Expansion Pack Retrospective

Which pack had the most influence on the gameplay and series as a whole?

Each Pack brought new gameplay, new ways to play the games and new experience for all players. My own Sims story begins in the middle of these expansions being released and so I will also be discussing their influence on my own gaming experience as well as what they added to the series and their influence on the series. Please remember this will be my opinion on their series influence and then my own gaming experience, if you have a different opinion that is great but I implore you to be respectful when sharing it.

Influence on the Sims Series

8th Place: Free Time 2008 

Free Time came with new sims, a new town and a big focus on hobbies. Despite hobbies being a fantastic addition, the Hobby System was somewhat incorporated into traits and skills, but mostly dropped in Sims 3 and 4. Both games had a lot of the features of sport and instruments but unless a trait specific or want/whim specific to it occurs, then that sim has no specific link to a certain hobby unless the players chooses to create it, putting Free Time sadly into last place.

7th Place: Pets 2006

This pack added in the fury friends into the game. Whilst yes you might be thinking but Sims 3 and Sim 4 added in pets using the same idea of expansion pack and you are right. But where Sims 3 did it better with expanded pets and gameplay for them, Sims 4 just added in Cats and Dog, meaning the influence started in Sims 1, that grew in Sim2 and subsequently Sims 3 with regards to Pets was dropped at Sims 4 (this may be an ongoing theme I suspect).

6th Place: Seasons 2007

Originally meant to be in the Sims 2 Base game, weather was an added feature in the Sims 2 and became an expansion from then on, whether due to need or greed, a pack just about weather has been popular, but when all is said and done it is just weather...

Yes additional deaths and what not were added in, but the Sims 2 at least gave us a great town and the first proper/true Plantsim in their version of weather expansions. So yes weather is a key element and has had a relatively mediocre influence on the series in that it always returns.

NOTE: I must praise the Sims 4 Calendar and Holiday system, it was a real refresh to a rather stale pack and concept by that point in the series.

5th Place: Open for Business 2006

Often heralded as the best expansion pack, looking at it for it's influence on the Sims series as a whole it falls in the middle of the pack. I think the simple answer to 'Why?' is because the Sims 2 did business owning the best and it never really got past this system. Yes Business owning came in Sims 3 and Sims 4, it has never surpassed Sims 2's system for business ownership. Additionally I must just mention the potential link between talent badges in the Sims 2 and the new skill system in Sims 3. Skills in Sims 2 were a little restricting and in the Sims 3 activities got their own Skill tree, which continues to this day in the Sims 4 with dozens of skill trees in existence.

4th Place: Bon Voyage 2007

Last one to not make it onto the podium is Bon Voyage. Vacations were introduced with the Sims 1 and continued to grow throughout the series. Both Sims 3 an then Sims 4 introduced numerous holiday destinations and worlds to 'vacation' within. I think as the series grew into one more based on socialising and 'showing off your experiences' (sadly something society has become) so did the need for Vacationing.

3rd Place: Apartment Life 2008

Bronze award goes to Apartment Life. Of course it is pretty clear what influence this had on the game, apartments. Apartments have been adored by the Sims community since they were introduced with this expansion. Sims 3 and Sims 4 have both taken them to differing places but kept the premise of apartments the same.

Another feature that came here was Witches. Witches like all occults got developed and deepened in subsequent Sims 3 and Sim 4 games, but here is where the life states initially flourished. Though it began in Sims Makin Magic, Witches were not defined nor did they have a proper life state of their own. In apartment life they were fleshed out with spells and charms etc.

Social class is one of the things I wish the Sims 2 had implemented well. I actually think because it felt non-existent that it was never properly introduced again into the series outside of the Sims 3 Neighbourhood view telling you about a sims wealth status and whether they were rich or poor and the interaction that came related to that (albeit they were few and far between).

The last thing this pack introduced was Reputation, this is in short how your playable sim is perceived by the other sims they interact with, i.e. good or bad. In the Sims 2 this lead to a huge variety of outcomes from cheaper rent, promotions, new friends, dates and much much more. Having a good or bad reputation really has huge impacts on your sims. But we are thinking of the impact on the series. This reputation led to the gossip that Sims 3 have when finding out someone cheated, and probably had some influence on traits such as good, evil, commitment issues and many more I presume.

