The Sims 2: Seasons

The Sims 2: Seasons
The Sims 2: Seasons box cover
Developer(s)	Maxis
Publisher(s)	EA Games (PC) Aspyr Media (Mac)
Designer(s)	Hunter Howe
Series	The Sims
Platform(s)	Windows, Mac OS X
Release	Windows NA: March 1, 2007 EU: February 23/March 2, 2007 BR: March 2, 2007 AU: March 20, 2007 Mac OS X June 11, 2007
Genre(s)	Life simulation game God game
Mode(s)	Single player

The Sims 2: Seasons is the fifth expansion pack in The Sims 2 series of games. It was developed by Maxis, released on March 1, 2007 in North America, and was followed by the European release on March 2, 2007. Aspyr released a Mac OS X port of the game in June of 2007. The included neighborhood, Riverblossom Hills, has new lots, Sims and storyline.

Features

File:Plantsimtoddler.png

A PlantSim toddler

The seasons

The Sims 2 Seasons expansion pack introduces two new game play concepts to The Sims 2 series: weather and seasons. Each season lasts for approximately five Sim days and players have the option to alter their order of progression. Sims are able to build snowmen in Winter, rake fallen leaves in Autumn, jump in puddles during Spring and occasionally experience heatstroke in Summer. Besides being a solely visual, interactive addition, each season enhances Sim's attributes in certain ways: summer improves their ability to build and attain relationships among friends, Autumn quickens their skill building and job promotion, winter helps to tighten family bonds through a variety of activities (having a snowball fight, for example) and spring augments romantic relationships.

Weather and temperature

There is weather within each season, including rain, hail, lightning storms, and snow. Although weather was originally planned for release in the original Sims 2 base game, a 3D rendering error prevented this from being possible: rain would fall into enclosed housing areas, and other graphical rendering problems would occur. Weather may also adversely affect Sims. For example, heat in summer may cause a Sim to experience heatstroke or receive a sunburn. Sims who are outside during the winter may feel cold, though they can be warmed in various ways. Sims can die due to heatstroke and they can also freeze to death. Other Sims have the option of a "thaw" interaction, provided their relationship is high enough. Children who are allowed to get too cold or too hot do not die, but are instead taken away by social services. Rarely, Sims who go outside during a rainstorm can be struck by lightning, but this more commonly happens to trees or other objects. Players have found that Sims in a pool or hot tub have a higher chance of being struck by lightning. Lightning kills only if the Sim's needs are low enough. A Sim who survives gets blackened hair and skin that do not come off until the Sim's next shower or bath. Also if Sims are out in the lightning storm with an electrical item they also have a chance to be struck by lightning.

Plant Sims

Plant Sims are the new creatures that come with The Sims 2: Seasons. Plant Sims have green skin with vine-like tattoos, special leaf or flower made hair and yellow eyes. In order to become a Plant Sim, a Sim must spray their orchard trees or plants in excess. The Plant Sim condition can be "cured" if a Sim buys the Plantophic-C from the Garden Club, or the Gypsy, an NPC available in The Sims 2: Nightlife expansion pack.

Plant Sims only age within three life stages: Toddler, Adult and Elder; thus, they lack the Baby, Child, and Teen stages, as well as Young Adult. Besides aging differences, they have three needs: Sunlight (satisfied by going outside or using a sun lamp), Water (satisfied by drinking water, taking showers or baths, being outside in rain, or by swimming) and Love (equivalent to the Social need). Plant Sims also gain a prank interaction (pollen cloud), the ability to release spores of happiness (which boost nearby Sims' needs), the ability to talk to orchard trees or plants, and the ability to reproduce asexually (grow plantbaby). Spawned offspring begin life as toddlers and have a gold gardening badge and the same skills and personality as their parent. However, their facial genes are a combination of the parent and a hidden NPC named Ideal Plantsim.

Music

This expansion pack contains New Age and Jambands genres. The New Age radio station uses all the original songs from The Sims original Build Mode. Simlish versions of songs from popular artists are also contained in the expansion:

• "Smile" - Lily Allen
• "Mr. High And Mighty" - Government Mule
• "Blue Jeans Pizza" - Moe
• "Zoom" - Tata Young
• "N" - The Breadbox Band
• "The Next One" - The Chris McCarty Band
• "Close Your Eyes" - The String Cheese Incident
• "When It All Falls Apart" - The Veronicas
• "The Compromise" - The Format

Inclusion of real songs by popular artists dates back to The Sims 2: University; they have also been present in the Open For Business and Pets expansion packs.

Included existing features

Features from the existing expansion packs such as the influence system (available in University), turn ons/turn offs (available from Nightlife upwards), lifetime wants (available from University upwards), pranks (available in University), fury (available in Nightlife), Mrs. Crumplebottom (also available in Nightlife) and talent badges (available from Open For Business) are available. Although the talent badges included in Open For Business are not available in the Seasons expansion pack, players can use them if both Open For Business and Seasons are installed.

Around The World

• Spanish: Los Sims 2 y Las Cuatro Estaciones (In English, The Sims 2 and the Four Seasons)

External links

• The Sims 2: Seasons Official site