IGN have posted a pretty detailed guide to The
Sims 2 Apartment Life.
It's been a long journey since 2004, when The Sims 2 was
first released! Four years of expansion packs, four years of seeing your
little Sims grow from leading mediocre, drab lives to lives full of dating,
vacations, four-legged friends, and vampires!
The guide goes through game changes, witches, apartment living and
apartment building.
IGN also have guides for every other expansion pack and the base game,
which are linked to from the introduction page of the Apartment Life guide.
>
The Sims 2 Apartment Life guide at IGN
EA have released a music video of "hot
newcomer" Katy Perry's latest single, Hot N Cold, created using The Sims 2,
and with the vocals re-recorded in Simlish. I've embedded the video below:
It's that time of the month again: new poll
time! The question this time is this: Have you bought Apartment Life yet? A
very simple poll where you shouldn't need to think about it before voting.
So vote! Now! To the right*!
Last month, I asked you lot this: Does it annoy you that to shut the open
windows in Apartment Life you'll need to swap them for another in build
mode? And I can tell you, with 71% of you, it does!
> Full results
MTV's Multiplayer Blog (it covers all games,
not just multiplayer ones, despite the name) has got a first look at The
Sims 3:
Anyway, during a demo at a PR office in New York City,
associate producer Lyndsay Pearson, ran down a few saucy, new details about
the game that makes staying inside seem worthwhile:
Head of The Sims studio Rod Humble and
associate producer Lyndsay Pearson have both posted new blogs on
TheSims3.com. Rod talks about the create-a-sim and how it captures his
attention:
As we develop The Sims 3, I have to say that playing with
the new Create A Sim completely captures my attention! You can hit the
random button and create Sims with unique personalities, as well as
incredibly varied appearances. It’s hypnotic sitting there generating little
beings with unique physical and mental traits. I just generated a Sim who
is a computer wiz, has commitment issues, is easily impressed and can't
stand art. He likes Latin Music and his Favourite food is Key Lime Pie. All
of those mental traits have an impact in the game world.
Lyndsay discusses Wishes:
We’ve looked back on our experience with Wants from The
Sims 2, and think that you’ll find the Wish gameplay feels really different
and better than Wants. You’re now free to pick or ignore your Sims’ wishes
without fear of some sort of mental breakdown. Instead you really get to
focus on telling the story and making decisions; your Sim just makes
suggestions along the way. If you promise that you’ll help your Sim get
married, then decide to throw that wish away, your Sim will be a little sad
(who wouldn’t be!) but otherwise it’s really all up to you.
VentureBeat has had a Q&A with The Sims 3
executive producer Ben Bell.
VB: What role has direct player feedback had in crafting The Sims 3?
BB: We’re all fans of The Sims, and a lot of our team worked
on The Sims and The Sims 2, so player feedback is built into our team. We
also spend a lot of time interacting with members of The Sims community
around the world. I don’t think the game would be what it is without The
Sims community. They make the content that keeps the game alive, and we are
going to amplify that activity with The Sims 3.
Yet another stuff pack has been announced: The
Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff.
Design impressive estates and meticulous gardens for your
Sims with three all-new architectural styles. Infuse your Sims' mansion with
the intricate beauty of new Moroccan designs, add a touch of retro-modern
style with stately and new Art Deco elements, or build in the imposing new
Second Empire style. With a host of new architectural and landscaping items
to choose from, your Sims mansions will look more stunning than ever!
Ben Bell, the executive producer of The Sims 3
has given GameDaily an exclusive demo of the game.
"We have members of our design and graphics staff that
have really grown up with the franchise, so this is very personal to us,"
said Bell. "Everybody on the team is a fan of the game. And there's a whole
bunch of stuff that we've always wanted to do with the game that we were
never allowed to explore due to time or technology."
The preview confirms the name of the one and only neighbourhood in the
game - Pleasant Valley. The valley that contains the town of Pleasantview
from The Sims 2, perhaps?
It's now IGN's turn to publish a review of The
Sims 2 Apartment Life, and they've given it a "Good" 7.7 out of 10.
It's odd recommending an expansion pack like this with The
Sims 3 coming out early next year. Yet if you're looking for more content to
tide you over until the next game, Apartment Life certainly works as a solid
expansion. It doesn't completely reinvent the style of gameplay you're used
to, but it does make enough interesting tweaks and additions to warrant a
look. And if this does turn out to be the last bit of official content
released, it's not a bad way to go out for such a venerable franchise.
The Sims 2 Apartment Life game team have
created a basic tutorial explaining how to construct apartment buildings. As
well as showing you what must be featured in an apartment building and the
cheat needed to turn your lot into one, the tutorial also gives help on
adding cornices. It's not had much time spent on making it look nice or
checking for spelling errors, but Maxoid_Hydra explains that's because they
wanted to get the tutorial available quickly.
>
Apartment Building Tutorial at TheSims2.com Forum
The second English review of The Sims 2
Apartment Life has been posted online, this time from 1UP, who gave it a
"good" B+.
