The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack Reviews

• A Sims Fan's Must Have

  
  By A26G35WR7QCFR2 on 2007-03-14
  Amazon priced this item just shy of the $25 mark to entice us cheapos to add another item and get free shipping. That is a good marketing strategy since this Seasons expansion is such a worthwhile title.
  
  That said, The Sims 2: Seasons is what I would call a legitimate expansion pack for The Sims series. Unlike the Stuff Packs or some other expansion packs, Seasons really rounds out the series in my opinion.
  
  Being a cheapo, I like spending $15 on a DVD that is 123 minutes as opposed to 93 - I feel I am getting my money's worth. Also, I like spending $25 for a Sims expansion pack where new career paths (and rewards) are added, lots of new items are included, and game concepts are added or upgraded.
  
  The Sims 2 Seasons is legitimate in my opinion because it does just that: gives 6 more career paths (Adventure, Games, Law, Education, Music, and Journalism); new clothes (for each season, all ages) and items (like the Country decor theme); and new interactions, aspirations, and rewards.
  
  Besides all the busy micromanagement that so many of us Simmers love, I mentioned that Seasons rounded out the series. What I meant was that now you don't have to focus so much on the careers just to make money. Nightlife and Open for Business are much like Seasons in that regard - you can make money by being a DJ, bartender, lemonade salesman, or garage saler.
  
  In Seasons, it really expands what you can do outside of the normal "grind for your boss" routine. And if you remember the first The Sims where you make magical potions and cast spells (Makin' Magic expansion pack), that also kind of ties in with Seasons.
  
  Basically, you can now grow fruits and vegetables, catch fish, and other hobbies, then use them to make cash, health drinks, special potions, etc. Also, gifting is introduced (when you don't want stuff but think your neighbor might).
  
  This slows down the game quite a bit because (A) now you're interacting within the frame of each season and (B) you can still be productive and working towards certain goals without the typical bustle of The Sims 2 that we know and love. Now you can just be a farmer and tell the rest to go to hell. I appreciate that.
  
  The other thing I'd like to point out is the basis of the game: the four seasons. Living in San Diego, CA, we only have two seasons: Paradise and The Next City's Best. In The Sims 2 Seasons, you have more control over the weather than you might think.
  
  First of all, you can determine which neighborhood(s) have seasons and which seasons you'd like to have occur (and when) - for example, one neighborhood can only have spring and winter, if you want. Next, with the new neighborhood Maxis provided ("Riverblossom Hills"), they added some of their own content, but since the seasons can be applied to any neighborhood, I just ripped off what I liked and rarely played the new neighborhood.
  
  Another thing I love in particular about Seasons is the expansion of Wants and Aspirations. I also love how this expansion pack ties into the other expansion packs (Maxis tries to keep them all interwoven to maximize their value - so we all buy every expansion!). You can get a fishing badge (like the sales badge from Open for Business) or find new Wants for each Aspiration (like Romance where the wants change during Springtime).
  
  A lot to build on if you love the series. Of course, as I always like to mention, if you wait another 5-10 years, all of these will be included on The Sims 2: Complete Edition for about 1/3 the total cost. :)
  
  

• Adds Atmosphere

  
  By A2XIOXRRYX0KZY on 2007-03-11
  One of the nagging problems of the Sims 2 series has been the lack of a strong feeling of time passing. While you could watch your sims age, the only real impression of time going by that I've ever gotten is my own frequent glances toward the age bars to see how much time each sim would have left in their current life phase.
  
  Separate from the many wonderful features that have been added to the game, the real golden improvement is the immense amount of atmosphere that the weather provides. It hadn't occurred to me before I started playing that something as simple as snow on the ground would change the feeling of the game so much. There's a distinct coziness in having your sims sit inside in front of the fire on a snowy winter day that was never present in the previous eternal summer. It also creates a feeling of time moving on for the entire lot as a whole, without depending on any kind of nagging need to check whether the teen is going to have to leave for college soon, or similar things.
  
  There are also a lot of functional additions. The sims have new ways to die (heat stroke, struck by lightning, etc), their progress in different areas of their life varies by season (for example, it's easier to build family relationships during the winter), and the sims can garden and make juices that boost their abilities or moods.
  
  One thing that you should certainly note is that it's an especially good idea to backup your existing houses with this pack. With an expansion like Nightlife, if you decided you didn't like the general feel of the new content (largely a matter of going downtown and going on dates) you could just not use those and your gameplay would be impacted very little. With seasons, however, the closest you can get to turning the features off would be to set up a neighborhood to be in summer permanently. In most ways this would be a very close match for the game prior to seasons, but you might find it aggravating to have to keep an eye out for your sims getting heat stroke if they spend too much time working outdoors, or get into an outdoor hottub on a warm day.
  
