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The Sims 2: FreeTime

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The Sims 2: FreeTime
Developer(s)Maxis
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release26 February 2008;16 years ago(2008-02-26)

The Sims 2: FreeTimeis anexpansion packfor the 2004life simulationvideo gameThe Sims 2,developed byMaxisand published byElectronic Arts.The seventh expansion pack for the game, it was released 26 February 2008. The expansion pack introduces hobbies as a new feature for sims to pursue; sims can pursue ten possible hobbies and gain enthusiasm and benefits as they advance in them. The expansion pack also revamps the aspiration system, a system introduced in the base game that influences sims' long- and short-term goals.

FreeTimereceived mixed reviews from critics, who disagreed on the expansion's impact on the game. Some praised its new hobbies and revamped aspiration system as adding complexity and depth toThe Sims 2,while others felt they were underdeveloped and not well-integrated with existing gameplay goals. Reviewers also criticised the game's graphics and interface as aging and outdated compared to contemporary releases. The expansion pack was commercially successful, ranking amongst the top-selling PC games in the United States in 2008. In the years following its release,FreeTimehas been favourably compared to releases for later games.

Background and development[edit]

The Simsis a franchise oflife simulation gamesdeveloped byMaxisand published byElectronic Arts.It has sold over 200 million copies amongst all platforms and installments, making it one of thebest-selling video game franchises of all time.[1]The Sims 2,sequel tothe original,was released on 14 September 2004. It expanded upon the original game's features, introducing elements such as an aspiration system based around short-term and long-term goals; expanded character and neighbourhood customization; and the ability for sims to raise families, age, and progress through generations.[2][3]

All main entries in the series have had multipleexpansion packs,which add further gameplay options. Rather than being relatively simpledownloadable content,expansion packs for the first three games in theSimsseries substantially expanded upon the base game's life simulation;Kieron Gillen,writing forEurogamerin 2005, stated the first game's expansions "could have been expanded [...] into games of their own" and argued their complexity was a component in whyThe Simshad few competitors in its genre.[1][4]Eight expansion packs were released forThe Sims 2between 2005 and 2008.[1][5]

The Sims 2: FreeTime,the game's seventh expansion pack,[5]was announced on 16 January 2008.[6]It was designed alongsideThe Sims 3,the next main entry in the series.[7]At the time, there were no moreSims 2releases planned for 2008, though the game's final expansion packThe Sims 2: Apartment Lifewas ultimately released that August.[5][8]According to an interview with the expansion's developers,FreeTimewas intended to synthesize with the base game in its gameplay, unlike the more independent stand-alone features introduced by expansions such asThe Sims 2: UniversityandThe Sims 2: Open for Business.[9]FreeTimewas released for PC on 26 February 2008[5]and was the first expansion pack forThe Sims 2not to be released formacOS.[10]

Gameplay[edit]

The premise ofThe Sims 2: FreeTimeis the addition of hobbies to the game. Prior to the expansion pack's release, gameplay ofThe Sims 2was primarily oriented around increasing skills and relationship meters in order to advance milestones, such as promoting a sim to the highest level of a career.FreeTimeadds ten possible hobbies for sims to advance in, adding another dimension of gameplay. These hobbies can be purely avocational, or they can intertwine with existing systems; some hobbies can be used to advance skill building (such as the Tinkering hobby advancing the Mechanical skill), while some can be used to earn money.[11]

The possible hobbies—Arts & Crafts, Cuisine, Film & Literature, Fitness, Games, Music & Dance, Nature, Science, Sports, and Tinkering—are tracked using a ten-level "enthusiasm" system. Sims gain enthusiasm in a hobby as they pursue it, but lose enthusiasm if they neglect it.[11][12][13]As sims build enthusiasm in a hobby, they gain options such as the ability to talk about it with other sims, to instruct sims in it, and to blog about their hobbies. Individual hobbies offer specific bonuses; for instance, sims interested in cuisine can make cheese platters, those interested in fitness can go jogging, and those interested in science can search for UFOs. These abilities can allow sims to gain skills, earn money, or fulfill their needs more easily.[13][14]Sims who achieve high-level enthusiasm in a hobby can also join dedicated clubs, which allow them to socialize with sims who share their interests, and upon reaching the tenth level of a hobby receive acommemorative plaque.[15]

