The Sims 2: University

CowInParachute · 03-13-2005

There have been very few times when I've spent from the point where I've walked into a shop to the point where I've walked out of it, new game in hand, with nothing but utter shame. In fact, in my many years of buying video games, there have been merely two examples of this. The first example was this game, The Sims 2: University. The second time being the Sims 2 itself.

Because we might as well accept it. If you, in any stage of your life, have bought anything to do with that vomit-inducing commercialism disguised as a game in all the years it's been out, you're going to hell. It's you that's giving the PC a bad name, and it's all down to you that these crazy, hip consoles are the happening thing and the only thing the PC is good for is the fucking Sims.

The pity is, it's actually a slightly enjoyable game.

You can almost be forgiven for buying the Sims 2. The Sims 2 was a new game, and despite being just another attempt for Maxis to expand its flagship franchise, effort had been put into it. Some will say it was simply a masterpeice of gaming. Beneath that cutesy, juvenile covering lay a game of complex beauty.

What you can't be forgiven for is buying University, because you've only gone and pissed on the side of that masterpeice. By purchasing it, you're not only handing over your twenty pounds to that lovable cashier with the Freddie Mercury-esque moustache. You're handing over a signed contract to Maxis saying "I approve of you going ahead and fucking up a perfectly good game with your god-forsaken expansion packs." And the final nail in the coffin? When you open up the box, right underneath the manual you'll see a small sheet of paper. "The Sims 2: Nightlife. Coming Autumn 2005". Just in case you needed reminded of what's to come as a result of you going ahead and saying to Maxis that'll you happily buy any expansion packs they release.

But if you try not to think about your crimes against humanity, and go ahead and install the game, you'll notice that it is, in actual fact, a little bit fun.

The universities in question are, sadly, stereotypical American universities. So you can kiss goodbye all hope of your Sims waking up next to traffic cones and correcting the grammar of graffiti written above the urinal in the gents. Oh. And let's not forget about our younger players. So kegs of alcohol aren't really alcohol, but rather fruit juice. Nothing shouts "student" more than a cup of fruit juice before leading a random bird up the stairs into bed for a good, hard "WooHoo".

So already my dreams of making my Sim into a hip student are shattered. What's left? I played on.

My first "family" of students consisted of two young men, Randy and Toby. I say "family", but it's actually "household". Maxis have decided that students can be in the same "family", but have different second names. Unfortunately, the normal game hasn't been blessed with such an option. First of all, I had to decide what they looked like. The new clothes, although for the brand new "young adult" stage of life, are pretty well done. The new hair isn't as amazing, and it's more likely than not you'll find yourself just sticking to the hair styles that came with the normal game. The exception to this, however, is the bandana, which I decided Toby would sport. A rather fashionable suit jacket would do Randy, and we were away.

And then I got to choose their residence. It seems Randy and Toby came from fairly poor families, who were only happy enough to shell out five hundred "simoleons" for their crazy, student lifestyle. With this in mind, all the pair could afford was a dingy dorm. In they went to claim their rooms. Randy got the one with the computer, and Toby had to make do with the one with the desk. It was then decided that it was time to pick their majors.

The driving force of the game is what majors your Sims pick, which will not only determine the skills they'll need and when their lectures are, but also what kind of jobs they'd be most suited for in later life. For people planning on playing the game long term, university is extremely handy before your Sims hit adulthood. You'll find that promotions come easier with their skills they had already developed. It's a fairly subtle, yet very handy feature of the expansion pack.

To decide what majors would be best, I thought it'd be best to find out what their lifetime aspirations were to be. The game, as well as short term wants, now gives you a lifetime want. Should your Sim be fortunate enough to hit this lifetime want, he'll be in a platinum mood for the rest of his life (which means the Sim is much more confident and successful in his actions). Plus, he'll get a huge supply of aspiration points and influence points (more on that later). Randy's aspiration, being a romance Sim, was to have "WooHoo"ed with twenty different people. Suddenly, his name started to make more sense than I had planned. My knowledge Sim, Toby, on the other hand, dreamt of being the top of his field in the Medicine career.

With this in mind, it was time to pick the Majors. There are four new jobs in University: Paranormal, Show Business, Artist and Natural Scientist. They're pretty naff careers. I was expecting Sims 1 careers like Music to be available. Evidently not. Toby's Major was obvious. If he was to be a medical genius, he'd have to take Biology. I then decided that Randy would probably do well in the slacker career, seeing as he doesn't seem to get much out of life from working anyway. As a result, I picked the most obvious Major for slackers: psychology.

