The Sims 2

In this sequel to the The Sims, Maxis has created an entirely new, 3D engine, similar to the console Sim games. The player can rotate the camera in a 360° view, or shuffle the camera to the left and to the right.

The Sims are also fully animated, articulated characters. They have a wide range of movements, most of which are humorous. Eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, getting kissed, proposing marriage, etc. with each having a specific animation for it.

The Sims 2 has an expanded Build mode. The player can now create large houses, going up to four floors, with new types of wallpapers, carpets, stairs, fireplaces, and more. The player can connect parts of their house via a deck or patio, or a balcony-type catwalk.

When first playing the game, the player can choose to move their family into a pre-made neighborhood with different themes, or they can create one from scratch. If the player has SimCity 4 and/or Rush Hour installed, they can import cities into The Sims 2 to use custom neighborhoods.

The biggest change to the game is aging and fears/aspirations. The Sims will now age, from a newborn, onto a toddler, then to a child, then to an adult, and then finally to a senior. The Sims will also eventually die of old age (although they can die earlier by other means), but there is a way to prolong a Sims youth.

Fears and aspirations are just that. Each Sim has different fears and aspirations that must be avoided and met, respectively. If a Sim has a fear of a loved one dying, the Sim will experience difficulty for a time after that person dies. If a Sim has aspirations to get to the top of the corporate ladder, the Sim will earn aspiration points, which eventually turn into a Platinum meter. When enough points have been reached, the player can buy special items, like a Money Tree which releases bags of money every so often. Meeting a Sims fear results in their aspiration points being lowered.

Sims also have memories, which they will use to remember things throughout the course of their lives. This can deeply impact gameplay depending on how the game is played.

The last major addition is the ability to create movies using Sims. The player can capture the Sims actions, and then edit the video to make a movie of sorts. The player has the option of adding special effects, like slow motion or blur.