University has to be the most difficult expansion to find at a store, especially considering that it was the first expansion pack to be released, and never once has come down in price.
So yes, this review comes very late, seeing as I only received it as a gift a few months ago, but it’s a totally deserving one.
The Sims 2 University adds a new age category in the Sims life cycle, the young adults. This is the age where they go to college/university and develop their studies to prepare for a new career. When you send a teen Sim to college, you will see him or her grow and become a young adult as he or she says goodbye to the rest of the family.
Truthfully, I don’t know what’s up with the frat house/sorority/party all the time image of higher education. When I was in university, I spent my free time with my nose in books. I didn’t have time to do much else other than the piles of homework. Came exam season, I had 19 of them to take in 3 weeks. And as it turned out, I found out that playing through this expansion was very similar to those days that landed me with a nervous breakdown. Except here, it’s much more entertaining.
I moved in a young adult to a neighborhood campus. Life at a dorm is quite different, and there is very little room for commodities in the rooms. The new privacy doors reflect the picture of the occupant, and allow you to lock the door so no other students can barge in and use your stuff.
Basically, you have room for a bed, a desk and chair, a small dresser, and that’s about it. Of course, with cheats we can do just about anything, like remodel the whole dorm or get a ton of simoleons to move into a detached home.
The most important feature of The Sims 2: University is the introduction of classes, majors and new rewards. Your Sim can study one of eleven majors (and switch whenever): Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Art, Biology, Drama, Economics, History and Literature. To register, you simply phone the Registrar or use the computer to sign up for what you want to major in. Each major requires a specific set of skills to be developed in order to get high grades. Grades, skills and progression are shown in what would be an adult’s job/skills tab.
Under your Sim’s portrait there is a meter that shows how close to graduating he/she is. You need to complete four years of studies to graduate. When you have completed your studies and skills for a particular year, you will get an exam notification. Failing an exam lands you on academic probation and you have to repeat the semester. Fail again, and you get expelled and become an adult.
Going to class is like going to work. Your Sim will just walk out the lot and be away for the duration, but attending classes isn’t enough to graduate. Aside from the already mentioned skill building, you have to write term papers, complete assignments and do research. You will definitely spend a lot of time with the computer and bookshelf…
Good grades are rewarded by money grants and a spot on the Dean’s list. Graduating with Honors quickens your career advancement and opens up new and better-paying career opportunities: Art, Natural Science, Show Business and Paranormal.
But life in university can have some positive aspects unrelated to studying. You can play musical instruments, work at the cafeteria or tutor other students to earn a few simoleons. You can hang out, play pranks on others (water balloons are just hilarious), have toga parties, play hacky sack, buff up at the gym, have a coffee at the amphitheater, join a secret society.
The most memorable and random moment was definitely streaking. There my Sim was, hanging out with a few others, sitting on the floor just chatting, when some random naked dude runs into the dorm, runs around, makes some weird gestures/faces, and runs back outside and out of the lot. No clue what the hell that was all about, but it took me a while to stop laughing!
As for new content, there are plenty of building options (columns, walls, floors, doors that lock to a particular Sim), new furnishings (medieval furniture, lots of wall decorations, a cow plant, juice keg), more appliances (mini-fridge, hot chocolate maker), musical instruments (guitar, drums), exercise equipment (treadmill, weight machines), more skins and hairstyles and new aspiration rewards – including a plastic surgery machine that lets you change facial features, and a counterfeit money machine. There are also two new radio stations playing on the stereo (College Rock and Country).
University also introduces a few new things such as being able to influence other Sims to do certain things, and zombies! If you pursue a Paranormal career, there is a career reward that you can use to bribe the Grim Reaper to bring a Sim back to life. If you don’t pay him enough, the Sim will become a Zombie.
As a side note, in combination with Pets, this expansion won’t allow a student Sim to have a cat or dog, but you can have a small caged animal in your dorm room (bird or a fish, for example).
In the end, University is another balance game where you juggle assignments and grades with a Sim’s basic needs, while trying to find time to socialize and have fun. Too much like real life? You bet. But that’s why we have cheat codes!
If only I could have had some cheat codes for real life too when I was in University…