The next four days were tough. Toby worked as hard as he could studying, doing assignments and building up the skills he needed to get the highest grade he could. Meanwhile, Randy had already invested in a double bed for his room, and was sneaking a different girl in every night. The day of the Final Exam came. Toby's wants were clear: get on the Dean's List. Randy, on the other hand, only wanted to get if on with a cute girl from upstairs. Toby took his shower, and set off for his exam, refreshed and ready. Randy, on the other hand, didn't even make it to the exam, for he was too busy making his moves on the said woman.

Toby came home, making the Dean's list as he had hoped, as well as a few extra bob. His mood hits Platinum, and there's no stopping him. In the same way, Randy's also quite pleased with himself. And I'm sure you can guess why. His mood also hits Platinum. However, he's given the news that he failed his Physchology exam, and he'll have to repeat the semester. And this time, he'll need to pass - or he gets expelled. Randy's not stupid. He knows that if he wants to get closer to his lifetime goal, he'll have to stay where the birds are prominent. However, he simply can't be arsed doing any work. The solution? Influence points.

Influence points are by far the most pointless, but fun aspect of the game. Randy's been having it off with so many women, he didn't even notice that with each want he fulfills (in this case, quite a bit of "WooHoo"ing), he gets Influence points. What do these points mean? It means that Randy's getting pretty popular for being the cassanova on the campus. The amount of Influence points he has (which is up in the thousands) means that he has so many people on a string. Time to exchange some of these points.

Another day, another girl. Randy's already made room for his next. However, that grade's looking pretty bad. Time to bring it up a bit. But he has no time to do it himself, because he has women to attend to. He brings forth a random bloke, and spends some of his influence points to make him write his term paper for him. While Randy's happily bouncing in bed, some poor soul is writing his term paper, trembling that if he doesn't do it well, he'll be deemed uncool for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, Toby's realised that bills need to be paid. And those few hundred simoleons he got from his test results aren't going to do the trick, especially since Randy's too busy buying things to impress the ladies with. Toby gives up the books and heads to the local coffee barto work behind the counter. If only he had taken the time to make some friends and not studied so hard. Then his maximum amount of Influence points would be greatly improved, and he, just like Randy, could make others do his bidding. Instead, he's behind the bar in an embarassing uniform for hours on end. He comes home at four in the morning, and falls asleep on the pavement.

If you're looking for the same beauty that came with the Sims 2, don't give this a second thought. It's already spiralled downhill. The heart stopping moments when a new baby is born, or when a man lazily drapes his arm over his woman in the middle of the night are nowhere in sight. Instead, expect some "hilarious" pranks and toga parties. This isn't to say that University is a bad game. But it's only going to get worse. So buy it if you really can't resist the urge. But make sure you're wearing a paper bag when you walk into the shop, because when the game police come looking for the culprits of another sodding franchise, you'll be on the top of their list. In comparison to the expansion packs released on the original game, this is much more than what you'd expect, and this review doesn't list all the new features. But it's not going to change your life, and it's not going to be necessary for the ultimate Sims experience. In fact, most purists will probably hate it.

For the rest of us, though, drink up your fruit juice and be merry.

This semester was quite different from last. In fact, now Randy's not only the hot stud on the block, but he's now made the Dean's list. Despite doing sod all. Toby, on the other hand, couldn't get much studying done for all the money that had to be made. Looks like he'll be repeating this semester after all.

79%

03-14-2005

What did u expect ,its totally "this is the way you are supposed to live", besides ifound sims 1 alot more fun for sum reason.

CowInParachute · 03-14-2005

I have to say that anybody that thinks "ugh, it's so boring" has probably missed the point in the game. There is no set way you are supposed to live in either the Sims 1 or 2.

My favourite family in the Sims 1 were (funilly enough) a pair of room mates. They both had boring jobs that they had to attend every day. However, when they were finished, the fun started. One would invite a certain girl round, and the other would cook dinner for the two. It was a lovely "best mates helping each other out" situation.

Unfortunately, the lady died in a fire. The near-boyfriend demanded sympathy from his best mate. His best mate kisses him. He reciprocates. And... well, let's just say there was very little that could be considered "boring" from that point on.