  There's a new "country" decorating collection that can be a bit annoying in some ways (the roosters on the floor tiles I don't like a bit), but they also have some very charming pieces as well. Additionally, a few of the homes and families don't appear to have been QC'd very well. There's one included family in which the mother Sim is already pregnant, and once the babies aged enough that I looked at their family tree I found that another woman was listed as the second parent rather than the family's father. Sure, they do strange things with the family backstories sometimes, but I couldn't find any mention of something to explain this in any of the character descriptions. There are also homes where they simply left small gaps in the (indoor) walls rather than installing arches or doors as one would expect.
  
  I'm extremely pleased with the changes that Maxis has made. While there are some remaining gameplay issues that could be addressed, overall I think that this expansion has more positive impact on the game than any of the ones that have come out previously.
  
  

• The Sims 2 Seasons

  
  By on 2007-06-03
  The Sims 2 Seasons is probably the best expansion pack so far. In this expansion pack, there are many new features and activities such as gardening, fishing, ice skating, roller skating, and of course; your sims now get to experience all four seasons (winter, autumn, spring, summer). Each season lasts for five sim days, and eventually progresses into the next season. The expansion even allows you to design your own climate scheme. Basically, if you want, you can have Spring all year long! (well, all twenty days long). Or you can have spring for two seasons and winter for the other two seasons. There is even a whole new country-themed furniture and kitchen set which blends well with the feel that Seasons gives. I personally don't like the rooster-country wallpaper the expansion offers, but the kitchen sets are very nice.
  
  -Gardening
  
  One of the great things that Seasons offers are the various activities. Gardening is fun, but it's important to keep constant check on them or they can die pretty quickly. The best thing about gardening is the rewards. You can purchase orchard trees (orange, lemon, and apple) and get fruit, or you can create plots and plant vegetables and fruits such as cucumbers, tomatoes (fruit OR vegetable?), pole beans, strawberries, etc. From growing these, you can harvest them and stock them into the Main Squeezer 235X juicer from the catalog. Once you have enough stocked, select the juicer you should be able to mix and match the different produce to make tasty juices. If the produce is "mouthwatering" then the juice will have special effects. To get your produce to be mouthwatering, you have to make sure your plants are thriving. You can improve your garden by adding lawn decorations and even invite the Garden Club over and allow them to judge your garden. And with enough gardening experience you can earn a gold gardening badge.
  
  Magical Juices consist of:
  
  Apple Juice, Beauty Cocktail, Eggplant Juice, Lemonade, Orangeade, Orange Juice, Pureed Boot (yum!), Pepper Punch (no comment), Tomato Juice, Strawberry Lemonade, Strawberry Juice, and Vegetable Cocktail.
  
  It's up to you to figure out what the effects are. As for what the ingredients are, the titles of the juices are pretty self-explanatory for what the juice will consist of.
  
  -Fishing
  
  Wahoo, fishing! Even fishing has it's own good effects. Sims can create ponds in front of their house and fish. Depending on how much experience they have and the badge (bronze, silver, or gold) sims can catch more or less fish. I have to say there isn't a very large variety of fish, but there's just enough. Sims can grill fish for a much more satisfying meal.
  
  
  -Riverblossom Hills
  
  What could be better than all the features that Seasons offers? A whole new neighborhood!
  
  Riverblossom Hills a new neighborhood that actually kind of focuses on the activities that seasons offers. There are premade families in the neighborhood of course, each with their own story. The first house I entered in Riverblossom Hills was the McGreggor Household. I recommend going into the McGreggor Household first because there is a barn and an orchard, plus there's only one person living in the house, so it'd be easy to familiarize with everything in seasons with overwhelming yourself, although it doesn't really matter.
  
  -PlantSim
  
  In seasons, sims can now become PlantSims. Your sim becomes a plantsim by excessively using pesticides on plants. There is a premade family in Riverblossom Hills with a plantsim (The Greenman Family) if you can't be bothered to create your own PlantSim. To cure a PlantSim, invite one of the members from the Garden Club over and buy a potion. Sims have new aspirations; "Become PlantSim +2,000", "Be Cured of PlantSim +5,000" (examples, I don't know if those are the exact aspiration points)
  
  -Community Lots
  
  In Riverblossom Hills there are new community lots with different activities. Sims can go iceskating during winter and rollerskating during the summer. These also have new aspirations; "Go Ice Skating +500". And I have to say, watching sims fall-- I mean, ice skate is pretty entertaining.
  
