The Sims 2 is hands down the best in the series. Many of the sims around you actually feel like they live a life outside of whenever you call them to hang out. There is also so much variety in what you can make your sims do. There is a large amount of objects that can improve your sims skills and interests. The wants and fears in this game are great and are way better than the ones in the Sims 4. Achieving a bunch of wants makes it so your sim is just never in a bad mood, with the platinum moodlet. You can also just make your sim completely miserable by constantly doing their fears, making them border on insanity. Whats awesome is the almost schizophrenic interactions that sims with low social and low aspiration can have. I encountered the social bunny once and was completely baffled on what was going on. Swapping between a sim with poor social/aspiration and a regular sim, you can see that only the latter sim can see and interact with these visions. Chance cards are also a great way to either earn loads of money, boost your career progress, or just completely ruin your sim's life. The graphics in this game are charming and still hold up better when compared to the Sims 3.
not even a mexican novela could compare to the drama i create in my family
man i just wanna go back in time and play this once again
will forever be obsessed - sincerely, 8 year old myah
Didnt age well but still very fun
this is the best one
I have been playing sims 2 since it came out. I have many fond memories growing up playing the game and it never fails to amaze me how ahead of its time it was. Every expansion back and stuff pack was perfect. Oh to go back in time and play Sims 2 for the first time again
La cantidad de horas que le meti a este juego en su momento fue brutal, super entretenido y divertido.
this fucking game!!!
This game still owns my heart and soul and the only reason I'm not giving it a full five stars is because it can take some work to get functioning fully on newer computers. In spirit however it is a 5/5 (even if it can be buggy, but there's been a lot of mods released over the years to fix that! Even without them, I'd say I have significantly less issues than I do with say, Sims 3 or 4.)
I cannot overstate how well this game still holds up. I see a lot of criticisms aimed at ts2 players -- especially those that criticize later iterations -- that they're just nostalgic and the game wasn't actually that good. As someone that picked it back up in recent years and still plays 4, and still appreciates 3, I could not disagree more.
The core gameplay is extremely solid and satisfying and that remains its greatest strength. Expansions that have built off these mechanics, like changes to relationships, were well thought out. Imagination can make for additional fun but the game has no problems creating stories by itself, which is both more relaxing since you don't have to put in as much work to enjoy it and far more stimulating to work in collaboration with. I find even when gameplay deviates from my initial plans, it always feels natural and exciting. I've never found myself frustrated.
With gameplay improvements that have come with newer iterations, like multitasking, I was initially worried going back that I'd miss those things enough to impact my enjoyment to some degree, but that wasn't the case. Needs are well balanced so I don't really find myself wishing I could have a sim say, watch tv and eat at the same time. Sims will also talk during meals and while watching tv together naturally. Even building isn't too bad and sometimes I even find it more enjoyable since certain aspects of it are simpler, and while swatches aren't as good as they were in 3 with a color wheel, the fact you can change the colors of different parts of a piece of furniture does make a lot of pieces far more versatile than in 4.
The attention to detail is incredible and charming. Life simulation and general Sims wackiness are balanced well. You can build entire hoods and even design their maps with SimCity 4, and similar to building, while it's not as intricate as ts3's Create a World, that makes it almost easier to work with. It's enjoyable being creative within the limitations. To date, ts2 is still the best game to play rotationally in if that's your style, but if it's not, there is a mod for story progression.
& that is I believe the final thing I want to say in recommending this game in the present: The modding scene is still very much alive and active, and for that matter, has made huge strides in the complexity of mods on offer. I'd even argue that while there are less contributions over all, the quality is far better and the scene is in better shape than it was at the game's peak.
Given all this, if you never picked up the game originally or you find yourself wondering if it's worth it to go back after the newer ones, I'd say it's well worth a try. The only unfortunate thing is there's no official way to purchase it anymore, it is abandonware, so you'll have to either find it used out in the wild or download it digitally through other means which are super easy to find if you look for them (which I'd recommend, as that will save you a lot of potential headaches)
I cannot overstate how well this game still holds up. I see a lot of criticisms aimed at ts2 players -- especially those that criticize later iterations -- that they're just nostalgic and the game wasn't actually that good. As someone that picked it back up in recent years and still plays 4, and still appreciates 3, I could not disagree more.
The core gameplay is extremely solid and satisfying and that remains its greatest strength. Expansions that have built off these mechanics, like changes to relationships, were well thought out. Imagination can make for additional fun but the game has no problems creating stories by itself, which is both more relaxing since you don't have to put in as much work to enjoy it and far more stimulating to work in collaboration with. I find even when gameplay deviates from my initial plans, it always feels natural and exciting. I've never found myself frustrated.
With gameplay improvements that have come with newer iterations, like multitasking, I was initially worried going back that I'd miss those things enough to impact my enjoyment to some degree, but that wasn't the case. Needs are well balanced so I don't really find myself wishing I could have a sim say, watch tv and eat at the same time. Sims will also talk during meals and while watching tv together naturally. Even building isn't too bad and sometimes I even find it more enjoyable since certain aspects of it are simpler, and while swatches aren't as good as they were in 3 with a color wheel, the fact you can change the colors of different parts of a piece of furniture does make a lot of pieces far more versatile than in 4.
The attention to detail is incredible and charming. Life simulation and general Sims wackiness are balanced well. You can build entire hoods and even design their maps with SimCity 4, and similar to building, while it's not as intricate as ts3's Create a World, that makes it almost easier to work with. It's enjoyable being creative within the limitations. To date, ts2 is still the best game to play rotationally in if that's your style, but if it's not, there is a mod for story progression.
& that is I believe the final thing I want to say in recommending this game in the present: The modding scene is still very much alive and active, and for that matter, has made huge strides in the complexity of mods on offer. I'd even argue that while there are less contributions over all, the quality is far better and the scene is in better shape than it was at the game's peak.
Given all this, if you never picked up the game originally or you find yourself wondering if it's worth it to go back after the newer ones, I'd say it's well worth a try. The only unfortunate thing is there's no official way to purchase it anymore, it is abandonware, so you'll have to either find it used out in the wild or download it digitally through other means which are super easy to find if you look for them (which I'd recommend, as that will save you a lot of potential headaches)