There's certain routines or similarities, perhaps. But if you're playing it and getting ready to abuse it for being boring, you're probably not playing it right.

03-15-2005

Quote:

Originally posted by CowInParachute
I have to say that anybody that thinks "ugh, it's so boring" has probably missed the point in the game. There is no set way you are supposed to live in either the Sims 1 or 2.

My favourite family in the Sims 1 were (funilly enough) a pair of room mates. They both had boring jobs that they had to attend every day. However, when they were finished, the fun started. One would invite a certain girl round, and the other would cook dinner for the two. It was a lovely "best mates helping each other out" situation.

Unfortunately, the lady died in a fire. The near-boyfriend demanded sympathy from his best mate. His best mate kisses him. He reciprocates. And... well, let's just say there was very little that could be considered "boring" from that point on.

There's certain routines or similarities, perhaps. But if you're playing it and getting ready to abuse it for being boring, you're probably not playing it right.

Hahahaha unlucky, i download aload of Star wars skins, was awesome.

Mjuboy · 03-18-2005

guys can u tell if i should buy the game or not?

CowInParachute · 03-18-2005

Even better, you can read the review and... get this, right... decide yourself!

03-27-2005

That was byfar the greatest review I ever sat and read, truthfully.

My little cousin loves these games, i'll probably borrow it and give it a try, sounds "ok"...but not worth buying.

03-28-2005

I only read like 2/5 of the review. I have the game and personally, it was okay, if my pc was faster i'd have enjoed it more ¬_¬, but anyway, it was a good game.

04-19-2005

I cant believe any1 buys this game or plays it-geez, get a life-its way GA-AAY

Docta Luv · 04-19-2005

You are an idiot, FUGITIVE. How come you're calling a game gay? That's the most childish thing you can do.

04-20-2005

Sims 2 just felt like Sims 1 but with more options.

When i say options imean, instead of just talking, you can chat, or gossip,,etc.

Range Hunt · 05-10-2005

That was the best damn review in the entire world!!

Send it in to a magazine, dude, you might just have made a career for yourself!!

AWESOME!

Oh... The game... Well, it's good, although the streakers are a bit too common. And the load times are waaay too long.

cyrix · 05-10-2005

My load times are short...

It depends on your system.