  -Outerwear
  
  Of course sims need the appropriate clothes if they want to last through those harsh winters and brutally hot summers! Seasons offers a wide variety of different summer and winter clothes, (coats, snowsuits) even for toddlers! (Toddlers can eat snow, by the way. It actually increases their hunger motive)
  
  -Season Effects
  
  Seasons effect your sims (depending on the season). They may want to see snow or rain or hail (aspiration: See Rain +500). Seasons also have effects on things that your sims do everyday:
  
  Winter is a time to stay at home, drink hot chocolate, and bond with relatives.
  
  Autumn is a time to fast-track a sim's career and skills. Even rake autumn leaves and mess them up all over again!
  
  Summer is a time to relax and increase relationships with friends.
  
  Spring is a time to create a wonderful romance.
  
  So, seasons aren't just pretty, but they have effects on your sims as well!
  
  -Penguin
  
  This is a mild factor of seasons, but during the winter season a penguin actually will visit your sim's home. I was disappointed to know that you couldn't tame the penguin. :P
  
  -Sim Actions
  
  Sims have new actions. During winter you can have snowball fights and during summer you can have water balloon fights. Also during winter you can create devilish snowmen and snowangels.
  
  -Pool
  
  Sim swimming pools used to be pretty limited. But now you can add curved walls to your swimming pools and different wallpapers. Spruce it up a bit and add in a fun swimming slide. Add another sim and have a fun time playing marco polo.
  
  -Leftovers
  
  This has to be one of my favorite things that Seasons offers: LEFTOVERS! I'm sure most of you are tired from making lunches and dinners for seven when you've only got a family of two. But now, leftovers! After your small sim family is done eating, just click on the plate and it will say "Put away Leftovers." and voila! Once leftovers are in the fridge they will not spoil.(Thank goodness!)
  
  Overall, The Sims 2 Seasons is excellent. The graphics and gameplay are wonderful, althought they can be glitchy at some points. The most dramatic and best season of the four is probably Winter, and the I suppose the 'boring' one is probably Summer. So yes, Seasons is well worth your time and money... And your Summer!
  
  

• Seasonal fun for the Sims2

  
  By ANEDXRFDZDL18 on 2007-03-05
  I'm a big sims 2 fan. I have all the expansion packs, and Sims 2 season ads some much needed content! Now your sims can grow their own crops, have snowball fights, build snowmen and yes get struck by lightning! The animation is cute, and there are some new outfits for cold/wet weather. I picked up my copy at Target. It came with a free code for a free item (a trellis).
  
  It was easy to install, 2 pc CD's and install was a snap. Like most Sims 2 games you need to keep the expansion pack CD in the drive to run the game, which is kind of annoying but ohwell!
  
  Fun for everyone. 5 stars.
  
  

• SIMply Awesome!

  
  By A2B2KGGX9YOPL0 on 2007-03-04
  Got mine the day before yesterday and have played it at least 20 hours out of the past 48 and am going to play it again as soon as I'm done with this review. There's so much to do in it and so many new objects and stuff it gives the feeling of almost a whole new Sims 2 experience. This will keep me very busy until the next add-on, 'Celebration! Stuff', comes out and beyond.
  
  This expansion provides a brand new added neighborhood called "Riverblossom.." that is already pre-set with seasons, although any neighborhood can be custom set for whichever seasons you'd like for your Sims to have.
  
  In addition to snow, rain, sun, etc, you get:
  
  new pre-fabbed houses, lots of new build mode stuff (gardening, pool, etc), tons of 'country-style' decor (very feminine..the new kitchen and bathroom stuff is to die for..love it all), racing decor for the kids bedrooms, new 'outdoor' outfits (love 'em!), 3 new hairstyles (one of which is totally cute), so much that these alone will keep you busy for weeks.
  
  And if that isn't enough, you also get ice-skating rinks, roller-skating rinks, and can even go fishing in your Sims' backyard pond, not to mention building snowmen, having snowball fights, making snow angels in the winter, and gardening in the spring. LOTS of new activities..too many to list. Gardening alone can keep your Sim busy for their entire life..apple, lemon, and orange trees...tomato, cucumber, eggplant, peppers, polebeans, and strawberry plants...earn a gardening talent badge, build your own greenhouse, join a Gardening Club (with prizes for best garden or yard), turn your homegrown fruits into power-packed juice or food..the list goes on. Fishing entails catching different species of fish using different baits as your Sim gains a fishing talent badge. The fish can be mounted or cooked up for dinner.
  
