Customer Reviews

The Sims Vacation Expansion Pack

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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!

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.

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.

Take a vacation!

This is another GREAT expansion pack to add to your Sims collection! I have every single expansion, and I LOVE them all.. call me your neighborhood Sims addict. :D

In this expansion, you get the ability to take your Sims to a vacation resort. This varies from a snowy mountain, to a serene cabin in the woods, to a beachfront paradise. Everything an over-worked, underpaid Sim could dream of!

ALso included are DOZENS of cool new items that your Sims can play with while on vacation. The boardwalk at the beach includes several games your Sims can play to earn tokens. With those tokens, they can get all sorts of Sim junk! And another new addition is a shelf your Sims can put their junk on when they get home so they can always remember their special trip to the beach.

The more frigid Sims can enjoy snowboarding or have a good old-fashioned snowball showdown. For those Sims who want to relax, there are new hot tubs to play with as well. Also, your Sims can rent metal detectors and search for buried treasure.. who knows what the other Sims might have dropped in the snow during their mad rush to the buffet!

If your Sim prefers roughing it, they can pitch a tent in the mountains and spend all day fishing. When they're done fishing, they can sit around a campfire and enjoy the fresh mountain air.. then sleep in a state of the art Sim tent. Talk about heaven! ;)

This expansion pack is a blast and you won't regret getting it. Buy it for your poor Sims, they want a VACATION!

This shining little bauble of an expansion pack rather quickly loses its luster. The idea of sending your sims on vacation is a great one, and some of the new activities (e.g., building snowmen, having snowball fights, snowboarding on the half pipe) are fun-at first, but the whole thing gets a little boring after a while. What really ruins the game play is the fact that your invited guests have no idea of how to have a good time, and you have no control over them at all. As others have said, they don't even have sense enough to make use of restrooms and shower stalls. Basically, in such a scenario, your sim is left wandering around trying to find anyone who will do anything with him/her. Playing volleyball by yourself is not my idea of an ideal vacation. Much of the time, your chosen vacation spot is all but deserted, leaving you high and dry indeed. A family vacation is much more enjoyable because you at least have some control over all of the vacationing sims' activities and interactions. Even then, though, the fun is limited and the experience rather monotonous.

This expansion pack is certainly worth buying if you are a Sims addict, but I wouldn't call it an essential component of the Sims experience. It also does slow the game down, although I don't see too much difference between Vacation and Hot Date in this regard. You and your sims can definitely have a little fun on vacation, but I doubt you will be anxious to rush off every weekend to get away from it all.

Aaah, finally, your Sims can get away from money problems, affairs, and fireplaces that often rage out of control. In The Sims Vacation, your Sims can head over to Vacation Island, where they can choose between heading over to a beach, forest, or snowy mountains. Once there, they are met by Kana, the ugly Vacation Director and have a variety of activities to choose from, such as volleyball, carnival games, snowboarding, snowball fights, archery, and fishing. Sims can send postcards to their friends and buy appropriate clothes for their vacation. They also can spend a night or two on Vacation Island.

Sim kids get more interactions than they did in Hot Date. They can perform a handstand for strangers or choose the "Hug Friendly" option with their parents.

Sims are entertained by the carnival games, especially "Whack-a-Wil". The more games your Sims play, the more tickets they earn. They can exchange these tickets for souvenirs, like a Coconut Monkey or a Stuffed Penguin. Once your Sims return home, they can place these souvenirs on a shelf. If they care to remember their vacations, they can choose the "Remember" option, where they will study the souvenir and reminscience.

The good thing about going on a vacation is that your Sim family's relationships with each other won't suffer, even if your family members ignore each other during the whole vacation.

I own Windows ME and have played Vacation for about 2 months and it hasn't given me any problems so far. If you own Hot Date, Vacation might not seem as novel as it would to someone who doesn't own Hot Date. Your Sims basically go to a "Downtown" that's a vacation spot instead. Nevertheless, Vacation is a good expansion pack, giving you plenty of new objects to experiment with.

Let me tell you this! This expansion is by far the best out of them all! I just got it today and I'm lovin' it! First off there aren't so many new items in the house, but the ones they have added are great! Some of them include a new hot tub, patio loungers and suvinior holders. To get to Vacation island you call a cab and it takes you to a map like on Hot Date, there are 3 areas for each of the following; snow, forrest and beach!
I liked the beach the most cause first off there's a great arcade centre where you can win tokens which you can exchange for prizes, there's a sand building kit which they love, a metal detector (mine have only found a boot and 14 simoleons), a cool pool slide, play volley ball, and so much more! The forrest was alot of fun too. You can rent a tent or play archery, have a water balloon fight and fish, and so much more! The snow scene is fun too, there is snowboarding, a snow slide, also an arcade, snowman kit and snowball fights.I'm so happy that they have finally made it possible for kids to interact more. They can play rough house, rock,paper,scisors, they can hug their parents and their parents can scold them if they are a pain! There is so much too do! The kids can also finally buy clothes and there is a whole new winter wardrobe as well! The director is also very helpfull with anything you might need and the cute kid entertainers are just waiting for a hug! It does work really slowely at times and I don't think the fast forward thing works on holiday but other then that it's the greatest!

Bored with your daily activities around the house? Give your character a little rest on vacation and have yourself enjoy the new features in Vacation Expansion Pack.

Call a travel agent and get off your house for a camp, skiing in a ski resort, shopping in malls, or go to the beach. Every place has accomodation so you can stay overnight there. Different places have different activities for you to enjoy your vacation. You can do BBQ on a camp site, shopping in malls, 'treasure hunt' on the beach, or make a snowman and play 'ski' on the ski resort.

Don't worry about being absent from your work. The time stops while you're on vacation! :D

"The Sims Hot Date allowed you to take an individual Sim out of the house and on a downtown rendezvous," said Tim LeTourneau, Producer at EA's Maxis™ studio. "With The Sims Vacation, you can take your whole Sim household to a fabulous island for a Sims-style holiday."
Your sims are tired, they have been partying with The Sims House Party, and have been out dating with The Sims Hot Date. They need a vacation!! This new expansion allows you to do just that, take your WHOLE FAMILY to a tropical island vacation. That is right the VERY TALLENTED programers at EA Games have made it possible to bring the whole family to a place out of the home. You can go shopping for suviners, you can have the staff assist your every need, anything is possible. This is the 5th expansion for the sims, and is the most advanced. Expect many more exciting expansions for The Sims.
Also if you like The Sims try Sim Golf. It is the same addictive gameplay on The Sims on a golf course. See my review on Sim Golf for more info.

I see that a lot of other people have left reviews that tell of the features of the game, not what they actually think. This is an ok expansion pack, but really doesn't add anything particularly special to the game. Sure you can go on vacation, but there isn't that much to do while on vacation, I think it gets rather boring. You can even bring a friend on vacation, but can't control them so the friend just gets cranky.
If you are choosing between this and another expansion pack, don't pick this one!! I chose it over hotdate and wish I hadn't bothered to get it at all! WASTE OF MONEY!!