For as long as I can remember, I feel like I have gravitated towards playing video games. One of my earliest memories is playing on the Nintendo 64, and many of my early childhood interests were inspired by my sister’s.
A series I have always grown up with is The Sims, with the first game coming out in 2000. Its newest iterations, The Sims 4, released in 2014, is still going strong, although there are rumors of The Sims 5 (or Project Rene) being in the works! I personally prefer The Sims 3, especially with its open-world map and being able to have objects that have been removed in 4 (cars, for one).
Throughout last year, I have been rekindling my love for the game again, making my Sim go to University and experience various parts of the game that have been fleshed out through expansion packs. Recently, however, I would either not have the time to properly sit down and play, or would get bored quickly, and figured I’d come back to it whenever the motivation strikes again.
To my surprise, I discovered that for the 25th anniversary of The Sims series, The Sims and The Sims 2 would be re-released and optimized for Windows 10/11 on January 31st. Each collection comes with a variety of content packs to add on to the base game. I did not play nearly enough of The Sims 2 compared to 3 or 4, and I thought it would be a great way to truly get myself acquainted with a game that so many people love and feel nostalgic about.
The Sims 2 feels much closer to its immediate successor than the newest release – the sound effects are the same as in 3, and the Sims themselves seem much more realistic (although clothes and hairstyles are much more limiting). Despite feeling immediately at home (since this is not the first Sims game I have played), it took me a while to wrap my head around individual neighborhoods being quite literally “boxed off” compared to a sprawling environment or being able to visit different worlds like in the later games.
There were other things I had to get used to as well: personality points instead of traits, keeping up with enthusiasm and hobbies, and being mindful that this game was originally released in 2004. Items in Buy Mode that I took for granted in The Sims 3, which subsequently released in 2008, were not present. Furniture cannot be rotated 45 degrees (unless you use cheats), and interestingly enough, there is an option to call Sims on the telephone, only to get a notification that some don’t have a phone.
Although I have only put in a handful of hours in The Sims 2 Legacy, I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. I am excited to explore more of the game and feel like the possibilities are endless — I can see how The Sims 3 built upon its predecessor. I feel like buying The Sims 2 Legacy, or finding a way to play the original game on a modern PC, is a good foray into the series. Thanks for reading and I hope you consider looking at the Legacy collection, if you haven’t already!