  And if you accumulate too many fruits and veggies or fish, you can give them, or just about anything, as gifts to your Sims' friends or neighbors.
  
  There are also some new job opportunities with some pretty cool new career rewards. Adventurer, Journalism, Law, and Education, to name a few.
  
  This expansion is the perfect compliment to Pets and any or all of the other expansions. It's a must have! Heads up though guys, the decor in this one is mostly for the gals...lots of femininity going on in it...although the activities in it are geared for both genders.
  
  When I first got this I thought for sure it would slow down my laptop, since I have all of the previous expansions and add-ons installed as well, but I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't at all. In fact, loading time was actually less than before as well as a speedier exit of the game. I think Maxis made some improvements in the software performance for this to be. Haven't experienced any bugs or glitches as of yet either, literally none at all.
  
  Overall, I love this expansion..it's now my favorite out of all of them, with Pets second. Wouldn't trade this one for the world, it's that good! :)
  
  
  
  
• best ep ever!!!!!! by Alyssa T. (Virginia USA)
  By on 2006-12-16
  Hi.
  I saw this ep (short for expansion pack), yesterday on the internet. I've always dreamed of the sims 2 having seasons where it rains and snows, and this is it! And I thought the sims 2 pets was good, but this ep beats all the others by a million miles! Maxis/EA Games, why did you make us wait sooo long for this to be released?! You're tearing us apart! :)
  Anyway, the sims 2 sesons has some really great features, such as turning sims into plants. There are also six new careers for your sims. Now your sims can experience hailstorms, lighting bolts, snowstorms, and rain showers! YAY!
  Of course there is a downside to this game. It won't be released until March 1, 2007. boo hoo....... >:(
  But it'll be worth the wait. I think this ep should have been one of the first ones to come out.
  This game is going to be just wonderful. I can't wait to build a snowman in the yard!
  
  Rock on Sim fans!
  :)
  
  
• Video Card Requirements Are Too High, But a Fun Game Nonetheless
  By AQ0R97N8OWM5 on 2007-03-20
  I waited for this expansion for months, so it's no surprise that I went out and bought it the same day it hit stores. It was really fun - there is a whole new neighborhood and characters to play with. Your characters can now fish, garden, have snowball fights, etc. I managed to turn one of my characters into a Plant Sim (he got carried away with the gardening spray).
  
  The weather effects are pretty cool, except for the lightening, which usually manages to set something on fire. My favorite season was winter, though, when after a snowstorm, you could build a snowman, have snowball fights, make snow angels, etc.
  
  When the sims catch fish and harvest their fruits and vegetables from their gardens, they can prepare really filling meals (which is great when you have a pregnant sim who is always hungry!) However, you have to watch out that they don't get fat. There are also some great new items, like a waterslide, and the ability to make your backyard pools with round corners.
  
  Now for the downfall of the game... I have two computers - one that is about a year old, and one that is brand new (purchased 2 weeks ago) with 1GB of memory and Core 2 Duo processors, which is a very powerful machine. Imagine my dismay when I discover the the Sims 2 Seasons expansion won't run correctly (for long) on either computer because of the video card requirements. I never bothered to check the requirements and installed the game on both computers. But the game would start crashing and freezing my computers after I saved a few games. I highly recommend checking if your video card is up to par before installing.
  
  Overall this is a fun game, and I look forward to reinstalling it once they either get a patch out, or I upgrade my video cards.
  
  
• The Sims 2 Seasons!
  By A1EMW92EA2U9KR on 2007-03-02
  I have waited and waited for the Sims 2 Seasons to come out. I read tons of reviews on the internet about how the lighting and thunder was really scary, especially when using headphones. One of the reasons why the Sims 2 Seasons came out so late is because it had so many bugs. There are still a few on the game, but not that many. If your computer is not a gaming computer, I highly advise buying a gaming card. The graphis are much better on a gaming computer. The game is a whole lot of fun, bringing to us Sim players gardening, seasons(including weather), new items, curves pool lines, and much much more! If you are nervous about buying this expanision pack because of its cost, just wait a month, the price will surely go down to $20.00 Thank you so much for reading my review! =)
  
  
• The Best Expansion Pack for the Sims 2 Franchise
  By A1R5C5KI8O896J on 2007-03-10
  I have been waiting for this expansion pack to be out for ages. Being slightly disappointed with Pets, I was a little wary about it, but it turns out it is just awesome. The graphics are great and bring a whole new aspect to the Sims2. Each season has its own special twist, for example, you learn faster in the fall; and there are wonderful interactions associated with each season. I also enjoyed the option of being able to grow and harvest veggies. All around, this is the best that has come out of the Sims 2.
  