03-13-2005	#1
CowInParachute Registered User Wicked Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 5,735	The Sims 2: University There have been very few times when I've spent from the point where I've walked into a shop to the point where I've walked out of it, new game in hand, with nothing but utter shame. In fact, in my many years of buying video games, there have been merely two examples of this. The first example was this game, The Sims 2: University. The second time being the Sims 2 itself. Because we might as well accept it. If you, in any stage of your life, have bought anything to do with that vomit-inducing commercialism disguised as a game in all the years it's been out, you're going to hell. It's you that's giving the PC a bad name, and it's all down to you that these crazy, hip consoles are the happening thing and the only thing the PC is good for is the fucking Sims. The pity is, it's actually a slightly enjoyable game. You can almost be forgiven for buying the Sims 2. The Sims 2 was a new game, and despite being just another attempt for Maxis to expand its flagship franchise, effort had been put into it. Some will say it was simply a masterpeice of gaming. Beneath that cutesy, juvenile covering lay a game of complex beauty. What you can't be forgiven for is buying University, because you've only gone and pissed on the side of that masterpeice. By purchasing it, you're not only handing over your twenty pounds to that lovable cashier with the Freddie Mercury-esque moustache. You're handing over a signed contract to Maxis saying "I approve of you going ahead and fucking up a perfectly good game with your god-forsaken expansion packs." And the final nail in the coffin? When you open up the box, right underneath the manual you'll see a small sheet of paper. "The Sims 2: Nightlife. Coming Autumn 2005". Just in case you needed reminded of what's to come as a result of you going ahead and saying to Maxis that'll you happily buy any expansion packs they release. But if you try not to think about your crimes against humanity, and go ahead and install the game, you'll notice that it is, in actual fact, a little bit fun. The universities in question are, sadly, stereotypical American universities. So you can kiss goodbye all hope of your Sims waking up next to traffic cones and correcting the grammar of graffiti written above the urinal in the gents. Oh. And let's not forget about our younger players. So kegs of alcohol aren't really alcohol, but rather fruit juice. Nothing shouts "student" more than a cup of fruit juice before leading a random bird up the stairs into bed for a good, hard "WooHoo". So already my dreams of making my Sim into a hip student are shattered. What's left? I played on. My first "family" of students consisted of two young men, Randy and Toby. I say "family", but it's actually "household". Maxis have decided that students can be in the same "family", but have different second names. Unfortunately, the normal game hasn't been blessed with such an option. First of all, I had to decide what they looked like. The new clothes, although for the brand new "young adult" stage of life, are pretty well done. The new hair isn't as amazing, and it's more likely than not you'll find yourself just sticking to the hair styles that came with the normal game. The exception to this, however, is the bandana, which I decided Toby would sport. A rather fashionable suit jacket would do Randy, and we were away. And then I got to choose their residence. It seems Randy and Toby came from fairly poor families, who were only happy enough to shell out five hundred "simoleons" for their crazy, student lifestyle. With this in mind, all the pair could afford was a dingy dorm. In they went to claim their rooms. Randy got the one with the computer, and Toby had to make do with the one with the desk. It was then decided that it was time to pick their majors. The driving force of the game is what majors your Sims pick, which will not only determine the skills they'll need and when their lectures are, but also what kind of jobs they'd be most suited for in later life. For people planning on playing the game long term, university is extremely handy before your Sims hit adulthood. You'll find that promotions come easier with their skills they had already developed. It's a fairly subtle, yet very handy feature of the expansion pack. To decide what majors would be best, I thought it'd be best to find out what their lifetime aspirations were to be. The game, as well as short term wants, now gives you a lifetime want. Should your Sim be fortunate enough to hit this lifetime want, he'll be in a platinum mood for the rest of his life (which means the Sim is much more confident and successful in his actions). Plus, he'll get a huge supply of aspiration points and influence points (more on that later). Randy's aspiration, being a romance Sim, was to have "WooHoo"ed with twenty different people. Suddenly, his name started to make more sense than I had planned. My knowledge Sim, Toby, on the other hand, dreamt of being the top of his field in the Medicine career. With this in mind, it was time to pick the Majors. There are four new jobs in University: Paranormal, Show Business, Artist and Natural Scientist. They're pretty naff careers. I was expecting Sims 1 careers like Music to be available. Evidently not. Toby's Major was obvious. If he was to be a medical genius, he'd have to take Biology. I then decided that Randy would probably do well in the slacker career, seeing as he doesn't seem to get much out of life from working anyway. As a result, I picked the most obvious Major for slackers: psychology. The next four days were tough. Toby worked as hard as he could studying, doing assignments and building up the skills he needed to get the highest grade he could. Meanwhile, Randy had already invested in a double bed for his room, and was sneaking a different girl in every night. The day of the Final Exam came. Toby's wants were clear: get on the Dean's List. Randy, on the other hand, only wanted to get if on with a cute girl from upstairs. Toby took his shower, and set off for his exam, refreshed and ready. Randy, on the other hand, didn't even make it to the exam, for he was too busy making his moves on the said woman. Toby came home, making the Dean's list as he had hoped, as well as a few extra bob. His mood hits Platinum, and there's no stopping him. In the same way, Randy's also quite pleased with himself. And I'm sure you can guess why. His mood also hits Platinum. However, he's given the news that he failed his Physchology exam, and he'll have to repeat the semester. And this time, he'll need to pass - or he gets expelled. Randy's not stupid. He knows that if he wants to get closer to his lifetime goal, he'll have to stay where the birds are prominent. However, he simply can't be arsed doing any work. The solution? Influence points. Influence points are by far the most pointless, but fun aspect of the game. Randy's been having it off with so many women, he didn't even notice that with each want he fulfills (in this case, quite a bit of "WooHoo"ing), he gets Influence points. What do these points mean? It means that Randy's getting pretty popular for being the cassanova on the campus. The amount of Influence points he has (which is up in the thousands) means that he has so many people on a string. Time to exchange some of these points. Another day, another girl. Randy's already made room for his next. However, that grade's looking pretty bad. Time to bring it up a bit. But he has no time to do it himself, because he has women to attend to. He brings forth a random bloke, and spends some of his influence points to make him write his term paper for him. While Randy's happily bouncing in bed, some poor soul is writing his term paper, trembling that if he doesn't do it well, he'll be deemed uncool for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, Toby's realised that bills need to be paid. And those few hundred simoleons he got from his test results aren't going to do the trick, especially since Randy's too busy buying things to impress the ladies with. Toby gives up the books and heads to the local coffee barto work behind the counter. If only he had taken the time to make some friends and not studied so hard. Then his maximum amount of Influence points would be greatly improved, and he, just like Randy, could make others do his bidding. Instead, he's behind the bar in an embarassing uniform for hours on end. He comes home at four in the morning, and falls asleep on the pavement. If you're looking for the same beauty that came with the Sims 2, don't give this a second thought. It's already spiralled downhill. The heart stopping moments when a new baby is born, or when a man lazily drapes his arm over his woman in the middle of the night are nowhere in sight. Instead, expect some "hilarious" pranks and toga parties. This isn't to say that University is a bad game. But it's only going to get worse. So buy it if you really can't resist the urge. But make sure you're wearing a paper bag when you walk into the shop, because when the game police come looking for the culprits of another sodding franchise, you'll be on the top of their list. In comparison to the expansion packs released on the original game, this is much more than what you'd expect, and this review doesn't list all the new features. But it's not going to change your life, and it's not going to be necessary for the ultimate Sims experience. In fact, most purists will probably hate it. For the rest of us, though, drink up your fruit juice and be merry. This semester was quite different from last. In fact, now Randy's not only the hot stud on the block, but he's now made the Dean's list. Despite doing sod all. Toby, on the other hand, couldn't get much studying done for all the money that had to be made. Looks like he'll be repeating this semester after all. 79% __________________ Thanks to SigCribz for the signature! *Still pissing off members of high authority since September 2000.* Last edited by CowInParachute : 03-14-2005 at 10:51 AM.

