Sims 2: University
Mar. 2nd, 2005 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hkellickIn Mid September, 2004, I did a fairly quick (I still know I never got into all the details) review of The Sims 2.
Which really really really really really and did I mention really rocked my world.
The Sims 2 had added something to The Sims in nearly every single way. EVERYTHING was enhanced.
The Sims 2: University is the first (but, by the looks of it, hardly the last) expansion pack for this kick ass game.
The basic concept is.. more or less exactly what you think it is. A new age group is added between teen and adult sims: young adults. This age group is for the university kids. If you choose not to go to university, you transition directly from teen to adult. If you choose to GO to college, though...
This game isn't particularly true to life, but it is probably true to most of the good college movies out there. There are two semesters (three days each) of each of the four years of college: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. Each semester is 3 days long. You have 3 days to get a passing grade. You get points towards a passing grade by going to class, doing assignments, researching, working on your term paper.. or less... fair means (there's always sleeping with the professor.. or hacking your grades.)
There there are the dorms. I've seen dorms that can house up to 14 Sims. You can only control 8 Sims at a time, so to fill up the other rooms, NPCs come in. That means you constantly have other people going in and out of your dorms.
I've currently started in a moderately sized dorms, creating four sims and watching four NPCs move in. There is plenty of chance to interact with these Sims, if you have the time and interest.
One of the conundrums with Sims 2 University is deciding what is how to spend your Sims time. They have 72 hours, including time spent off the lot, to make friends, make money and pass their classes. Do you want them to get Straight As? Do you want them to pass, but be a party animal? Do you want them to try to make the fat bucks by working consistently? Do you want them to be able to join a band and watch them rock hard? You can do all of that, but, like real life, you have to work within the allotted time.
For myself, I played indiscriminately last night (and this morning), concentrating on everyone's grades. I created four young adult Sims with different plans for each of them. I'm going to talk about them.. and my plans (giving you an idea of what you can do in this expansion pack) for a little.
First there's Jennifer. She's dressed like the alternative rocker gal, down to the fishnets and the collar. My intent with her is to see just how awesome a rock band we can make her a part of because she graduates. In Sims 2 University, they've added three new instruments: guitar, base and drums. Between these three.. and the omnipresent piano (already in Sims 2), you're band can play Rock, Country or Jazz (That could be funny. I should get my chicky to be a punk rock.. jazz player!
.... maybe not.)
Then there's Chad. Chad is a stud. (Well, says me.) He's tall, handsome, blonde.. and he knows he's studly. Ask him! I intend to see how big a man on campus I can make him. He'll rush a frat, pull some pranks, maybe join a secret society.. unfortunately, I played him up to his grades, but I think, as time progresses, grades will matter less (So long as he passes, right?) and friendship and Influence (I'll get to that later) will matter more. Chad's lifetime want (I'll get to that below as well) is to make $100,000 before he dies. Doable, but I should probably start getting this guy the lifeskills he needs.. and maybe see about having him make some money on the side.
There's... another girl.. She's actually a cutie, underneath the tom boy clothes. Unlike Jennifer and Chad, she's actually a popularity Sim, so she desperately WANTS to Rush a Greek house. OK, I'm cool with making her a Sorority Sister. But I want her living in the dorms a LITTLE longer so I can play her along with everyone else. My eventual plans for her are that she's going to bounce between getting good grades and being popular. Very little would please her more. Her eventual hope is to get out of college and to use her extensive network of college buddies to help her in the Politics Field. Her Lifetime Aspiration is to be Mayor of SimCity. That's doable, if I work on her skills at college and her friend network at college. But it'll be tough!
Then there's Son Yi. Son Yi was supposed to be Japanese (I've got the skin color OK and the hair OK, but his face doesn't QUITE look asian. I'll try to do better next time.) This is interesting.. my ORIGINAL plan with him was to make him a Knowledge Sim who, eventually, would be a scientist, natural scientist or doctor. However, that's not his plan. Son's Lifetime aspiration is to be a Criminal Mastermind! Well, I never! Son's going to be my *coughcoughcough* nerd. I'm going to bulk him up at Skills and grades while he's on campus. He might very well be interested in making some friends as he moves along. But for Son, school first. If you pass with honors, you get certain advantages in your chosen field when you get out of college. Son wanted to be a Mathematics major, which will help him get the skills he needs to be a criminal later on (HMPH!!), so I let him state his major. Now, he's nearly got his first A+ class and I intend to have him graduate Summa Cum Laude, ensuring that he can start up at a very high level criminal job when he gets out. This will make him very happy.