  
• why pre-order?
  By A1WEY252CHABRY on 2007-02-27
  Why bother to pre-order...when Best Buy has it in the store today and Amazon hasn't even shipped it yet!
  
  5 stars for the game
  0 stars for shopping with Amazon
  
  
  
  
• How did they ever do without it?
  By A2C98MO3T9D3KO on 2007-08-31
  What a pleasure watching my simlets jump into rain puddles, watching them throw on some windbreakers and..was that a bead of sweat running down Grandma's cheek after toiling over the tomato plants?
  Just like in my bigger world, the joy of having leftovers to reheat without the occasional hassle of creating a new meal is p-r-i-c-e-l-e-s-s.It gives me a little elbow room in the having to call the grocers area..when I've depleted the bank account buying yet another big patch for the pool.
  The flavor of realism is appreciated since SOME folks spend hours upon hours in Simville.
  Simply put, I LOVE this expansion. If I'm not mistaken, when I look adoringly over my little simlets, I could almost swear I see the most expressive looks of gratitude..for the purchase that their big mama made.
  
  
• Seasons Is Sweet
  By AWVQR7YYTYJ1L on 2007-07-14
  Although Seasons has been out for awhile, I've been lazy and neglected to update about it...well no more! Overall I think Seasons is one of the best two expansion packs to date with TS2 - my personal fave being Open For Business (and hence my favourite part of each expansion is to open a business based on what that expansion brings). Here is a quick overview of the main types of features and what to expect...
  
  Seasons - in terms of the graphics and feel of the seasons, they are half-decent. It's impressive how much your landscape and lighting actually changes from season to season, and honestly as a player it makes you feel a bit different by relating to your sims a bit more based on the season...the Maxis team does a great job of making you feel like - "wow it looks hot outside" or "brr I think I want to stay inside". This is something the Sims community has been asking for and I think Maxis does a good job at delivering a good variety of seasons and subsequent activities. It's nice that you can control the seasons both through your neighbourhood (make it winter year-round if you want!) as well as in each individual house.
  
  Careers - there are, I believe, 6 new career tracks with this game. They are teaching, gaming, journalism, music, adventurer, and law...the only questionable one is gaming I think, it didn't really make sense. Music is odd as well as it doesn't really follow a typical musician's path. The career reward items that go with these careers are kind of remeshed items that already exist so don't expect too much there - although I enjoy the teaching library and the law podium.
  
  Furniture/Decor - it seems like a big focus of this pack is giving you activities that your seniors can engage with, and as such the decor matches that theme. Everything is very country, but quite nicely done with a wide variety of pastel colours. The main focuses would be a new bedroom suite, a new bathroom set, and a bunch of kitchen things, plus some nice new decor items. The wallpaper and flooring left something to be desire with this particular pack, but overall I was satisfied with the decor.
  
  Gardening - The main big activity with this pack is being able to garden - you can use your produce to make money (either sell it off the vine or in a store if you have OFB), to stock your fridge, or to make juice using the new handy juicer - different juices have different rewards of course. You can garden trees, or have a vegetable/fruit garden either indoors (greenhouse) or outdoors. Overall gardening is relatively low-maintenence, and much better developed than it was in Unleashed from TS1. Your Sims actually have fun gardening, although it is tiring.
  
  Fishing - Another fun activity is fishing. Again, you can cook the fish, use it as stock for your fridge, sell the fish as produce, mount the fish on your walls as plaques, or sell plaqued fish. Basically your sims can fish from any pond from late spring to early fall and you can sell them for a decent profit, as well as feed them to pets.
  
  Clothing/Hair - There really isn't a lot of new clothing or hair, one or two outfits and that's about it. The focus of the 'looks' department would be the addition of outerwear, which your sims automatically put on during the chilly days in fall/winter/spring. As well you can now pick individual hairstyles for each outfit your sim wears - so you aren't wearing earmuffs all the time, you can pair them with your outwear only if you want.
  
  New Neighbourhood - This game includes a new neighbourhood entitled Riverblossom Hills or something along those lines. It's a rural themed neighbourhood with tons of starter homes and a few nice country mansions. A welcome addition to the game!
  
  Overall I'd say Seasons is probably the best balanced pack. It adds a lot to the game in various aspects instead of just one specific item - which for some people is problematic because they want to see one giant addition, but really Seasons just fills in a lot of the blanks. Of course there are problems...a lot of the fun of the game has been lost for me because these expansions (and the game itself) are so massive my game runs quite slowly. Also, aside from the visual elements and some cute new activities (making snowmen, catching fireflies) there isn't much 'point' to the seasons. Certainly some more outdoor objects would have been welcome. But overall this is one of the stronger Maxis expansions and a welcome addition to my game.
  
