The Sims 2: Free Time (PC)
Latest expansion makes hobbies worthwhile
3/14/2008 12:00 AM | 33 Comments | Page 2 of 2
What's Hot: All the same Sims 2 fun, with new Sims 2 stuff
What's Not: All the same Sims 2 fun packed with a little bit of new Sims 2 stuff
Detailing every single option in a game like this is about as useful as itemizing every item on every aisle in the grocery store. Sure,
Free Time brings some new features to the game, but under the hood, it's the same old Sims. Discovering that you can buy and customize a model train set for your home is novel, but that's a sideshow to the main event, which remains the pleasure of exploring banal American middle-class life.
In that sense, finding
Free Time on the shelves of your local computer game retailer isn't all that different from discovering your local Furr's Cafeteria has added lime Jell-O and chimichangas to the buffet: new flavors for sure, but then again, it's not like you were at a loss for choices in the first place.
This leaves the longtime player with the excitement of having new stuff to do in a familiar setting. Having the chance to set your Sims to playing
The Sims 3 or
Spore on their teeny-weeny computer is cute enough to justify the price of the expansion. For anyone new to the series, this expansive library of options is easily overwhelming.
Just do the math. If you've kept up with each and every upgrade to the game over the years -- which means you have amassed six previous expansions, six stuff collections and a bill that ranks on the order of what you'd probably drop on a nasty
World of Warcraft habit -- then you really don't need much reason to add
Free Time to the collection. All those expansions and packs amount to thousands of possible combinations of Sims on vacation, Sims with pets, Sims in winter coats, Sims that trick-or-treat, Sims celebrating Kwanzaa, and on and on.
On the other hand, if your copy of
The Sims 2 sits on a dusty shelf someplace and it's been years since you wrecked your peaceful Sims neighborhood by starting up a lesbian affair with the local astronaut's wife and the daughter of their friends down the street, then
Free Time acts as a reminder that this game still has juice.
Ultimately,
Free Time is like a new season of "The Simpsons." You know the characters, can count on the humor, and don't need a bunch of innovation getting in the way of enjoying an old friend. If
Free Time is remarkable in any sense, it's because
The Sims 2 is still ridiculously entertaining all these years later.
This review is based on pre-release code final code provided by the publisher.