2nd Place: Nightlife 2005

In a very close second comes the socialising and romance focussed pack, Nightlife.

Nightlife completely changed the social and romantic scene in the sims. Before Nightlife, Hot Date had focussed on romance, and House Party focused on partying. Now in Sims 2 Nightlife combined both of these expansions from the Sims 1, and took them further.

Downtown is of course a key to Nightlife with new places to go and meet people, new places to party, dance, drink and date. But in terms of game mechanic so much more was introduced with Nightlife. Other than the inevitable new clothes, hairs and items, cars were introduced here. This pack was the first time the series saw Vampire, which became a main stay staple life state/occult in the series from then on. When vampires appeared in the Sims 3 and then the Sims 4 they were expanded upon each time to make them even more enjoyable and still to this day remain one of most simmer's favourite occults.

With Vampires came the NPC Grand Vampires who can turn your sims, but other NPCs saw the return of the infamous Mrs. Crumplebottom (albeit she is a different woman to the last Miss Crumplebottom), Chef's returned here for the diners and restaurants this pack introduced, as did the DJ for all the parties you would be having in the nightclubs in Downtown. With an emphasis on dates, the Gypsy Matchmaker came into the game to allow you to find blind dates and romances at the end of a phone call or visit of her to your lot.

All of this fun around dating and socialising still exists (less deep but still the premise is there) in the series to date and has become the main point of the game since the days of the Sims 2's playful and somewhat family focus of the game.

I cannot end Nightlife without mentioning that Chemistry systems and Fury came into the game with Nightlife. Chemistry gave us turn ons and turn offs, which somewhat continued to exist in Sims 3 and Sims 4, Fury has some tenuous links to the moodlets and then emotions of Sims 3 and Sims 4. Oh and Grilled Cheese Aspirations.

1st Place: University 2005

I think it is hard to not see the influence that Sims 2 University had on the series. Firstly it had no predecessor like many of the packs before it did in the Sims 1 and so was a novel idea you could debate. As the first expansion it gave us a whole new life stage with Young Adult, which from this point on in the series was a completely new added in Life Age from here on out!

But there is more...

Universities expanded in Sims 3 because of this pack's success and how integral it was to the game. Sims 3 expanded the University options but also saw this pack's influence (sort of) on schooling with Sims 3 Generation Boarding Schools being seen as a 'prequel' to university study for the younger sims. Sims 4 also added in a University system that you could argue is greater than the Sims 2. Whilst the hood, sims, and overall addition in Discover University for the Sims 4 was not great (a running trend for the Sims 4), the University/Study gameplay is actually arguable the best in the series to date. Note that Sims 3 and Sims 2 still had better University packs than the Sims 4 overall.

Sims 2 University gave us the Influence system, which was not really seen again, whilst influence can be useful at times, it did open a realm of social interaction as well as the addition of secret societies, more social interactions from 'Hang out' to streaking. This pack brought new instruments, encouraged new friendships and relationships and gave use mobile phones and mp3 players. All of these became a staple in the series going forward. Even though these were never introduced like they were here, they all became a key element of base game, being included in Sims 3 and 4 base game as a MUST HAVE, but also Sims 3 traits even implied some of these features with Virtuoso wanting to do the new musical instrument skills, even down to the social aspect with Sims 4 have a much more social feel to it.

Lastly this pack as the first Sims 2 Expansion pack also brought new music, new objects, and new clothing themes setting the premise for what all future packs should bring. Sims 4 thinks only adding these bits in, now warrants an expansion pack, back in my Sims 2 days they were the additional perks that were added into an expansion pack as an extra bonus on top of amazing gameplay!

Influence on my own gameplay

Whilst the influence on the series is rather generic, but the influence on my gameplay is very specific to me and below you can see which expansion packs are the most important to my gameplay and therefore see which is my favourite technically.

This was actually rather easy for me, the packs in 7th and 8th place are my least favourite and often mostly feel useless for me, whilst 4th, 5th and 6th all add things I don't mind playing with but couldn't have them all the time. Also 5th and 6th was very close for me! Lastly 1st, 2nd, and 3rd all add key elements to my gameplay and my Sims 2 game cannot be played without!