  
• Much better than the last expansion pack!
  By A1ZPB7M2DLKJAL on 2007-03-05
  The Sims 2 franchise is back on track with this latest expansion pack that lets your Sims experience seasons, as well as the activities that go along with those seasons. My Sims are having great fun gardening (and eating the results!), playing in the snow, raking leaves, fishing, having water balloon fights, sliding into the pool on their brand new waterslide... The list goes on. There is a lot of new content in this game, and yet it doesn't slow down my computer like the Pets expansion pack did (I uninstalled Pets before installing Seasons, and the whole game runs more smoothly).
  
  There have been a few minor glitches, but all in all it has been a lot of fun. I'm addicted to my Sims again!
  
  
• The Best EP Yet
  By A3U3SHJN6K2WB9 on 2007-03-08
  I was excited for this EP, and it did not disappoint. The four seasons are represented beautifully, the graphics great, and the new items well worth the money. I was most looking forward to winter, and making the snowmen, snowball fights, and ice-skating are incredibly fun, but I actually found that I liked all the seasons, especially the challenge of growing the fresh fruits and vegetables, and the new pool slide and game. The country-themed items are very nice, and some new weather related and outdoors items are nice as well. Overall, I would say this was the best EP to date, and I still have not tried a few of the new career paths, especially the one I'm most looking forward too - musician...gotta get that guitar. Not a waste of money, and will keep you entertained for the hours you get lost in gameplay.
  
  
• An improvement to SIM universe
  By AF3L7GVC6T94P on 2007-03-09
  Seasons... ah... snow. Rain... Sunshine... and sun burns. It is nice that the Sims game finaly takes on a more "earthy" aspect as mother nature becomes a player. I bought this expansion pack and within the first few moments of playing, one of my Sims froze outside. It was cool. It is pretty neat how the snow fall just happens and it seems to follow a "real" life atmosphere complete with snow days from school. This expansion features new items and new variations of game play. One of the cool aspects comes in the "character development" stage. You can now set a hairstyle to go with each outfit... which is pretty neat. The outdoor selection of attire is pretty neat as well, ranging from a simple scarf to a full own snow suit. The game also feautres new home items that have a more "country" feel... and also a race car theme for the little ones. Still, the thing to experience from this expansion is the weather in itself. The fun the Sims can have out in the snow building snow men... to just all out rainstorms. Also, there is a new town are... which is secluded and lovely.
  I like it... and can't wait to get the opprotunity to play it some more. If you want a more realistic game play experience... then this should get you closer to that. Overall... fun times ahead.
  
  
• Review of PC Game
  By A10UECCBK5T3GJ on 2007-03-10
  Wow! EA Games has really done it with this expansion pack of their hit series. The game is so varied, because of all of the options available, you never get tired of playing. I have all of the expansion packs, and have enjoyed them all, but this is the best. The new objects and houses are great, especially the old victorian farm houses and furniture. I highly recommend this expansion to all "Sim" fans.
  
  
• Best Expansion Yet!
  By A1YP3OZMR0DYPL on 2007-03-04
  I have to agree with what other people have written. With the addition of new careers, fun new objects, and a ton of more things to do outside, this is my favorite expansion pack. Your sims can now fish, garden, play in the rain or have a snowball fight. There's a ton of new objects and decorative items to add that personal touch to your sims homes! This is an expansion pack that many have been wating a long time to get and this time EA & Maxis did not disappoint.
  
  If you're a sims fan, you MUST have this expansion!
  
  
• Adds More Realism to the Game
  By A3L7Q8IVHASBTH on 2007-08-13
  This Expansion Pack is Fun with the New Features and has competition with Nightlife... C'mon, your sims get to drive cars in Nightlife, but you have seasons and get to grow crops in "Seasons." there's so much more reality with the Sims 2 Seasons that it's above the level of all of the expansion packs.
  
  However, to play with seasons, you should have a good graphics card and a lot of memory on your computer. But as a suggestion (if you do or don't have a good graphics card), I would turn my shadows off and turn the details down a smidge (located in game options>graphics options [monitor]), it really makes a difference because the game played flawlessly after I shut it off.
  
  OVERALL, this game is the best expansion pack so far, but we'll have to wait and see, because of Bon Voyage coming out soon, and POSSIBLY more expansion packs (but wouldn't it be nice to have a huge hurricane in bon voyage!? oh the wonders)
  
  
• What I've been waiting for
  By A1GITN8BIGOABO on 2007-03-08
  Since a few expansions back I've been waiting for this addition to the game. To my suprise the graphics turned out better than I'd expected, when it snows and rains you really get the feeling, especially the lightning. Excellent new items, interesting carrers, and more cooking options are some things you can look forward to. Now I'm just waiting for them to come out with a vacation and superstar addition like in the Sims 1.
  
