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By Brad Cook

The Sims 2 introduced the Sims’ lifelong journey from birth to death, so it only makes sense for their environment to offer a similar cycle. The Seasons expansion pack features that concept, from the birth of spring to the carefree adolescence of summer to the maturity of autumn to the twilight of winter. And around again.

The seasons bring with them spectacular visual effects, including the flash of lightning during a mid-summer thunderstorm and the lazy drift of winter snowflakes. In addition, your Sims react to the changing temperatures in many ways, from the seasons’ subtle effects on their relationships, moods, wants and fears, to the new temperature gauge that tells you how warm or hot they’re getting.

Luckily, they can accommodate the weather’s impact by dressing appropriately, in warm winter wear or airy summer outfits. Weather forecasts can be found on the TV, or in the newspaper, but, as in our world, they’re not always correct. Keep an eye on that temperature gauge and have plenty of appropriate drinks handy, such as delicious hot chocolate and cool lemonade.

New Options

Relationships lie at the heart of The Sims 2, and your characters have plenty of ways to enhance theirs in Seasons. They can build snowmen together or go swimming as a group. They can also share skill-building activities, such as growing plants in a greenhouse or raking leaves. (Don’t forget to save those leaves for the garden or greenhouse compost bin.)

The ability to grow fruits and vegetables opens up all kinds of options for your Sims. They can eat their produce or sell it for extra Simoleons. If they buy the new juicer and experiment with different formulas, they can combine their fruits and vegetables into various concoctions such as love potions, energy drinks, and health boosters. And when dinner is over, don’t forget to save the leftovers, another new feature in Seasons.

Sims can also generate food, or earn a few Simoleons on the side, with the new fishing skill. As with gardening, the more they do it, the higher their rating in that talent badge, which eventually unlocks new options. Expert fishermen can mount their prize catches on the wall, while Sims with exceptional green thumbs can apply for membership in the Garden Club, which gets them seeds and other necessities at a discount and offers the chance to win prizes for superior gardens.

Bring Me the Golden Skull of Jumbok IV

Seasons also offers six new career paths: adventurer, gamer, music, law, journalism, and education. As with the existing careers, each allows Sims to work their way to the top and earn a variety of exciting rewards, including a guitar and massive speakers, a bookshelf that allows your Sim to study any skill, or the Golden Skull of Jumbok IV, which can boost all of your Sim’s needs.

If you’d rather simplify all of a Sim’s needs, try getting them infected with Plantism. The affliction typically occurs when your Sim is spraying a large garden with insecticide during a lengthy session (make sure the garden is outdoors, not in a greenhouse). When they become a Plant Sim, their needs will become sunlight, water, and love, and they will be able to produce baby Plant Sims by themselves.

Plant Sims also have a natural affinity for talking to trees and plants and keeping them healthy. On the downside, they’re more susceptible to cold weather, and baby Plant Sims go straight to adulthood, skipping the toddler, child, teenager, and young adult phases. Adult Plant Sims also have childlike personalities, making their relationships with regular Sims difficult to manage. Let’s just say that not every Sim wants a spouse who enjoys splashing in rain puddles for 12 hours straight.

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Blowing bubbles.

Lifestyles of the Green and Plant-Like. The Greenman family enjoys some good ol’ quality time.

Playing in the snow.

Angel and Devil. A Sim atones for knocking over a snowman.

Getting rained on.

Yes, 12 Hours Straight. She keeps splashing and splashing and splashing…

The Sims 2
The Sims 2
Learn more about The Sims 2 by reading our previous feature which covers the original version of the game. The Sims 2 features not only a new 3D graphics engine but also the ability to track Sims’ lives from birth to death as they reach for their aspirations and experience a multitude of wants and fears.
 

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Welcome to the Neighborhood

Playing in the pool.

The Sims 2: Seasons features a new neighborhood, Riverblossom Hills. It’s a farming community populated by a cast of unusual characters, much like the game’s other neighborhoods. Jason’s wife Rose is a Plant Sim, his “green-skinned goddess,” and they have a Plant Sim baby together. He altered his lifestyle to accommodate his wife’s needs, but he must decide if he wants to go all the way and become a Plant Sim himself.

Meanwhile, Leod McGregor tends his farm and orchard, but he’s made little room in his life for relationships. He needs to figure out how to balance work and play if he wants to be happy long-term. Perhaps he’ll find a connection to either Catherine or Betty, who recently lost a close friend and are facing their mortality.

The Roth family is new to Riverblossom Hills. Morty has a successful career as an adventurer, while children Sandra and Xander are doing well in school, but their mother, Stella, is restless. Perhaps she’ll find her calling in the new greenhouse the family recently built in their backyard.

When you select any neighborhood in the game, you can change its cycle of seasons. The weather can remain the same year-round, or you can make one season appear two or three times.

What Else is New?

In addition to an assortment of weather-appropriate clothes, your Sims can enjoy all kinds of new objects, including the Perfect Packets Hot Chocolate Maker, a scarecrow for protecting crops from birds, and a country-themed vanity for making sure they look their best, even if they’re gardening. Sims can also alter their hairstyles to match their outfits, and they can give items in their inventories to other Sims as gifts.

In Build mode, new options include an interior foundation tool for creating split-level houses, a pool slide, and the ability to build pools in a variety of shapes, with different types of tiling.

 
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