Getting a feel for what's possible with this game?
Two new additions to the game that make playing more interesting...
First is Influence (with a capital I)... depending on how many friends you have, and how many influence-creating wants you fulfill, you have the ability to have other sims to a number of things... from your homework and term papers to cleaning up your house and repairing your stuff. You can influence Sims straight off the street (though it seems to help to actually know said Sim.) Need someone to do your term paper while you spend a few more minutes playing in your band? Influence can make it happen! This addition appears to be usable in the original game itself as well. Got a house that needs to be cleaned but you have other things you'd rather do.. get someone else to do it!
The other new addition is a Lifetime Want. This is the prime achievement for your Sim. If you succeed in meeting this want, your sim will be in a platinum mood for the rest of his life and have more aspiration points than he knows what to do with. Lifetime Wants are decided randomly when you pick an aspiration for your sim. They range from getting top level in a job, to making a lot of money, to having 10 lovers, 10 best friends or 10 grandchildren. These are all possible, but difficult to reach wants.
One more thing I want to say.. rewards... you get rewarded for passing every year in college.
When you pass Freshman year, you get a new Want Slot. At the end of the Sophomore year, you get another Want lock, so that you can now lock two wants down. Passing Junior year, you can change your aspiration, if you so wish. And, at the end of Senior year you get a sixth want slot.. making it all that easier to keep your Sims with high aspirations.
All in all, this is a very worthwhile expansion pack.
They've just announced (at the back end of the Sims 2 University CD, no less!) the second expansion pack: The Sims 2 Nightlife.. coming out Fall of 2005. I get the feeling the second expansion pack will be somewhat like Sims Hot Date, but perhaps just offering up places for your Sims to do.. whatever for the night (bars, clubs, whatever...), instead of being specifically romance based. I don't know much past that.
Which really really really really really and did I mention really rocked my world.
The Sims 2 had added something to The Sims in nearly every single way. EVERYTHING was enhanced.
The Sims 2: University is the first (but, by the looks of it, hardly the last) expansion pack for this kick ass game.
The basic concept is.. more or less exactly what you think it is. A new age group is added between teen and adult sims: young adults. This age group is for the university kids. If you choose not to go to university, you transition directly from teen to adult. If you choose to GO to college, though...
This game isn't particularly true to life, but it is probably true to most of the good college movies out there. There are two semesters (three days each) of each of the four years of college: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. Each semester is 3 days long. You have 3 days to get a passing grade. You get points towards a passing grade by going to class, doing assignments, researching, working on your term paper.. or less... fair means (there's always sleeping with the professor.. or hacking your grades.)
There there are the dorms. I've seen dorms that can house up to 14 Sims. You can only control 8 Sims at a time, so to fill up the other rooms, NPCs come in. That means you constantly have other people going in and out of your dorms.
I've currently started in a moderately sized dorms, creating four sims and watching four NPCs move in. There is plenty of chance to interact with these Sims, if you have the time and interest.
One of the conundrums with Sims 2 University is deciding what is how to spend your Sims time. They have 72 hours, including time spent off the lot, to make friends, make money and pass their classes. Do you want them to get Straight As? Do you want them to pass, but be a party animal? Do you want them to try to make the fat bucks by working consistently? Do you want them to be able to join a band and watch them rock hard? You can do all of that, but, like real life, you have to work within the allotted time.
For myself, I played indiscriminately last night (and this morning), concentrating on everyone's grades. I created four young adult Sims with different plans for each of them. I'm going to talk about them.. and my plans (giving you an idea of what you can do in this expansion pack) for a little.
First there's Jennifer. She's dressed like the alternative rocker gal, down to the fishnets and the collar. My intent with her is to see just how awesome a rock band we can make her a part of because she graduates. In Sims 2 University, they've added three new instruments: guitar, base and drums. Between these three.. and the omnipresent piano (already in Sims 2), you're band can play Rock, Country or Jazz (That could be funny. I should get my chicky to be a punk rock.. jazz player!