  
• The greatest Sims expansion ever!
  By on 2007-03-11
  Ok...All I can say is that this game is not overpriced! Not complicating! And most definetly not boring!I have the whole Sims 2 collection and as I can see so far, The Sims 2 Seasons was the best! I love the new neighborhood, new clothes and new weathers plus their good features! It's worth saving every cent to buy this thing because it is Incredibly enormously FUN! My name is Natasha Luchow, I rate this 5 Stars because it is GREAT!
  
  
• Fun Fun Fun!
  By A3TPYVRNDGDVJU on 2007-05-22
  I found this expansion pack to be the best one of all. The weather is cool, the lightning is awesome (especially when it hits trees on your lot). I found something interesting recently: spontaneous combustion! When your sim gets too hot (the temp meter on their pic shows you) they suddenly light on fire and start screaming. If other sims don't put them out, they die, grim reaper and all.
  I like in the winter when the sims build snowmen and the penguin comes and starts chatting with it. I like that the sims can go fishing, ice skating, and play marco polo in the pool. I just like everything about this expansion pack. I find it to be a must-have for all die-hard sims gamers.
  
  
• A must-have for any Sims 2 lover!
  By A3MTTSWQFTRD5F on 2007-05-29
  I purchased this expansion pack from Amazon because it was cheaper than retail even with shipping, only to find, two weeks later, that the game still hadn't arrived (and the tracking information suggested that it had in fact been delivered somewhere else!). Luckily, when I contacted Amazon, they were very courteous and immediately shipped me another copy, and I received this one promptly.
  
  But on to the game itself. I don't own all of the expansions to the Sims 2 - in fact, all I have are the Pets expansion and the chic set of furniture pack (which I must advise, is a HUGE waste of money) - so I can't really rate it in comparison to all the other expansion packs. But the Seasons as standalone is excellent. The graphics are novel (during winter, when the Sims run around in the snow, furrows of snow appear behind them, slowly fading; and you can create devil-snowmen), there are a few cute new accessories (there's this whole new set of rooster-themed furniture - goes right along with the rustic trend that's currently overtaking the fashion industry, ha), plus some other miscellaneous add-ons: The set of pool tools now offers a rounded-edge feature if you want a circular or soft-edged pool. And of course, the trees change color, it rains spontaneously, it snows, there's a weather channel on TV...good times. The Sims even react to a change in weather, for example, by staring gloomily out the window [at the rain].
  
  All in all, the Season expansion is fun. The thing I found the least use for was the gardening tools. I really don't care about building a garden - anyone else think that's boring or is it just me? My little sister loves it, so maybe it depends on preference. I may also simply just not have explored the function sufficiently. You do get a niftly little greenhouse tool with which to house your newfound plants, but so far, all I've been able to grow are tomatoes. You can, however (according to the game manual), use your harvested crops to create potions and the like. That's more interesting - I just find tending plants to be boring. But I suppose it goes along with the seasonal aspect of the game.
  
  All in all, I can't complain; you're getting a great deal for your money, there's no doubt about that. There was a lot of detail put into this expansion pack. Hopefully my review will give you an idea of the most prominent features of the game. I would have to say the actual physical layout - the seasonal appearance of the yard and neighborhood - is the best part. Watching the seasons change every five days is fun!
  
  
• ...WORTH IT!
  By A3E1KM6NBNIIWU on 2007-03-05
  ...the minute i found out that they were comming out with a game where you can ice skate/roller skate, make snowmen, fish, and other outdoors activities, I right away thought of The Sims Vacation. I thought that it might not be worth it, since Sims has already come out with a game like such.
  
  This game is completly different. I love being able to go outside and have myt sims do a little garden work, make snow angels and snow men, ice skate, and ect. This game I found to be completly different. This is deff a good buy and you should buy it right away.
  
  
• Great, Addictive Fun!
  By A8H2WACSC36TO on 2007-03-15
  Unless you have plenty of spare time, DO NOT play The Sims 2! It is WAY too addictive, and it just gets worse with each expansion pack!!
  
  I think that this is one of the best expansion packs so far. The addition of snowball fights, gardening, and new items is a great change for the game!
  
