I guess Target started selling it on Wednesday (08/27); I already got my copy.
I haven't quite fully explored this game yet, but so far, i.m.h.o., the game dynamics are better than the last expansion, i.e.,
Free Time. (Gosh, has it been a few months already since its release?)
The latest feature allows you to play sims living in "multi-family units," with a number of sim households living in one residential lot. Note, however, that you're still playing one family/household at a time. The only difference is that there are a lot more interactions amongst the sims (both townies and your other sims).
There's the all new "Magic" aspect of the game (likely an homage to Sims 1's
Makin' Magic). Reading only from the game manual, I don't really know much about this except that there appear to be NPCs--witches and warlocks, which I haven't seen yet--in the game that your sims can consult with and from which they can learn magic spells.
Other New Features of Interest:
* New actions like Wash Face and Jump Rope
* New objects (Spiral Staircase, Vending Machine)
* Reputation - Basically gauges a sim's popularity and interpersonal appeal to other sims
* New Neighborhood - Belladonna Cove
When I first loaded my custom-made neighborhood of Davisville, I did not see any pre-made apartment buildings in the House Bin, probably because I created the neighborhood itself. So my initial reaction was, "So where are the apartments?" I ended up uprooting some from Belladonna Cove and transplanting them into Davisville.
Two things that are kind of a let-down (for me):
* The pre-made condos, townhomes, and apartment complexes pretty much stay the way they are. In other words, the Build Mode is quite limited in that you basically cannot make changes to the structure, windows or doors of the apartment.
* Objects (in Buy Mode, Career Rewards, etc.) are not allowed outside the confines of one's household. In other words, if you wanted to add an exercise machine
outside of your own sim's apartment, you wouldn't be able to do so.
Overall, it's a good expansion pack. I understand this will be the final expansion for Sims 2 before Sims 3 is released next year.
I hope they have FC uniforms or something - they look better. Those old TNG uniforms are the ugliest Trek uniforms of all.
