Showing posts with label stuff pack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stuff pack. Show all posts

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Game Review: The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff


The word 'stuff' in simland terms basically means, 'junk'.
For around $20, you too can have some junk; err I mean, stuff. Family fun stuff.

Now don't be fooled by the pretty promising box, this is not an expansion pack to the Sims 2. It is in fact just as the box says. Stuff.
I was not, and have not, been impressed with any of the Sims stuff add ons, since the Sims 2 came out. Just thought I'd mention that.

The installation was very fast, so that was a plus. In my opinion though, a fast installation means that your not getting a whole lot. My intuition was right.

I compiled a list of the few things you will be getting if you happen to purchase this add on. But first, lets get into the main aspect of what to expect out of Family Fun Stuff.

1. Expect new decoration themes for children. One being an under the sea theme set, in blue colors, used mostly for boys rooms, and a pink princess theme for girls rooms.

-The 2 new themes include 2 new toy boxes, all that have the same toys in them as the original default toy box.

- A few tacky wallpapers for the children's room. Sea wallpaper, and princess wallpaper.

- A princess and a sea themes wardrobe cabinet

- A sea themed and princess chair.

- 2 new lamps. One a bizarre crystal ball type of light, and the other a jellyfish light.

- A princess themed bed, and a sea themed bed.
Grand total: about 10 new furniture objects.

-This is probably the best set your getting for your money. 2 new themes, both; in my opinion are very tacky, and don't look good in the game.

But wait, you'll be getting some new clothing too. Let us clap our hands together for 4 new outfits. This was a major disappointment. All 4 of the outfits are very ugly, and in my opinion useless.

Who would want their Sims walking around with a rubber tube attached to their stomachs for the whole game, and a snorkel on their face? Not me. (only available for children)

2 pairs of pajamas, again only for children. They are too big looking on the kids, they make them look fat and stupid. Not only that, but the slippers are bear feet, with claws. They also look just as ridiculous as the baggy over sized pajamas.
The last outfit is a Tinkerbell fairy type of costume for little girls. It is pathetic looking. Why anyone would choose for their Sim child to walk around in this outfit is beyond me. Maxis also had to go the extra mile, and make the costume even more ridiculous looking by adding wings, and a wand.

You will also get about 5 or 6 new paintings and wall decorations, a few new tacky colored rugs, and a sculpture or two. None that stand out in my mind, even worthy enough to write of.

With The Sims 2 Family Fun stuff you don't really get much else. There are no new Sim actions like one would expect. There are no new outdoor decorations, no new plants, no new objects in build mode. Zilch, zero, nada! Maxis should have named this one, The Sims 2 Princess And The Sea Stuff. That's all you're really getting anyways. 99% of the new objects are only for children.

When I first bought the CD I was expecting to see some new varieties of food, a closet filled with new clothing, maybe some cute plants, and outdoor items. A kite would of been nice for the kids.

I know Maxis hears Sims fans wants, but they seem to only be releasing repeats of the Sims 1, and cruddy over priced add ons. I'm still waiting for my rated-r add on request to come to life. Sigh.

This was the first release of the Sims 2 Stuff. There are 2 more Sims 2 Stuff Cd's. The Sims 2 Holiday Stuff, and Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff. All of them can be bought at the official Sims site. www.maxis.com or www.thesims2.com from $15 to $20. I know you can even download Family Fun Stuff add ons right from the site for a fee. This makes things a lot easier than trying to track down the newest add ons at local game stores, or walmart.

TO SUM IT UP

Overall, in my opinion, it's Maxis' way of making a few million more dollars, by selling Sims fans a few useless tacky objects.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff Pack


Holiday, Celebrate!

Okay Maxis, you claim that The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff will grant me access into throwing the most elegant swanky par-tay! Whether that party is a wedding party, birthday party, or outdoor party I will have all the tools and décor to be the most popular Sim party house on the block.

Hmm, I’m doubtful Maxis, I really am! You really lost my trust this winter with the holiday pack. Hmph!

So what’s in this new pack? Why do I keep buying them? I have burned by this company before on stuff packs, yet keep on keeping on, and buying them all.
Is it because I enjoy being ripped off? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just that I’m expecting something, that even though I know won’t be there, might be. So as a Sims fan, I can’t miss out. Yeah, that’s why.

Anyways I installed the game quite simply. Stick the disc in my computer wait for the installation screen, type in the key code that can be found inside of the box on the back of the manual. Wait about 4 or 5 minutes and tada, I’m ready to roll.

I was excited to perhaps see some new things. I figured that Maxis may have listened to fans this time around, and realized that they have really been jacking us with their crummy stuff packs.

Now keep in mind, ‘stuff’ packs offer nothing new to the Sims 2 game play. It’s just stuff, hence the name.

What did I find in The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff?

Clothes-

Um, where?

Oh yeah right there. Yay for me! I got 2 new dresses. They’re more like gowns though. Ugly ones, they actually look more like a clothing mesh missing the pattern? What gives!?