FreeTimerevamps the base game's aspiration system.[11]Sims' accomplishments are measured through a system known as aspiration, which determines their long-term goals and short-term desires. A sim has one of several possible aspirations (Knowledge, Family, Fortune, Romance, or Popularity in the base game;The Sims 2: Nightlifeadds Pleasure and Grilled Cheese) that affect their wants, fears, and lifetime wants. As wants and fears are fulfilled, they gain and lose aspiration points on a scale from red (lowest) to platinum (highest).[16][17][18]FreeTimeadds a Lifetime Aspiration meter alongside the short-term system impacted by immediate wants and fears. Sims gain lifetime aspiration points as they achieve milestones, such as graduating school or university,woohooingfor the first time, giving birth to or adopting a child, and reaching the highest level of a career. Should a sim achieve the highest possible lifetime aspiration, they gain "permanent platinum mood", placing them in a good mood for the rest of their lives.[19]

As well as the lifetime aspiration system,FreeTimeadds secondary aspirations and aspiration rewards. Secondary aspirations allow sims to have the wants, fears, and benefits of another aspiration alongside their primary one. The "hidden" Grilled Cheese expansion, which makes sims fascinated withgrilled cheesesandwiches, was introduced inNightlifeas an aspiration only accessible through interacting with a specific item;FreeTimemakes it accessible as a secondary aspiration to all players. Players can spend a sim's lifetime aspiration points to grant them particular bonuses known as lifetime aspiration rewards. Some of these rewards are available to all sims, such as slower motive decay or work performance benefits. Others are specific to particular aspirations; for instance, Family sims can learn a soup recipe that cures illnesses, Grilled Cheese sims can conjure grilled cheese sandwiches from nowhere, and Knowledge sims can summon aliens. Lifetime aspiration rewards are a four-tiered system; sims can gain all rewards from their primary aspiration and the first three from their secondary aspiration.[20]

FreeTimeadds five new career tracks to the game: Entertainment, Dance, Architecture, Intelligence, and Oceanography. It is the third and last expansion pack to add new careers for sims, followingThe Sims 2: UniversityandThe Sims 2: Seasons.[21]It adds a large number of new objects and functionalities; as well as over 100 objects added specifically in the expansion pack, it expands the range of interactions available with many pre-existing items. For instance, the novel-writing system is revamped to let sims write particular genres of novels and give players some control over their plot elements, and the painting easel is expanded to let Grilled Cheese sims paintstill lifepaintings of sandwiches.[22]The expansion pack also adds a new in-game neighbourhood, Desiderata Valley, alongside the three pre-made neighbourhoods in the base game. It was the second expansion to add a new base neighbourhood, followingSeasons.[23]

Soundtrack[edit]

Background music forThe Sims 2: FreeTimewas composed byMark Mothersbaugh.[24]As with previous expansion packs,diegetic musicwas provided by real-world musicians makingSimlishcovers of their previous releases.FreeTime'ssoundtrack comprised what Randolph Ramsay atGameSpotreferred to as "an eclectic mix of international acts", includingNatasha Bedingfield,Datarock,I'm from Barcelona,andThey Might Be Giants.[25]Bedingfield described the process of covering her song "Pocketful of Sunshine"in the game's constructed language Simlish as" a fun and delightful challenge ".[26]

Reception and legacy[edit]

The Sims 2: FreeTimereceived mixed reviews. Its aggregateMetascoreof 74, corresponding to a "mixed or average" reception, is tied for lowest amongstSims 2expansion packs.[27][note 1]Contemporary reviewers felt that the expansion wasfiller[35][36]and that the series was aging, with its graphics in particular lagging behind then-recent releases.[11][37]FreeTimewas commercially successful; it was the third highest-selling PC game in the US inThe NPD Group's data for April 2008[38]and the ninth highest-selling in their data for that July.[39]It closed the year as the twelfth-highest-selling PC game of 2008.[40]In the years following its release,FreeTimehas been positively compared to releases forThe Sims 4.[41][42][43]

Contemporary reception[edit]