.... maybe not.)
Then there's Chad. Chad is a stud. (Well, says me.) He's tall, handsome, blonde.. and he knows he's studly. Ask him! I intend to see how big a man on campus I can make him. He'll rush a frat, pull some pranks, maybe join a secret society.. unfortunately, I played him up to his grades, but I think, as time progresses, grades will matter less (So long as he passes, right?) and friendship and Influence (I'll get to that later) will matter more. Chad's lifetime want (I'll get to that below as well) is to make $100,000 before he dies. Doable, but I should probably start getting this guy the lifeskills he needs.. and maybe see about having him make some money on the side.
There's... another girl.. She's actually a cutie, underneath the tom boy clothes. Unlike Jennifer and Chad, she's actually a popularity Sim, so she desperately WANTS to Rush a Greek house. OK, I'm cool with making her a Sorority Sister. But I want her living in the dorms a LITTLE longer so I can play her along with everyone else. My eventual plans for her are that she's going to bounce between getting good grades and being popular. Very little would please her more. Her eventual hope is to get out of college and to use her extensive network of college buddies to help her in the Politics Field. Her Lifetime Aspiration is to be Mayor of SimCity. That's doable, if I work on her skills at college and her friend network at college. But it'll be tough!
Then there's Son Yi. Son Yi was supposed to be Japanese (I've got the skin color OK and the hair OK, but his face doesn't QUITE look asian. I'll try to do better next time.) This is interesting.. my ORIGINAL plan with him was to make him a Knowledge Sim who, eventually, would be a scientist, natural scientist or doctor. However, that's not his plan. Son's Lifetime aspiration is to be a Criminal Mastermind! Well, I never! Son's going to be my *coughcoughcough* nerd. I'm going to bulk him up at Skills and grades while he's on campus. He might very well be interested in making some friends as he moves along. But for Son, school first. If you pass with honors, you get certain advantages in your chosen field when you get out of college. Son wanted to be a Mathematics major, which will help him get the skills he needs to be a criminal later on (HMPH!!), so I let him state his major. Now, he's nearly got his first A+ class and I intend to have him graduate Summa Cum Laude, ensuring that he can start up at a very high level criminal job when he gets out. This will make him very happy.
Getting a feel for what's possible with this game?
Two new additions to the game that make playing more interesting...
First is Influence (with a capital I)... depending on how many friends you have, and how many influence-creating wants you fulfill, you have the ability to have other sims to a number of things... from your homework and term papers to cleaning up your house and repairing your stuff. You can influence Sims straight off the street (though it seems to help to actually know said Sim.) Need someone to do your term paper while you spend a few more minutes playing in your band? Influence can make it happen! This addition appears to be usable in the original game itself as well. Got a house that needs to be cleaned but you have other things you'd rather do.. get someone else to do it!
The other new addition is a Lifetime Want. This is the prime achievement for your Sim. If you succeed in meeting this want, your sim will be in a platinum mood for the rest of his life and have more aspiration points than he knows what to do with. Lifetime Wants are decided randomly when you pick an aspiration for your sim. They range from getting top level in a job, to making a lot of money, to having 10 lovers, 10 best friends or 10 grandchildren. These are all possible, but difficult to reach wants.
One more thing I want to say.. rewards... you get rewarded for passing every year in college.
When you pass Freshman year, you get a new Want Slot. At the end of the Sophomore year, you get another Want lock, so that you can now lock two wants down. Passing Junior year, you can change your aspiration, if you so wish. And, at the end of Senior year you get a sixth want slot.. making it all that easier to keep your Sims with high aspirations.
All in all, this is a very worthwhile expansion pack.
They've just announced (at the back end of the Sims 2 University CD, no less!) the second expansion pack: The Sims 2 Nightlife.. coming out Fall of 2005. I get the feeling the second expansion pack will be somewhat like Sims Hot Date, but perhaps just offering up places for your Sims to do.. whatever for the night (bars, clubs, whatever...), instead of being specifically romance based. I don't know much past that.