It strikes the perfect balance of adding new material without
taking away from the overall game, and it doesn't feel like a completely
different path but rather a cool new take on some of the basic mechanics.
It's a must-have for Sims 2 zealots, especially for those who skipped out on
the last crop of expansions. Give it a go -- Apartment Life succeeds at
facilitating a great new life for your Sims without straying too far from
the old block.
A
new video has been posted on TheSims3.com, giving us a look behind the
scenes of the game. The offices are shown, we get to see a bit of how the
game is developed, some of the game's user interface is seen for the first
time, and the team discuss the game.
>
Videos at TheSims3.com
The
Sims 2 UK have posted another The Sims 2 Apartment Life comic strip: Meet
the Landlord. The landlord of an apartment building, John, throws a party to
try and help his favourite tenant find romance. I find it hard to believe
this could actually happen in the game, as I'm pretty sure the landlord can
only be an NPC (and probably wouldn't do anything like this), but oh well.
Once again, all the screenshots from the strip have been added to the
appropriate page on this website.
>
Meet the Landlord at The Sims 2 UK
> The Sims 2 Apartment Life
screenshots
Now it's GameSpot's turn to preview The Sims 3
(see next post down for GameSpy's preview).
The Sims started off as an experimental game
concept that designer Will Wright reportedly had to fight for. After it was
released in 2000, it became a smash hit that went on to occupy top spots on
computer game bestseller lists for years to come, along with a good number
of expansion packs and its in-depth sequel, The Sims 2. Now the team is
getting ready for an impressive round three with a new sequel that will
offer much more in the way of customization options, social options,
character behavior, and in-depth careers. We got an up-close look of the
game and have much to report.
GameSpy enjoyed a demo of The Sims 3 at the
Leipzig Games Convention and have posted a preview of the game.
Two big changes separate the new game from its very successful
(and elegantly designed) prequel. For one, the Sims themselves are much more
dynamic, defined with a series of traits that make them more compelling and
(at times) even more creepily human. More on that later. The biggest change
is the seamless world.
They also videoed part of executive producer Ben Bell's
talk, which I've embedded below:
>
href="http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-sims-3/902155p1.html" target="_blank">
The Sims 3 preview at GameSpy
The
fifth The Sims 2 Apartment Life comic strip has been posted on TheSims2.com:
Meet the Socialites. This strip shows Kristina going off in her helicopter
to buy a new apartment, where her father gets the butler to watch her, and
she finds a secret room to escape to. As usual, all the screenshots from the
strip have been added to the screenshots page.
>
The comic strip at TheSims2.com
> The Sims 2 Apartment Life
screenshots
A
walkthrough video of The Sims 2 Apartment Life has been posted on
TheSims2.com. Lead designer Lakshmi Jayapalan moves a family into an
apartment, gets a roommate, visits a neighbour, and takes a taxi to a new
park.
>
The Sims 2 Apartment Life videos at TheSims2.com
It was confirmed during the recent The Sims 2
Apartment Life chat that the open windows shown in screenshots can only be
closed by replacing them with closed versions in build mode. It didn't
surprise me, but it was still pretty annoying. This month, I want to know
whether you feel the same way. It makes them sound like a waste of time to
me, especially if you have Seasons as well. Vote now to the right.
Last month, I asked whether you think you'll ever buy anything from the
new The Sims 2 Store. Well, the results are in, and it looks EA's new way of
making money from us isn't very popular - not one person said they've
already purchased something, or definitely will at some point. See the full
results and comment by clicking below.
> Poll Results
Although we've heard a bit about the Sims 3 in the past, I had
the opportunity to sit in on a demonstration here in Leipzig at this year's
German Games Convention. Although our time to check out the Sims was
limited, especially considering the scope of the game as a whole, I was
still able to get a grasp on what Maxis is doing for the next full
installment of its greatly-loved franchise.
EA has announced at the Leipzig Games
Convention that The Sims 3 will launch worldwide on 20th February 2009, six
months from today. (Unless you believe the US version of TheSims3.com, which
thinks it has already been released on 20th February 2008.) A
collector's edition will also be released on the same date which will,
according to the news post on the UK EA website and the press release,
include the following:
- The Sims 3 Game for PC
- The Sims Plumbob USB Drive with matching Green Carabiner
- Exclusive In-Game Italian-Style Sports Car
- Tips and hints guide
- The Sims 3 Plumbob Stickers
The
official website for The Sims 3, TheSims3.com (oddly enough), has
re-launched with a new design and new sections. One of the new features is a
developer blog, with the first post executive producer Ben Bell.
Hello from The Sims 3 team, This is the first
installment of a regular blog in which you’ll hear from developers
about what we’re creating, how we’re building it, and other random stories
about life.
IGN have posted a preview of the latest
expansion pack for The Sims 2, Apartment Life.