8th Place: Bon Voyage 2007

This is the pack I play and use the least. Many of the outfits and even the replacements I have are rather niche in where they get used and despite my sims pining for a beach vacation I rarely send them because it is too much faff and it isn't enjoyable gameplay. So this pack is sadly completely unused for me...

7th Place: Pets 2006

Whilst I enjoy the concept of my sims having pets, I actually never really play with them. If my sims want them they can only have them if there spare pets in town. Even when they are in the household, they feel more like a burden, having to feed them and with dogs, bath them. I never choose to teach them any behaviours I spawn the learned behaviours objects and max them all because they are such as chore to train!

6th Place: Open for Business 2006

I have had a rather love-hate relationship with this pack. Sometimes I really enjoy businesses and other times they feel far too much effort for the few simoleons you make. The way I found to make them consistently fun was to give all business owners Gold Sales badges so they can 'Dazzle' customers to make sales. You might think this is 'cheat-y' but in my opinion if the customer has walked into the shop, is viewing a specific item for a while, they basically want to buy it so it is not cheating to forcibly sell it to them. Businesses could be for all sims, I would get bored too quickly, but those few sims it works for I am happy to have every few households, placing this expansion pack here.

5th Place: Apartment Life 2008

Apartments are a great way to get rid of random sims that feel like they still live at home but shouldn't, such as siblings to married couple who are starting families, think Sharon Mole or Kent Capp. Plus this game added witches, which I do enjoy, but moreover, the addition of social class or even the idea of it has made this pack fall around the midpoint for me.

4th Place: Nightlife 2005

Three things make this pack great in my eyes. Chemistry, Fury, and Social/Romance activities are all great aspects to the game. This pack for my gameplay bridges the previous packs that had some quirky features I liked, to the final three packs which are all staple and constant requirements in my gameplay. Whilst I love the chemistry system, I actually have a couple of mods to make it more realistic for me and less about star signs. In the UK Zodiac/Star signs do not mean nearly as much as they do to the US; most brits probably on average end up in a conversation about their star signs once or twice a year, and I wanted my chemistry system to reflect not needing a Star sign system. Fury is great for gameplay and game stories ideas. Social and Romantic activities such as outings and dates are fun additions and exciting when they crop up by chance in my games but I don't use them all that often on purpose.

3rd Place: Seasons 2007

Weather and seasons are key to my gameplay. I enjoy following the weather in real life (Can you tell I am British haha!) plus seasons are how I manage time and rounds within my game so it is key to my gameplay. Gardening in the sims is great too which came with this pack. Including this position and onwards, my game would feel lost without these packs...

2nd Place: University 2005

A lot of my sims end up going to university, it is a big aspect of not only the university/young adult sims, but has major connotations for my teen sims who may work towards university and true adults who (thanks to multiple mods) need their degrees for jobs and promotions etc.

May sound small but College Rock is also my favourite radio station which I always put on eventually during every day's playing I tend to do. 

1st Place: Free Time 2008

Do I need to say much more other than Hobbies. Ironically as a child/teen playing the sims I did not own this pack because I thought who wants to fill their time with hobbies? I wanted my sims to make babies and earn money. When I came back to playing the Sims 2 a few years ago and got Free Time, I was hooked on the hobby system and created my own system which is blogged about if you wan to go and read it. Additionally I was also hooked with how much fun following their hobbies was, when a sim feels stale or their needs and wants are sorted and they are in that 'boring phase', I can get them onto their hobby and see where it takes them.

I have a feeling my love for hobbies also stems from the fact they were lost with the trait system in Sims 3 unless there was a specific trait for that hobby; even though you don't need a trait which implies you are good at a hobby to actually enjoy it. Sims that enjoy mechanical stuff don't have to have the handy trait i.e. be good at mechanics to enjoy it. Should all music hobby sims have the virtuoso trait, I know many people who love to sing but can not do it in tune! Haha!

Then Sims 4 slimmed down the trait system and removed many useful deep and meaningful aspects to the game and the hobby system had been entirely lost, you now had to decide "this sim loves the piano". I am aware it has returned and have even played the Sims 4's version. In the Sims 2 the sim decided themselves whether they were a pianist and I adore this!

I would love to hear your opinion on this. Do you feel any of these packs are in very different places in your own gameplay style?

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