The Sims 2 Holiday Edition

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Holiday Edition includes the complete Sims 2 game and 40 supplemental holiday objects
• Sims now have major new features, like memories, genetics, aging, and the new aspiration/fear system
• Celebrate several different holidays in style, such lighting fireworks on July 4 or inviting Santa Claus to supper
• New movie-making feature that lets you "film" your sims in action and save the video to your computer
• Powered by an all-new three-dimensional graphics engine, graphics looks much better than the original

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BMCYB0
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: November 15, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,291 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #34 in Video Games > PC Games > Simulation > Life

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com Product Description

The Sims 2: Holiday Edition includes the complete Sims 2 game and 40 supplemental holiday objects. Like The Sims game that preceded it, which quickly grew to be on of the most popular PC games of all time, you create one or more autonomous characters (sims) with distinct personalities and needs. You then create a virtual household for your sims, deciding whether they're roommates, spouses, or parents, and you move them into a pre- or custom-built house and neighborhood. Your sims will interact with each other and other sims in their community, with children going to school while the adults head to work. The Sims 2 features an enhanced neighborhood editor that lets you import custom cities from SimCity 4 (not included), and it also includes expanded building options for building bigger houses.

This sequel features enhanced appearance editing tools that allow you to customize your sims' appearance. View larger.

The genetics function takes your ability to create a family and builds it out further. View larger.

Let your sims celebrate New Year's in style with a fantastic party. View larger.

The most significant additions in The Sims 2 are the behavioral and character enhancements made to the sims themselves. While sims still have specific personality types determined by their horoscopes and adjustable individual characteristics -- such as neatness, niceness, and playfulness -- sims now have some notable major new features, such as memories, genetics, aging, and the new aspiration/fear system. This sequel also features enhanced appearance editing tools that allow you to customize clothing, hair styles and colors, and even lets you make adjustments to facial features. The genetics function takes your ability to create a family and builds it out further, letting sims pass on genetic information to their children. When creating a family, you can now have the game randomly generate children based on their parents' appearance and personality, though you can still edit those children. You can choose to re-create a real-life couple or family to see what kind of genes get handed down from generation to generation. Or you can experiment by interjecting some DNA from an alien into the family tree, as The Sims 2 includes the ability to create aliens from outer space and even marry them off to your more outlandish sims family members.

Another adjustment to The Sims 2 is the application of the aging and aspiration/fear systems. While the aging systems consequences are fairly obvious and straightforward, the aspiration/fear system can actually help your sims stave off old age. This new system allows you to choose one of five aspirations for your sims, including building a family, earning money, seeking knowledge, experiencing romance, or being popular. These aspirations are immediately realized by four simpler goals that get displayed onscreen, as well as three basic fears. Each sim has an aspiration meter which can fill up as you complete goals, or empty out if your sims' worst fears come true. Goals can be as immediate as throwing a successful party, or as long term as eventually winning over other sims as friends or spouses. Fears can be equally straightforward or long term, such as the fear of being rejected or getting fired from work.

Just as in life, if enough fears are realized, your sims lose their aspiration and go temporarily insane, although fortunately for your sims a therapist usually shows up. During this period of insanity, your sims can become unresponsive, ignoring orders you may be giving. However, if your sims successfully complete their goals, they earn more aspiration points, causing their meter to progress from green to gold and eventually platinum. The higher your sims' aspiration meters reach, or the longer they stay in the platinum range, the longer your sims remain as "normal" young adults.

The 40 new holiday objects included in The Sims 2: Holiday Edition allow you to celebrate several holidays in style. From Halloween objects, to firecrackers, wallpaper, presents, tree decorations and more, you can let your sims celebrate New Year's or even invite Santa Claus over for supper. And there is even a new movie-making feature that lets you "film" your sims in action and save the video to your computer. The Sims 2 even looks great, powered by a powerful three-dimensional graphics engine.

Product Description

Get into the holiday spirit with The Sims 2 Holiday Edition! This special holiday release contains The Sims 2, the fastest selling PC game of 2004, where you take your Sims from cradle to grave thru life’s biggest moments. Will they strive for popularity, fortune, romance, family or knowledge? It’s up to you to mix their genes, fulfill their dreams, and push them to extremes. Also included, your Sims can celebrate the holidays with 40 new items! Decorate the house, serve a festive dinner, experience Santa’s arrival, and throw a rockin’ New Year’s Eve bash!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great game........for people who do NOT have The Sims 2 yet!, December 11, 2005

By 

D. Fox - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Sims 2 Holiday Edition (CD-ROM)

The Sims 2 Holiday EXPANSION pack (available for online download on the EA website for $15) is a great mini-expansion that is well worth the small price tag. There are many festive holiday items from Christmas trees and lights to pumpkins and costumes or a Santa outfit. It really is a must for any Sims fan.

However, this product is The Sims 2 complete game with the Holiday Expansion built in. This is NOT for anyone who already owns The Sims 2! This gift would be perfect for anyone who does NOT own this game already, since it sells for a smaller price than buying the game and expansion pack seperately.

***This is NOT an expansion pack! It would help if people reviewing this item would have mentioned that instead of giving it a poor rating!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an improvement!, March 26, 2006

By 

Kevin Cox (Amherst, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Sims 2 Holiday Edition (CD-ROM)

The first SIMS game was amazing. I thought it would be hard for Sims 2 to top it, even with the aging systems and the increased usefulness of diagonal walls. I was as wrong as I could get. The Sims 2 is a new angle on the Sims concept, taking the game to new levels. Sure, it's more or less the "basic" Sims game all over again, but look deep enough and you'll find massive improvements. Stairs can have more than one Sim on them at once, social interactions have multiplied like rabbits, and more than half of the objects have multiple colors and/or styles. The original Sims had one option for each bed, chair, etc. Some beds in Sims 2 have 7 woods and 18 sheets! That's 126 possible beds under one option. Don't like the one you chose? Need it to fit a redecorated room, but you don't want to buy a new one? No problem! The designers were smart and included a "Design" tool, which lets you change the look of any object/door/window/plant that has multiple choices for a mere 15 Simoleons. Naturally, I've barely scratched the surface, but playing through generation after generation of your Sims, seeing how their facial features you gave minute adjustments to are passed down to their children, grandchildren, and beyond... of course, with so many generations possible, your Sims won't live forever (two exceptions)... they'll eventually grow from babies to toddlers to children to teens to adults to elders... then it's off to the big luau in the sky for them. There's so much more I want to talk about, but I don't want to write a review that would fill up three screens on your computer... this special Holiday Edition also lets you summon Santa Claus/St. Nicholas to deliver presents for your Sims, as well as providing special decorations and outfits to fit Christmas and Easter themes. Have fun Simming!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A deal if you don't own Sims 2 already, January 1, 2006

By 

A. J. Young "eccentric music fan" (Stow, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sims 2 Holiday Edition (CD-ROM)

I picked up the Holiday edition because I have been waiting for Sims 2 to come down in price (Um, 50 bucks for a game is ridiculous) and saw it in the store for $35 with all the bonus items that cost those who bought the original version an extra 15 to download online. There's nothing wrong with the game and the bonus items are pretty neat, I like the Halloween decorations the most. (Huge and gaudy, but cool nonetheless) Just remember: read everything before you buy it so YOU don't rip off YOURSELF.

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