  
• Best Sims2 Expansion Pack
  By A3DI7KWXQZZ7OU on 2007-04-04
  This is by far the best Sims2 Expansion pack released. The change of seasons is wonderful, and so are the seasonal boosts to learning or relationships. The pack adds:
  gardening
  fishing
  paying all bills at once - no more hunting for where the bills were set down
  setting different hairstyles for different outfits
  putting leftover food back into the fridge for later
  a waterslide
  6 new careers that you don't have to go to college to unlock
  a bunch of content that was released in previous packs
  new build-mode controlls - lot levelling and a sledgehammer
  and more great stuff.
  
  If you get no other expansion pack, this is the one to get!
  
  
• Environments for your Sims and for the Fans.
  By A1JQZ13O5M31AG on 2007-04-04
  Long-time Sims fans might be familiar with the community's yearning for specific add-ons to deepening the experience of their Sims' lives, one of the top features on that wishlist being weather. Apparently Maxis listens to their players, as evidenced by the release of The Sims 2 Seasons, where environmental ambiance now bears an effect on the Sims' lives with seasonal and outdoor activities.
  
  Some players may be unsure if there is sufficient new content in the Seasons expansion pack, and ask if it is nothing more than a visual add-on. While Sims expansion packs may superficially appear as though there is only a moderate amount of new content, Seasons does include adequate material to change the gameplay experience.
  
  New activities have been added such as gardening, fishing, and skating. There are several new jobs that have been added to expand the range of your Sims' possible careers, and with it rewards. Sims must dress accordingly and keep an eye on their temperature to adapt to the changing environment around them. Minor changes such as winter outfits and the ability to keep leftovers add to the realism of the Sims universe. Overall, Seasons comes with as much material as other expansion packs, which is adequate, though always has room for at least a little bit more.
  
  For Sims 2 players, Seasons is a fine expansion pack to get with no intrinsic reasons to avoid it. Keep in mind, however, that The Sims 2 is a high-resource game and takes up quite a bit of space on the computer. Otherwise, definitely a title to pick up for players of the Sims 2 who are interested.
  
  
• Entering reality into Sims2
  By AGZEM256SOLYO on 2007-04-17
  The first couple times I played around with the seasons I thought that I would get annoyed by the snow and rain, but then realized that some of my Sims have fun building snowmen, talking to the penguins, and raking leaves! The added wardrobe is great, with the winter coats, rain slickers, etc. adding a new, fashionable aspect of the game.
  
  Planting was something I missed from the original Sims expansions so I'm trilled its back in this expansion pack. For very little price, I'm thrilled that the game has taken on a whole new, challenging level!
  
  
• Sims 2 Seasons - Awesome!!
  By AEY5877C3DXFK on 2007-05-30
  This is the best expansion pack thus far. I enjoy the other expansions, but not as much as this one. The seasons create a greater expectation of things to come. It's so much more fun to see Santa when there is snow on the ground. I find myself anxiously awaiting Spring so my Sims can plant a garden. Sims with money can build a greenhouse where they can plant and harvest year round, but it is much more fun to battle the elements and earn a Gold badge. I've managed to raise Legacy families just by having a cheapo refrigerator and never having to refill if with groceries. I have my Sims fish and garden for food. Having leftovers is also a great thing, no more wasted meals.
  
  The new careers and rewards are fantastic... You can double up rewards and their benefits, too. A Sim wearing the Thinking Cap who gives his toddler Smart Mild in the Fall will teach that child everything in the time it takes the Smart milk to wear off. Very cool!
  
  Don't be gun-shy of this expansion... get it, you'll love it!
  
  
• Not much to add, but...
  By A3T2RY1R8PO6ZH on 2007-03-07
  I LOVE this expansion! I've been playing it almost nonstop for days and am having a blast!
  
  Time to edit some outerwear with the Body Shop - great concept but not very stylish. Unless you're a Sim. ^.^
  
  If you're a Simmer, this is definitely worth the cost. PURCHASE!!!
  
  
• Whoooo! Weaaaather!
  By A3R045TE2MPU0S on 2007-04-04
  I was always bothered by The Sims not having any weather. Now, you can have weather and all sorts of interesting "accidents" can occur. I've had Sims struck by lightening, being frozen to death while building snowmen, and overheating the treadmill and catching it on fire. I highly recommend getting this expansion pack if you have The Sims 2. I can't think of one thing that I don't like about it, unlike the other expansion packs I've gotten.
  
  

• Sims 2: Seasons: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)
• PC Gamer (1-year)
• The Sims 2: Nightlife Expansion Pack
• SteelSeries 4D - Mouse Pad - black

• The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack
• The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
• The Sims 2: Open for Business Expansion Pack
• The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack
• The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff