The Sims Vacation Expansion Pack

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Welcome to Vacation Island -- a fully-customizable island resort with a wide range of activities! Use these activities to make this a memorable vacation for you and your Sims!
• Hit the beach for a volleyball game, go fishing, have a snowball fight and more -- fun for Sims of all ages
• While you're building sandcastles and snowmen, your interactions will decide what happens next, and how well the trip goes
• You've also got to watch out for pickpockets, crazy kids, and other sudden surprises that can ruin a vacation
• Bring home the ultimate in vacation souvenirs -- from a stuffed penguin to a crystal skull -- to make this a vacation you'll never forget!

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005V3TH
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: March 26, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (270 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,705 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Being a Sim must be pretty nice. Through the magic of expansion packs, the little virtual people have been given party favors (House Party), magic genies (Livin' Large), and hot dates (um... Hot Date). With all these creature comforts, what more could a Sim want? Well, how about a family vacation to a luxury fantasy resort? Vacation Island is an idyllic place that has sun, fun, and beaches on one side of the island, snow and skiing on the other, and, in the middle, a forest perfect for camping. A trip to Vacation Island is the perfect reward for your hard-working Sims, and a fun diversion for you--like all Sims expansions, Vacation is full of quirky Sims-style humor, and not everything on Vacation Island is good for your Sims.

A trip to Vacation Island isn't cheap; you have to pay for travel and accommodations for the entire family, as well as entertainment. And just like a real vacation, you can run out of money fast. Thankfully, while on vacation your Sims' needs are slowed down significantly. They're having fun, and you don't have to micromanage them nearly as much as you do at home. This allows you to sit back more and just observe your Sims playing with the often-funny new stuff. Stuff like a boardwalk Whack-a-Will (named for Sims creator Will Wright) game, a guy dressed as a shark who tries to terrorize the tourists, and new activities such as camping, building snowmen, playing volleyball, snuggling on a bear skin rug (or picnic blanket), and hitting the ski courses and snowboard half-pipe. When it's time to go home, your Sims can take a few reminders of the trip, both beneficial (souvenirs that increase happiness) and detrimental (a common tropical illness). Hint: Fans who remember the Brady Bunch Hawaiian vacation episode would do well to learn from Greg Brady's mistake. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

• Over 77 new items and things to do
• Truly expands the game

Cons:

• It's probably time for a full-blown sequel

Product Description

Note: This is an expansion pack for The Sims - You must have The Sims to use this program The Sims: Vacation is a great new expansion that takes you on a fun vacation Sims style!

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Expansion Pack Yet!, April 4, 2002

By 

FictionAddiction.NET - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sims Vacation Expansion Pack (CD-ROM)

I sound like a broken record but The Sims: Vacation is absolutely the best expansion pack Maxis has produced yet.

I've made four pages of notes so let's get started with the new objects available in Buy Mode:

* New Pool Chairs and patio table
* "Critter Creek" Lounger (for the lodge)
* Beach bench and picnic table (table looks like it's been carved with those "I love so-and-so" and "Joe was here" type of messages)
* Sew Doe Sofa
* The NoTell Motel Bed (lime green comforter with yellow headboard)
* Lodge-Type Bed with logs (very cool!)
* Souvenir Storage System
* Curio Cabinet
* Wall Cabinet
* Tree Trunk Coffee Table (extremely neat!)
* Polar Bear Rug
* Floral Fencing
* Rock Fence
* New Clock Post
* Sim Mars Video Game
* ST2 - Barky's Revenge Video Game
* Blue Barbecue Grill
* New Buffet Table
* Shower Tub Aqua-Fluvium
* Redwood Hot Tub
* Octane Drain Camp Lantern
* Midnight Bison Table Lamp
* Volleyball Court
* Pool Slide
* New Mirrors
* Water Lilies, Cattails, Tumbleweed and other plants
* New Trees
* Moderne Decko Arch
* Deluxe Awning
* New Staircases
* New Fireplaces (Stone-looking, very fancy)
* New Windows (All Kinds)
* New Doors
* New Floors and Walls

There are also new objects only available on Vacation Island:

* Frost Fortress for Snowball Fights
* Water Balloon Fortress
* Alpine Snow Slide (The Sims love this!)
* Igloo You Can Rent for the Night
* Dart Game With Balloons
* Archery
* Strength O'Meter
* Chicken Toss Game
* Bust-A-Clown (Water Game where Sims shoot water into a clown's mouth to make his head explode)
* Whack-a-Will
* Carnival Prize Booth to Redeem the Tokens You Win at Games for Prizes
* Super Pipe for Snowboarding (The Sims love this too!)
* Eco-Dependency Recliner (The description says two Sims sit in these side-by-side chairs and one's mood rubs off on the other)

There's also a clothing rack just for kids so now your Sim kids can buy bathing suits, pajamas, etc. like the adults do in downtown. Also, kids and adults can purchase Winterwear so they won't be cold in the mountains.

The Vacation Director also tells you that if you go to the pool, for example, in your winterwear or if you go to the colder climates in your swimsuit that you will be "VERY uncomfortable."

If you want to be completely surprised by Vacation, you probably don't want to read the rest of this review. Spoiler Alert!