Contemporary reviews forFreeTimedisagreed on the expansion's impact on the game. Jon Habib atIGNfelt it would "go down as one of the most significant expansions forThe Sims 2"due to the impact of lifetime aspiration on gameplay,[11]a position concurred with by Angelique Houtveen atPersonal Computer Magazine.[44]Other reviewers at publications such asGamesRadar,JeuxActu[fr],andGamer.nl[nl]felt the expansion was less significant, with a writer atGamer.nlcalling it "perhaps the most uninspiredSimsexpansion to date ".[36][45][46]

Critics focused primarily on the expansion pack's hobby system.[35][36][46]Several reviewers, such as Troy Goodfellow atGamesRadarand Darren Allen atEurogamer,felt thatFreeTimeadded an element of complexity to "moulding the perfect sim"; Goodfellow drew attention in particular to the synergy of hobbies with job skills, such as a police officer sim benefitting from interest in the Fitness hobby.[35][46]Habib praised that sims of all ages could pursue hobbies, when previous expansions had focused on opportunities for teen and adult sims.[11]Some reviewers criticised the lack of time in the game for sims to advance in their hobbies;Gamer.nlin particular felt that they were underdeveloped and not well-synthesized with existing gameplay goals.[45][46]

Writers who acknowledgedFreeTime'schanges to the aspiration system received them generally positively. A staff writer for the French gaming magazineGamekultpraised the aspiration rewards system, stating that the option to slow a sim's motive decay made them no longer "prisoners of the shower, the bed or the toilet". The writer drew attention in particular to how this made it easier to manage large sim families, as individual sims were less dependent on fulfilling basic needs.[37]Habib referred to lifetime aspiration as "the strongest change to the game", making particular note of the fact sims with reduced energy decay could sleep less and accomplish more while awake.[11]

FreeTimewas released three and a half years afterThe Sims 2,[5]and several reviewers felt the game was aging.[11][36][37]Maxime Chao atJeuxActuexpressed hopeFreeTimewould be the final expansion pack for the game, criticising the game's engine and interface as increasingly behind the times.[36]Gamekult'swriter similarly felt the game had "reached its limits", arguing there was no further for an eighth expansion pack to go and that the series was suffering from outdated graphics and artificial intelligence.[37]Though Habib feltThe Sims 2'sgraphics were "more than adequate" for the game's intended play and decried comparisons to more advanced contemporary releases, he nonetheless considered it "obvious" they were less sophisticated than those in then-recent games. He also criticsed the expansion's more cluttered interface compared to the base game, which he deemed an exemplar of interface design.[11]

Later reception[edit]

Critical analysis ofFreeTimein the years following its release has leaned positive; in a 2022 retrospective ofSims 2expansion packs forTheGamer,Gabrielle Castania rankedFreeTimeas the game's second best expansion behindThe Sims 2: University.[47]Nonetheless, writing for the same publication, Madeline Bliek felt its included neighborhood Desiderata Valley was "quite average" and poorly distinguished plotwise from other premade neighborhoods in the game, deeming it her least favorite of them.[23]

As of 2023,no expansion pack forThe Sims 4has addressed exactly the same themes asFreeTime.Several analyses ofThe Sims 4have given the specific example ofFreeTime'shobby system as a missing element of the later game.[41][42][43]Deven McClure, a senior writer atScreen Rant,comparedFreeTime'smore complex system to the simpler system of social clubs inThe Sims 4: Get Together.She argued that aFreeTime-like system would add substantial depth to the game, including new ways to differentiate sims from one another, for sims to socialize, and for players to construct backstories for their characters.[42]Steph Panecasio, an associate editor atCNET,referenced in particular thatFreeTimeallowed younger sims to pursue hobbies and to attend after-school activities.[41]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Scores across all entries range from 74 forFreeTimeandThe Sims 2: Bon Voyage[27][28]to 81 forThe Sims 2: University.[29]The Sims 2: Apartment Lifereceived a Metascore of 75, corresponding to "generally favorable reviews".[30]NightlifeandPetsboth scored 76,[31][32]whileOpen for BusinessandSeasonsboth scored 78.[33][34]

References[edit]

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