January 2002 - The Sims: Vacation!
The Sims Vacation allows you to go on a Family Vacation, Sims style!
Release date for the US is late March!
With all the magic and parties and dating Sims have been up to recently, many of them need a break...and what better way to take a break than going on Vacation! Send your Sims and their families to a Vacation island filled with sun and snow fun! Show the kids a great time while taking a spin on a seaside carnival ride, playing sand volleyball, building snowmen, and riding on the snow slide. Bring home memories like jewels found on a treasure hunt or a wacky souvenir. But watch your kids because if you can't keep them from kicking over sandcastles and hurling snowballs, you'll have a short stay on Vacation Island.
Vacation Island:
Like The Hot Date downtown, Vacation Island will have up to ten new lots that players can build vacation resorts on. Some lots are winter themed, some are beach themed, and some are forest themed. Kids are people too:
The Sims Vacation allows all-new social interactions for adults and their children and interactions children can have with each other. Unlike Hot Date, Vacation allows the entire family to go to a new location. But watch out, if you don't take care of the kids, they may cause enough mayhem to end the vacation early. Souvenirs and prizes:
Hot Date brought new gift opportunities to the Sims. Vacation will even have a greater variety of gifts, but Sims can also win prizes in carnivals, buy souvenirs at gift shops, or even find valuables on a treasure hunt. Perhaps if their skills are high enough, they will even win a trophy. Sims can then take the trophy back home and show it to their friends.
New group objects:
If you thought the hot tub was fun, wait until you play an 8-Sim game of volleyball or get involved in a 2-way snowball fight. Vacations are about fun! Take the kids fishing on the new fishing pier! Who knows, you might catch the big one, or you might just catch good old junk.
Welcome to Hotel Sims:
Just check in and let the friendly, attentive staff see to your every need. Food buffet, luxurious beds and state of the art bathrooms are all included. Will you be staying just a couple of days, or all week? There are packages for every budget. Just make sure to lock your doors...you never know who might want to pick your pocket....
New Objects:
Snowman
Fort
Slide
Half pipe
Tent
Skating rink
Treasure hunt
Volleyball
Archery
Fishing
Whack-a-Will
Shoot a Clown
Horse ride
Chicken Toss
Miniature golf
Mechanical Claw game
Carousel
Hotels
Prize booth
Souvenir cabinet.
Poll:
November 2001 - The Sims: Hot Date Review:
It's Finally here, the expansion pack you've been waiting for!
Graphics - 7/10
Gameplay - 9/10
Lastability - 8/10
Mastery - 9/10
Sounds - 8/10
Overall Rating 8/10
And so we come to The Sims: Hot Date. At last, all pretence is out of the window, and we can all get down to the truly fun stuff. Rather than a glorified content patch, as in the case of Living It Up, Hot Date adds a whole new dimension to the Sims experience.Sims can take time out from the daily humdrum of life to head Downtown in a taxi, meet people, take in the sights, and cheat on their nearest and dearest... Hot Date is an expansion worthy of the attention the Sims franchise has already been accorded by the games-buying public. Even the most dedicated fan can get tired of career and house-building after a while; tire of this and all that's left is making the most mess possible of the emotions and relationships available to you.
Even if you still have the house-building bug, then Hot Date allows you to head downtown in building mode where you have unlimited funds available to build the pleasure complex of your choice. There's even new and improved building materials to construct that special place.DownTown: For the minuscule price of a taxi ride, the Sim of your choice either invites a close friend to meet them or heads down solo to pick up one of the numerous townies hanging around.
Social Interactions: One of the best things about the expansion is the implementation of over 40 new ways in which to interact with your fellow Sims. Once you get to know them well enough, it's up to you when choosing 'kiss' on the action menu whether to go for a peck on the cheek, a polite kiss, passionate and so on.Time stands still in the regular game while you frolic downtown, which is fortunate, because it's tiring work wining and dining potential partners - you'll need your rest once you get back to civilisation. Our alpha male nearly died after a particularly exciting night out with his newfound friend. In fact, we'd probably have been happy for him to die had he managed to get that intimate moment on the swing-seat, but we forgot to shower him before he left, so she refused on grounds of smell.
Conclusion: As you can see, Hot Date adds an obscene amount of voyeuristic addiction to an already proven immersive experience. The process of chatting up strangers is enhanced with an increased set of animations, in typically excellent sim style. We particularly love the movements involved with an attempt to cuddle when sims sit together - a nervous giggle followed by a sideways shuffle, and the classic yawn manoeuvre. It's also more complicated than previously, with a vastly increased range of interests available to the characters. Should your interests not match closely with those of your chosen target d'amour, then a quick visit to a magazine stand is all that's needed to resolve the problem.
By far the most accomplished of the expansions to date, Hot Date is a must for gaming voyeurs worldwide. Don't hesitate - buy now.
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