a new type of lot for Sims to reside. You cannot create your own apartmant lots, and your sims cannot buy apartments. It's notable that apartment lots DON'T have to be apartment buildings, but just need up to four different sections with a special door separating them. These lots aren't unlike hotels in Bon Voyage or dormitories in University. Up to four playable families can live on one apartment lot. If no playable family moves into spare apartments, then NPCs will move in. Only one playable family is controllable at a time. While it can get cramped, you can have as many Sims live in an apartment as on a residential lot... that's 8 Sims and 2 Pets. You will be able to visit the other families and NPCs apartments. One of the "apartments" is a duplex, and it only fits 2 families. As such, only 2 playable family spaces are shown.

Every Monday, rent must be paid, either via mailbox, or collected by the landlord (see below). The rent amount is determined by the size of the apartment and the quality of appliances. If you rent an unfurnished apartment, the rent will not go up when you furnish it. If you can't pay your rent, your landlord will submit the total for collection and the Repo-man will come and take stuff that adds up to the amount of the bills you couldn't pay.

Limited Build Mode features are available in apartments. You can paint their walls and replace their flooring but not move walls or put in new doors. You can however, change the design of the front door; changing the mat and door.

You cannot start a home business out of your apartment nor can there be a community lot in the common area. Apartments can be rented but not owned. Apartments can be placed in base, downtown and shopping neighborhoods only.

Roommates
Sims may advertise for one roommate to help with the rent. Once accepted, the roommate (a random NPC or one chosen by your Sim) will move in. They won't be controllable, but instead have a "Satisfaction Meter," which tells players how satisfied they are with the apartment. If a roommate dies or moves in with the family, another roommate can take their place.

Landlords
The Landlord is a new NPC. The landlord comes on the lot in the morning and leaves in the evening. They will repair, water plants, exterminate roaches and collect rent. Sims may complain about noisy neighbors to the landlord. If the landlord dies or gets married a new one will take his/her place. Even if you have Open for Buisiness, your sim cannot become a landlord.

Butler
It is possible for your Sims to have a butler, which had been available in The Sims but not The Sims 2 until now. Butlers can work as all the rest of the workers, even the nannies, but leave automatically at eight P.M. and will simply leave the kids uncared for. The butler is also much more expensive than all of the other workers.

Pets
Sims can now adopt small, apartment-friendly dogs without the Pets EP.

Cars
If your apartment building is built with garages (connected to apartments), then your Sim families can place a car in them. You can only park the cars inside the garage, since the outside of them is not considered your property.

Helicopters
Sims can now own helicopters, as long as there is a heli-pad some where on the lot. Helicopters come in a variety of colors.

Reputation
Sims now have "reputations". The nicer a Sim is to others, the higher their reputation goes (and vice versa). Sims with good reputations can get rewards that can help them with their career and relationships. Having a low reputation may increase rent for apartment-owners.

Sims can build their reputation only when visiting community lots. Interactions such as admiring will increase your Sim's reputation, while doing gossips will decrease your reputation.

Witches
See main article: Witches.

The Life state added in Apartment Life is a witch. Witches can be male or female, and are divided into seven groups: Infallibly Good, Good, Nice, Neutral, Mean, Evil and Atrociously Evil. These groups are determined by the Witch's "alignment". The differences between these alignments include appearance, types of spells cast, items created, and title. Teens through elders can be witches.

"Regardless of the path a Sim chooses to take, all witches get access to a secret community lot inhabited by the High Witch of Light or the High Witch of Darkness (who may be rather familiar to The Sims 2 fans)" Some gamers speculate that Bella Goth may be the head witch. Wikipedia claims that Merlin (of King Arthur) will be the high "witch". In an online chat Sims officials claimed that there would be individual High Witches of Light and Dark unique to each neighbourhood.

Spells
See main article: Spells.

Spells are organized into three categories: "Good", "Neutral" and "Evil". Casting more "Good" spells will result in a witch becoming "Good" or "Infallibly Good". "Neutral" spells have no effect on alignment, but if a witch who is good casts enough evil spells, or vice versa, they can become "Neutral". Once enough "Evil" spells are cast, a witch will become "Evil" or "Atrociously Evil". The most powerful good spell is "Expello Mortis" which banishes the Grim Reaper from a dead Sim, and this can save a Sim from death. The most powerful evil spell is "Vivificus Zombiae" this spell raises the dead and brings the dead Sim back to life but as a zombie.

Interactions
New Gestures
 * High Five
 * Earthy Hug
 * Fake Out
 * Kiss Kiss Darling
 * Tough Handshake

New Interactions
 * If neighbors become very noisy, use the "Bang Wall" interaction.
 * Peek-a-boo social for Toddlers and Toddlers can use the "Huggle" interaction.
 * Parents can read their children to sleep and swing children around by the arms
 * Sims can WooHoo in the sliding door closet and the ownable helicopter.
 * Students can walk to school if they miss the bus.
 * You can lock roommates out of private rooms.

New Dances
 * Break Dancing
 * Classic Dance

Social Groups

Mingle with Sims from all-new social groups: stylish socialites, artsy bohemians, sports jocks, gadget-collecting techies, or edgy gearheads. Gearheads and Bohemians are more prevalent in low rent districts while Socialites and Techies are in high rent districts. Social groups are similar to somebodies and anybodies from Sims Superstar.There is now difference between rich and poor Sims.

Building and furniture
Building is greatly improved.

New features include:
 * Ceilings, which can be customized like floors
 * Heating and cooling vents and radiators, which can moderate the temperature of any room
 * Spiral staircases
 * Decorative objects, such as pipes, cornice (skirting-like features that go around the top of walls) and support beams
 * Space-saving objects such as Murphy beds and closets, coming in "male" and "female" varieties
 * Fun objects for toddlers, children and adults, including a Jungle Gym and an Open Mic.
 * Snack and drink vending machines
 * Heart-shaped beds, they vibrate and light up.
 * Medicine cabinets
 * Secret bookcase that can connect rooms in a house or apartment, but not two different apartments.
 * New Elevator
 * Trash chutes which act like trash cans.
 * hot-dog/gyro stand
 * a measuring tool that counts the tiles when you are dragging the wall and roof tool.
 * ability to move wall hangings up and down the wall.
 * A large apartment mailbox (only if living in apartments) which has 9 mail slots.

More additions to current objects, like doors and windows, will also be made.

Pre-built lots
 * town homes, mobile homes, lofts, penthouses and apartment buildings.

Other Features

 * New Life Skills: Fire Prevention, Anger Management, Lifelong Happiness, Physiology, and Couple Counselling.
 * New Death: be very careful opening the Murphy Bed.
 * New Vehicle: Sims can now own helicopters
 * New Potions: Witches can brew potions existing from previous expansion packs as well as new ones.
 * New songs
 * New Clothes and hair
 * New NPCs: street performers, a breakdancer and a human statue

Criticism over SecuROM in Apartment Life
The Sims 2: Apartment Life has been criticized for using SecuROM with 16 One Star reviews on Amazon.com, The Sims 2: Bon Voyage has also negative reviews relating to SecuROM.

The Sims 2 Apartment Life Product Page Amazon.com

Amazon.com
Amazon.com's product page for The Sims 2: Apartment Life states that it will only run Windows XP and Windows Vista even though it supports operating systems Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows 2000.

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