The big new supernatural element in Apartment Life is
witchcraft. (Previous expansion introduced vampires, robots, zombies, and
more.) By becoming a witch you gain access to spells both good and bad, and
if you use one type more than another you become a good or bad witch, which
can unlock new types of spells. You also get to wear a nifty pointy hat that
looks stylish.
The transcripts for the two The Sims 2
Apartment Life chats on Thursday have been made available on TheSims2.com.
onmymind04 (Aug 7, 2008 6:08:16 PM)
Is this the last expansion pack for the Sims 2?
MaxoidShannon (Aug 7, 2008 6:08:16 PM)
Currently, there are no plans for any future Expansion Packs. We will be
adding content once a month to The Sims 2 Store.
EA have announced the soundtrack for The
Sims 2 Apartment Life, according to WorthPlaying and gamezine.co.uk. The
soundtrack includes songs from lots of artists I’ve never heard of, such as
Bob Schneider and Janelle Monae. See the full list on either of the source
websites linked below:
>
WorthPlaying
>
gamezine.co.uk
Apartment Life chat on Thursday (well, actually two)
Two chats on the subject of the latest
expansion pack The Sims 2 Apartment Life have been announced on
TheSims2.com, presumably with some people involved with its production.
Both chats are on Thursday. I'm assuming they're running two to better
allow us in the UK to participate, as one of them is early enough for that.
The first chat runs between 10 and 10:45 am PDT, which I think is between 6
and 6:45 pm BST, and the second runs between 4 and 4:45 pm PDT, which I
think is between midnight and 12:45 am BST on Friday.
At around one of those times you'll want to click below if you want to
participate, where there should be a link to the chat auditorium.
>
Chat page at TheSims2.com
A
new The Sims 2 Apartment Life comic strip, Meet the Gearheads, has been
posted on The Sims 2 UK, the official UK website. It had not been posted on
TheSims2.com yet at the time of writing. The strip tells the story of Biff
and Jane's first date. As usual, I've added the best (actually, that's all
of them this time) screenshots from the strip to the Apartment Life
screenshots page.
>
Meet the Gearheads at The Sims 2 UK
> The Sims 2 Apartment Life
screenshots
It's that time of the month again - new poll
time! The Sims 2 Store launched this month, and I want to know whether
you'll ever buy anything from it. Vote to the right of any page.
A poll has started, so one must have ended, too. Last month, I asked
whether you're going to buy The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff. Click below to see
the results, and the one comment.
> Poll Results
GameSpy's Dave 'Fargo' Kosak has interviewed
Rod Humble about The Sims 3.
Fargo: So for all the fans out there who've invested a
lot of time in Sims 2, what would you say the big selling points are
with Sims 3? What's going to make people hungry to upgrade?
Humble: We've brought in a lot of Sims 2 players to play
Sims 3 as we've been developing it -- 'cuz we're not going to mess this
one up! [Laughs] -- so we're pretty confident we're delivering what our
customers want. We're definitely Sims players as well, and the first
thing we did was take away things that annoyed us.
Back
to Old News Archive
A
new video has been posted on TheSims3.com, giving us a look behind the
scenes of the game. The offices are shown, we get to see a bit of how the
game is developed, some of the game's user interface is seen for the first
time, and the team discuss the game.
The
Sims 2 UK have posted another The Sims 2 Apartment Life comic strip: Meet
the Landlord. The landlord of an apartment building, John, throws a party to
try and help his favourite tenant find romance. I find it hard to believe
this could actually happen in the game, as I'm pretty sure the landlord can
only be an NPC (and probably wouldn't do anything like this), but oh well.
Once again, all the screenshots from the strip have been added to the
appropriate page on this website.
The
fifth The Sims 2 Apartment Life comic strip has been posted on TheSims2.com:
Meet the Socialites. This strip shows Kristina going off in her helicopter
to buy a new apartment, where her father gets the butler to watch her, and
she finds a secret room to escape to. As usual, all the screenshots from the
strip have been added to the screenshots page.
A
walkthrough video of The Sims 2 Apartment Life has been posted on
TheSims2.com. Lead designer Lakshmi Jayapalan moves a family into an
apartment, gets a roommate, visits a neighbour, and takes a taxi to a new
park.
The
official website for The Sims 3, TheSims3.com (oddly enough), has
re-launched with a new design and new sections. One of the new features is a
developer blog, with the first post executive producer Ben Bell.
A
new The Sims 2 Apartment Life comic strip, Meet the Gearheads, has been
posted on The Sims 2 UK, the official UK website. It had not been posted on
TheSims2.com yet at the time of writing. The strip tells the story of Biff
and Jane's first date. As usual, I've added the best (actually, that's all
of them this time) screenshots from the strip to the Apartment Life
screenshots page.
Two
more The Sims 2 Apartment Life comic strips have been posted on
TheSims2.com: Meet the Bohemians and Meet the Jocks. As before, I've added
the best screenshots from both to the screenshots page here.
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