The Sims 2: Apartment Life

The Sims 2: Apartment Life is the eighth and final[1] expansion pack in the Sims 2 video game series.

The Sims 2: Apartment Life
The Sims 2: Apartment Life North American Box Art
Developer(s)Maxis Redwood Shores
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Designer(s)Lakshmi Jayapalan
SeriesThe Sims
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, EA Mobile
Release
  • NA: August 25, 2008
  • AU: August 28, 2008
  • EU: August 29, 2008
Genre(s)Social simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

A flyer included in later copies of The Sims 2: FreeTime expansion pack and The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff Pack announced Apartment Life, which brings magic back to the franchise and new features like Sims' relationships with neighbors inhabiting the same apartment building, interacting with an NPC landlord, a new reputation system, and new activities for publicly accessible lots.[2]

Pre-release began on August 27, 2008, via the EA store.[3]

Gameplay

Neighborhood

This expansion adds a new pre-made neighborhood, Belladonna Cove, inspired by New York City. It features many apartments, and San Francisco's Painted Ladies townhouses. Other buildings in this neighborhood include a trailer park, libraries, coffee shops, and grocery stores in addition to several parks.[4] Several of these lots showcase major gameplay elements not available in previous expansions or the core game. There is also a new icon, when there is a family living in an apartment building, there will be a green apartment icon over the house.

New interactions

This expansion adds multiple social interactions, including "High Five", "Earthy Hug", "Fake Out", "Kiss Kiss Darling", and "Tough Handshake". Children have new special interactions to use with their peers, as do toddlers. Parents and teenagers can now also play "Peekaboo" with toddlers. Sims of all ages (except toddlers) can participate in the "Classic Dance" or "Jump Rope".

Witches and Warlocks

This expansion gives Sims the opportunity to become Witches (female) or Warlocks (male), similar to The Sims: Makin Magic. While playing as a magical being, Sims may choose to be Infallibly Good, Good, Nice, Neutral, Mean, Evil or Atrociously Evil, each of which has a unique costume. A sim may become a witch or warlock by building a strong relationship with an NPC magic user until the option to request the transformation becomes available.

Witches/Warlocks may use various magical objects, including brooms and cauldrons. Spells may be cast by using specific ingredients (i.e. Mystic Dust, Dragon Scales, Eye of Newt, Vipers Essence, Crystallized Moonbeams, and the Essence of Light). These ingredients may be obtained in any of three ways: produced in a cauldron, purchased from a Witch/Warlock NPC, or purchased at the secret Witch/Warlock lots.[4]

A character's alignment depends entirely on the alignment of the spells that they cast. A good spell will move the witch or warlock towards the "Infallibly Good" end while an evil spell will push the caster towards the "Atrociously Evil" side. Spell availability is determined by the caster's magic skill level and alignment. Even the most skilled Infallibly Good Witch will be unable to cast any but the single simplest Evil spell. The most potent powers of good and evil (such as Throne creation, zombification, and revivification) are reserved exclusively for witches and warlocks on the extreme ends of the good or evil alignments. A Sim's initial alignment depends on the alignment of the witch or warlock who initiated them into the magical mysteries.

Witches/Warlocks can use certain spells and magic according to what order of magic they use. Evil magic users can light fires, cause sickness, and even bring zombies to life. Good magic users are able to create happiness, put out fires, and bring the dead back to life. Good and Evil magic users can each build a "Throne of Light" and "Throne of Darkness" respectively.

All Witches/Warlocks can create potions and cast "neutral" spells that allow them to teleport, freeze time, and use a spell or potion that turns them back into humans. If the "Pets" expansion is also installed, Witches and Warlocks can summon spectral cat familiars.

New objects and tools

Apartment Life adds a number of playground objects, including a jungle gym, playground slide, merry-go-round, and monkey bars. New furniture items include a Murphy bed, open mic stand, break dancing mat, trash chute, apartment mailboxes, vibrating bed, vending machines, witch-themed furnishings, in addition to new TV sets and a large fish tank.

Build mode adds new types of objects and tools, such as spiral stairs, a new elevator (this expansion pack also includes all of the elevators from Open for Business if it is not installed), built-in wardrobes, visible ceilings, ducts, vents, and heating and cooling windows as well as the usual assortment of new wall, floor, garage door, and door styles.[4] New modes of transport available are helicopters for purchase and Witch brooms.

While the Sims are living in an apartment, as with university dorms, they will only be able to change the floors and wallpaper within the apartment, as well as place miscellaneous Build Mode objects like marble columns. Also new with Apartment Life is the ceiling. A new 45-degree angle view in build mode will make it possible to view the Sims' ceiling which can be covered in the floor tile of the player's choice.

New NPCs

New NPCs include butlers, landlords, roommates, and NPC neighbors. When players move playable Sims into an apartment, NPC characters will move into the other apartments if the player doesn't move other Sims into them.

Reputation meter

There is now a new meter called the reputation meter, which shows how high the reputation of a Sim is, the more friendly the Sim is with others, the higher it goes. As the meter increases, the player gains rewards which help them with their occupation, aspiration, and living.

Life skills

Sims can learn new life skills, they include Fire Prevention which makes them calmer in a fire, Anger Management which means they will not stay angry at another sim for very long, Lifelong Happiness which reduces the decline of platinum and gold mood statuses, Physiology which means body skills increase faster (due to a bug in the game all skills increase faster), and Couple Counseling which means if a friend's relationship is on the rocks the interaction 'counsel' will be available and your sim can repair the relationships.[5]

Compatibility with other Expansion Packs

Players with both The Sims 2: Pets expansion pack and Apartment Life will be able to have witch's spectral cats, and with the Pets expansion pack, the player can have pets in the apartment. If the player does not have Pets, 'Lap dogs' will be available for purchase in buy mode without the Pets expansion pack.

Heating and cooling makes a difference to a Sim's temperature gauge if Apartment Life is played with The Sims 2: Seasons expansion pack installed.[4]

Roommates

This expansion pack offers Sims the chance to live in apartments in low or high rent districts, and allows for four user controlled families to be within an apartment building. The player also has the option to look for roommates whom the player can choose, but not control. When the player reviews potential roommates the player is given a basic personality to help the player decide which roommate would best suit. Though roommates cannot be controlled, the player can view a scale that tells the player how satisfied they are.

New music

The following songs have been converted into Simlish (Sim speak) for the Apartment Life soundtrack.[6][7]

Reception

The game generally received positive reviews. It achieved a 75% average at Metacritic, and an 81% average at GameRankings.

References
  1. "EA Showcase 08: The Sims 2: Apartment Life". Destructoid. August 15, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  2. "TheSims2.com About Apartment Life page". EA Games. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  3. "EA Store page for Apartment Life". EA Games. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  4. "Apartment Life Preview". The Sims Resource Website. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  5. "Apartment Life". Edenstyle Website. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  6. Courtney Marchelletta. ""The Sims 2 Apartment Life" Soundtrack". About.com Tech. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  7. IGN Music. ""The Sims 2 Apartment Life Soundtrack"". IGN UK. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  8. "The Sims 2 Apartment Life". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  9. "The Sims 2 Apartment Life". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  10. Sarah Green (August 28, 2008). "The Sims 2 Apartment Life Review for PC". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
  11. "The Sims 2 Apartment Life Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008.
  12. Charles Onyett (September 10, 2008). "The Sims 2 Apartment Life Limited Edition Review". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  13. "Game Chronicles - Review". Game Chronicles. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  14. Jess Nickelsen (September 14, 2008). "The Sims 2 Apartment Life". NZ Gamer. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
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