What about the fellas?
Yep they get some new clothes too, New suits with a little carnation flower on it.

But but but… they look the same! The mesh used to create these new suits are the same meshes used to create all of the other suits from ‘Glamour Life Stuff’ only these suits have a flower!? Hmph!

Furniture-

Oh-wee, would you look at that, some new party furniture! A lawn table, lawn chairs, some new plants, some ridiculous looking balloon arches, hmmm what else?

Oh, a round table with some matching chairs. That’s kind of nice. Okay, I like that at least.

What else!?

Man it’s hard to find! There’s so little to work with here. Oh there it is a new bar. Awe an umbrella! Gez, I have been waiting for one of these, oh wait, I already downloaded that on a fan site. Sigh.
This umbrella is ugly though. It looks cheap, and my Sims prefer the most luxurious things.

What else have I found?

More balloons, same as the balloons that came with the original game, only re-colored and some new helium balloons. Yay, they still pop and make a mess. Eh hemm, “MAID”.

I also got a rug that looks like shredded newspaper too. It is meant to be a wedding walkway runner. Looks like shredded doggie newspaper to me though. Oh well.

Hmm what’s that bulky thing with a pig drawn on the outside? A new grill for outside of course with same function as any other grill, just more bulky and box shaped.

Wall Decorations:

A pointless addition to the stuffs pack. Or any pack for that matter.
Like I have said so many times before, it is virtually impossible to play the Sims with the walls up. Therefore wall decorations are useless seeing how they disappear when you have the walls down. They only count towards ‘environment points’

Wall decorations that come with this new stuff packs include wedding theme garland, birthday theme garland, and some lantern lights.

Lights-

You can now add some tea lights to tables and counter tops. They’re so ridiculously small however don’t expect there to be a romantic glow added to the room you have placed them. They give off barely any light, and they’re practically invisible. You have to do a really close zoom in to see them in all their glory.

There are also some new hanging party lights. They can be compared to those round tracing paper party balls people hang from ceilings. They’re round like globes, and I must say are a nice addition.

Paintings-

You can find a few new paintings hanging around in the paintings category. Nothing really sticks out in my mind as being fabulous; as a matter of fact this is always the last category I check for new items.

Cakes-

There are a few new cakes in the party category. One cake in particular is designed for a wedding. It’s a tiered cake, only without the tiers. The thing looks plastic. All of the new cakes look plastic for that matter.
Now that I think of it, almost all of the new items look like shiny plastic.

Carpeting-

None of the carpets that come with the celebration pack are pleasing to the eye. They’re all very tacky, but do stick with the ‘celebration’ theme. All of them look like confetti was thrown on them. I personally don’t like them, seeing how I don’t intend on making my entire home a full-blown party theme house.

I was hoping to see some new bushes and trees with this pack. I’m so sick of using the same rose bushes on my lawns. Grrr!

WHAT’S GOOD?

Anyways, I could go on and on about what will disappoint you in The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff. I figured it will be easier to mention what you ‘will like’ in the new pack.

You will enjoy some new decoration for the home. There are some floral arrangements that are really nice, and will blend well with everything else you may already have in your home; all of them have many color choices as well.

There are also a few new lights, which you may enjoy; the lack of different lighting was a bummer in the game so I was glad to see some new additions in the lighting category.

There is also a table and new matching chair which I mentioned earlier that is very nice looking. It will look nice either inside or on an outside deck or patio.

This pack also comes with some new ground covers. You can make your lawn look as if it has little flowers growing in the grass. Some of flower colors you can expect to see are pink, white, orange and more.

I know, not much to work with. But if you’re a Sims fan, you too will find yourself purchasing this addition, and feeling ripped off when you see how little it has to offer.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Maxis perhaps would be a little more realistic with their pricing. $20 is far too much money for what is being given to the purchaser; now $10 would be more reasonable, and less Sims fans would find themselves feeling angry and ripped off for buying it.

Now I’m going to share some awesome information here for all you Sim 2 fans out there. Sick of Sim 2 pay sites charging you $20 a month for access to their downloads? Visit http://paysites.mustbedestroyed.org/ Whether or not you believe in file sharing (I prefer to keep my personal feelings about this site to myself) or not is up to you, I’m just passing along the info. Enjoy.

*Rated Teen* Like all Sim 2 games and their expansions. The Sims will do the dirty dirty (no visuals of course), so you may want to avoid giving this and any Sim game to children.


System Requirements, taken from the box:
-OS: Windows Vista, XP, Me, 2000, or 98
-Installed: The Sims 2 for Windows
-CPU: 1.0 GHz or faster
-RAM: 256 MB or more
-Disc Drive: 8x or faster CD/DVD drive
-Hard Drive: At least 350 MB of free space
-Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible
-Video: DirectX 9.0 compatible Video card must have 32 MB or more memory and one of these T&L capable chipsets:
ATI Radeon 8500 or greater; NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS or greater.