When your Sims are ready to redeem their tokens for prizes, they can choose from a wooden squirrel, lava idol, stuffed penguin, coconut monkey, quartz skull, stuffed guinea pig, chicken cookie jar or a baby doll. Each one requires a certain amount of tokens that you have to win by playing the various games on Vacation Island.

When you go to lots that have ducks on the water, the ducks actually move and quack.

Depending on what lot you're on (such as snow or beach), the rental shack has different functions. For instance, you can't rent a sandcastle kit when you're staying on a lot that has snow. Here are the various things you can rent: picnic basket, metal detector, bow and arrow, fishing pole, tent (for the night), igloo (for the night), snowman kit, sandcastle kit and a bow and arrow for archery.

The Sims love to fish. So far, I've seen them catch some sort of pond grass goo, fish (they throw them back) and a boot.

One of my Sims used a metal detector. He found money, an arrowhead and also a boot. He even brought the boot home and put it right on the kitchen table!

Your Sims can "play" in both the tents and igloos.

There are also new kid interactions. What I've discovered so far is rough house (the two Sims look like they're throwing play punches), kids can do a handstand, crazy dance and play, rock, paper, scissors. These are just the ones I've seen so far but Maxis said there are tons of new kid interactions.

The manual also states to look out for the "flying hug." My Sims haven't done that yet but it's worth mentioning.

Also, and this is so cute, when my Sim adult and her son were making a snowman, they got all three pieces of the snowman put together (his body). Then the boy jumped into his mother's arms and she held him close to the snowman's face so he could put on the snowman's eyes, mouth, nose, scarf and hat.

Another thing I've noticed is that when your Sims build a snowman, they have different hats. Some Sims will put a baseball cap on the snowman, others might put a straw hat. I've seen three different hats so far.

I haven't had any bugs or other problems. It takes a bit longer to load with all of the previous expansion packs installed. I have 128 megs of RAM and don't have any issues with the game running slowly. I have heard of others who have a lot more memory who also say it takes a while for the game to load.

But it's nothing serious and it definitely isn't worth passing up this expansion pack for if you really want it.

I hope this info helps!

142 of 163 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sims Vacation, February 18, 2002

By 

"maddymoocow" (Leeds, UK.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sims Vacation Expansion Pack (CD-ROM)

This is the 4th expansion on the original sims game released in May 2002, Vacation will introduce being able to take the whole household to `Vacation island' (A fully customisable island with various lots) The island has three sections Woodland camping, Snowy mountain and Beach all of which have objects and accessories themed to match. Whilst there your sims can enjoy the sun soaked beaches and fluffy snow but pressures such as money and deteriorating friendships put a strain on time spent there (although short term help is available like postcards for friends and slot machines for money) There are various souvenirs to be found, bought and won and an entertaining posse of characters including the pickpocket, hotel staff and kiddies entertainers. New objects include the arcade games, souvenir cabinet, snowboard half pipe, crazy golf, pool slide, skating rink, fishing pier, igloos and tents. In fact there is over 140 new objects to make amazing resorts from. You design the island and build up hotels, log huts, woods you name it! And you create the fun when you control the holiday! Its runs a bit slower but overall this game looks really cool and is sure to re-addict any bored sims user, and there are no found bugs yet. Whether the sims has been milked enough is yet to be seen.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice!, April 8, 2002

By 

Allie Kat "sarahphin" (Nunavut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sims Vacation Expansion Pack (CD-ROM)

This expansion pack again takes the Sims beyond their neighborhoods, adding another dimension to the game. A Vacation Island provides three beach lots, three wooded, and three snow-covered, with your choice of luxury resorts, or down and dirty camp sites. The pack provides some new non-player characters, and some fellow tourists for interaction. Personally, I hate kids, but this expansion does jazz up the interactions that the Sims can have with their kids, making them more interesting and a tad less irritating, if you insist on having them. There are many new objects, a lot of them for entertainment on your vacation lots, but there are many which can be used in your Sims' homes, and I felt that the new objects were worth the price of the pack. Time doesn't pass in the Sim home while they're on vacation, so they don't lose jobs while they're away. There's oodles of new discoveries, for example, renting a metal detector, which lets you find wonderful things like treasure chests and old boots, which the Sims bring home and display. The Sims are very fond of their souvenirs, one of mine enthralled her friends for hours with an old boot!

When a family goes on vacation, unlike Downtown, all members are controllable. This is good. However, if a Sim invites a non-family Sim on vacation, the guest is not controllable. Unfortunately, the guests are too stupid to take showers or use the bathroom and since you can't tell them to, they become miserable. This is bad. Also comical. They'll pee themselves and then hop into bed with their host. So far this is the only gripe that I have. I do have to say I'm not enchanted with the characters who were put in to entertain the kids, although the upside there is that occasionally the kids kick them in the shins.

I had no trouble either installing or running this pack, but you'd be well-advised to heed the installation guide and close any open programs, and do a scan disk and defrag before installing, this game is very demanding of your computer. But whereas the last Sims expansion pack, Hot Date, seemed to make interactions cumbersome and unbalanced at times, this one is lithe and pleasant to play, and I'm loving it.