 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Sims 2: Apartment Life
- Windows
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Simulation
Common Sense Media says
Sims move on up, gain good/evil magical powers.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this expansion to the popular life simulator The Sims 2 looks and feels very much like the original game, save that avatars now live in multi-unit dwellings. However, it also has a supernatural twist in that players can now morph their sims into witches and warlocks. Should players go this fantastical route, they'll have the option of selecting between two moral disciplines: The Ways of the Light and the Path of Darkness. The former provides access to helpful spells (healing fellow sims, patching up bad relationships), while the latter allows players to perform evil magic, causing other sims to become ill, start fires, and get into fights with one another. In short, you can be a meaner, nastier sim than ever before. That said, the game rewards civil behavior through a new Reputation Meter. Polite, respectful sims will find it easier to succeed in their careers and social life, while evildoers will inspire dislike and mistrust in their fellow sims.
What's it about?
As the remarkably successful life simulator The Sims 2 heads into its final stretch (The Sims 3 is slated for release next year), Electronic Arts has rolled out one last expansion pack in the form of THE SIMS 2: APARTMENT LIFE. The primary new feature in this add-on, as suggested by its title, is that your sims now have the option of living in a variety of multi-unit dwellings, from sparse lofts to deluxe condominiums. That means paying rent, taking on roommates, dealing with loud neighbors, and growing accustomed to a social circle made tighter by virtue of the fact that many of your friends live just a few feet away.
But there's more to Apartment Life than just new urban abodes. For starters, players can now befriend witches and warlocks and eventually join the coven themselves, learning magical powers that give them the ability to make or break relationships, keep themselves fed and clean, and travel quickly by broomstick. It's a fairly steep departure from the franchise's devotion to authenticity, but casting a spell that causes a sim who you think might be making moves on your date to vomit is an undeniably satisfying -- if somewhat devilish -- bit of fun.
Is it any good?
If this element of fantasy is not to your liking, you can simply choose not to associate with any witches and instead focus on new features more in keeping with the series' realer-than-real vibe. Like the reputation meter, which bobs up and down based on how much respect you show other sims. It can have a marked impact on how both new and old acquaintances react to you. And, depending on your sim's affluence, butlers are now available -- a godsend for players who can't stand cleaning up after themselves.
Of course, apartment living also comes with some disadvantages. Improvements to your pad are limited to the decorative variety -- no structural changes allowed. And if your roommate is short on cash come the first of the month? You'll have to pony up to make up the difference, or face an angry landlord willing to take you to collections. This broad range of new features and content, both helpful and hindering, helps make Apartment Life one of the strongest expansions to any Sims game to date.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how realistically the game simulates human relationships. Are there enough options for interactions to make it feel as though you can say or do what you want when your sim is socializing with friends? Are the timelines and events involved in the game's romances authentic? You can also discuss the new reputation meter. Does it authentically simulate how a person's interactions with some people can affect their standing with others? Did you feel motivated to be better behaved out of concern that antisocial antics could damage your relationships with others?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
It's rated Off for 16? That's borderline moronic...
You guys, really? "Oh it has too much sex in it, blah blah blah" And since when can you watch them have sex? This isn't a porno for PC. It's a life simulator where you can have kids, go to the mall, throw a party, and live life how you want to!
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Kid, 10 years old
August 30, 2011
AGE
sims 2
i think kids ages 9 and up can play sims 2 because they have little squares to protect theier private body parts so you cant see anything you are'nt sopposed to see
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AGE
Not a bad game for tweens.
There's some overreacting going on. You can't watch people having sex, you see them make out and go under the sheets. Really, it's not that detailed. There's no drugs. Your sims can only drink beer, wine stuff like that. Fights don't include blood. They just grab onto each other and knock each other down. The person playing is controlling what goes on. No violence, sexual content or drinking goes on unless you want it it to and click on it. It's not a bad game. I'm 11 and play it.
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Kid, 12 years old
May 31, 2011
AGE
bad for peouple1
violent sexy landuge and no limits of the bad of the bad!
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Kid, 12 years old
May 19, 2010
AGE
The EVIL sims!
I donno about sims like these but it those "SIMS" are worst!
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AGE
The EVIL sims!
I donno about sims like these but it those "SIMS" are worst!
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Kid, 11 years old
May 19, 2010
AGE
The EVIL sims!
I donno about sims like these but it those "SIMS" are worst!
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AGE
Add-on is great!
Great add on, can be played by anyone under 16.
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Kid, 11 years old
October 31, 2009
AGE
Nothing wrong with it!!
I love it!!!! its so easy to play but it is adicting!! I see nothing wrong with it! its sopossed to be like real life thats the point but there dosnt have to have violence or bad pictures if you dont want it to because you are the controller!!
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| Platforms: | Windows |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Simulation |
| Developer: | Electronic Arts |
| Release date: | August 26, 2008 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | T for Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence |
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