03-14-2005	#3
CowInParachute Registered User Wicked Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 5,735	I have to say that anybody that thinks "ugh, it's so boring" has probably missed the point in the game. There is no set way you are supposed to live in either the Sims 1 or 2. My favourite family in the Sims 1 were (funilly enough) a pair of room mates. They both had boring jobs that they had to attend every day. However, when they were finished, the fun started. One would invite a certain girl round, and the other would cook dinner for the two. It was a lovely "best mates helping each other out" situation. Unfortunately, the lady died in a fire. The near-boyfriend demanded sympathy from his best mate. His best mate kisses him. He reciprocates. And... well, let's just say there was very little that could be considered "boring" from that point on. There's certain routines or similarities, perhaps. But if you're playing it and getting ready to abuse it for being boring, you're probably not playing it right. __________________ Thanks to SigCribz for the signature! *Still pissing off members of high authority since September 2000.*

03-18-2005	#5
Mjuboy Victim of Desire Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,812	guys can u tell if i should buy the game or not? __________________ Some Useful Links My Website \| Get Firefox!

03-18-2005	#6
CowInParachute Registered User Wicked Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 5,735	Even better, you can read the review and... get this, right... decide yourself! __________________ Thanks to SigCribz for the signature! *Still pissing off members of high authority since September 2000.*

05-10-2005	#13
cyrix Ever get evil dick? Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 8,104	My load times are short... It depends on your system. __________________

03-14-2005	#2
OkComputer Posts: n/a	What did u expect ,its totally "this is the way you are supposed to live", besides ifound sims 1 alot more fun for sum reason.

03-27-2005	#7
Zero Posts: n/a	That was byfar the greatest review I ever sat and read, truthfully. My little cousin loves these games, i'll probably borrow it and give it a try, sounds "ok"...but not worth buying.

03-28-2005	#8
Jay Squirrel Posts: n/a	I only read like 2/5 of the review. I have the game and personally, it was okay, if my pc was faster i'd have enjoed it more ¬_¬, but anyway, it was a good game.

04-19-2005	#9
FUGITIVE Posts: n/a	I cant believe any1 buys this game or plays it-geez, get a life-its way GA-AAY

04-19-2005	#10
Docta Luv Registered User Loyal Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 913	You are an idiot, FUGITIVE. How come you're calling a game gay? That's the most childish thing you can do.

04-20-2005	#11
OkComputer Posts: n/a	Sims 2 just felt like Sims 1 but with more options. When i say options imean, instead of just talking, you can chat, or gossip,,etc.

05-10-2005	#12
Range Hunt Registered User Regular Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 447	That was the best damn review in the entire world!! Send it in to a magazine, dude, you might just have made a career for yourself!! AWESOME! Oh... The game... Well, it's good, although the streakers are a bit too common. And the load times are waaay too long.

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