Goodbye real life
The Sims was a fantastic, innovative game that allowed you to control the day to day lives of characters that you created. This was fun, however there seemed to be no real purpose to the game as there was no way to complete it and your creations would live forever, going about their same activities indefinitely...short of any tragic accidents. The Sims 2 gives the whole thing a purpose by introducing aging into the mix, thus allowing you to create dynasties and giving you the pleasure of watching your offspring grow up. Hang on, I mean't to say "your characters offspring". This is the danger of the game - you can start to care too much, as the game offers an almost unparralled sense of realism in gaming terms. While the lives of your Sims can never truly parallel real life, in this game it comes pretty close.
Obviously, this realism is exactly what the developers were trying to create, and all credit to them for achieving their goals while still keeping the game fun. The game has enough detail to be realistic, while still simplifies enough to make it fun. Make no mistake, you have to work hard to keep your Sims happy and successful, thus extending their lives, but this is achievable. Of course the sadistic gamer will relish in the opportunities to bring death and suffering to his virtual victims though in all honesty it is not possible to gain any real satisfaction from playing the game like this. It is far more rewarding to try and fulfil your Sims aspirations, as this gives access to some cool items and stylish cut scenes.
By having a photo snapshot facility and a section where you can record key events in your Sims lives it is possible to create a family history spanning countless generations, and a good record of what you've achieved in the game.
A major advantage of The Sims 2 over its predecessor is the introduction of genetics. Now your Sims kids will look like their parents. This is another reason why it is worthwhile spending time on developing generations of a family, as you can really see the family's physical characteristics transfering from generation to generation. Also, your Sim parents can encourage their children to develop the same personality traits that they have, meaning that kids will develop much like their parents physically and psychologically, much like in real life.
The career opportunities and actions that they can perform with other Sims are of course simplified from real life, which deducts from the realism though obviously improves gameplay and adds to the fun. I mean, it would be pretty dull if all the Sims worked in run-of-the-mill jobs and simply came home to discuss finances and make small talk with their families. Instead they are all astronauts, mad scientists and business tycoons, plus theres at least one kitchen fire or toilet accident a week! This is what keeps it fun though - this game is escapism at its very best, allowing you to be involved in and control the dramatic lives of these virtual characters.
The Sims 2 has the trademark quirky background music of its predecessor, but this is in keeping with the spirit of the game. You hear the music and you can't help but smile. It wouldn't be the Sims without this friendly elevator music. Sims speak in a nonsensical language, as they did in the original game. This language, while having no discernable words is full of emotion, and its quite easy to work out what your Sim thinks about a certain issue by listening to the tone of their voice and the nature of the words they speak! They also seem to speak about some pretty crazy things, judging by the pictures in the speech bubbles. One of my Sim families had a daughter who would constantly talk about what appeared to be an octopus. Every conversation came back to the octopus in the end. Its this zany humour that makes The Sims 2 so endearing though.
Despite my obvious love of this game, I do have some criticisms. The loading times are very long, especially when families have many members, large houses or a long history. Also, when there are loads of Sims in a house at one time the game slows down dramatically even on machines that exceed the recomended requirements.
This game allows you an incredible freedom in that you can design people however you want them (you can create yourself, your friends, your favourite celebrities, whoever) and you can let them lead whatever life you want them to lead. This level of freedom is unparralled in any game. The introduction of aging, genetics and life aspirations/fears gives the game a purpose that the original Sims lacked, and allows for a truly rewarding experience in seeing your virtual families live long, successful lives and develop into grand dynasties. Plus with the ability to export your neighbourhoods to the web and download other peoples creations it is entirely possible that you could be playing this game exclusively for a very long time.