The Sims 2: Nightlife

The original Sims had the Hot Date expansion, which was the best of six released for the original people simulator. Nightlife is sort of the Hot Date for Sims 2, at least thematically. It’s neither as revolutionary nor as sexy as its antecedent. And it will still sell a million copies.
The new stuff is mostly good. Your little dolls (or action figures) now can buy cars of their own, so there’s no more waiting thirty minutes for a taxi to go to a community lot. A new “pleasure” aspiration lets you control little computer people who live to party. The downtown area now has a nice mix of dance clubs, pricy restaurants, and bowling alleys. You can “group” your Sim’s friends, making mass outings to the club a lot easier. There’s safety in numbers on the dating scene.
Not all the additions work as well. Some of the new items are bugged, and there is choppiness on some screens. The supernatural has always clashed with the mundane life of your average Sim, so the inclusion of vampires seems gimmicky. Sims now have turn-ons and turn-offs, but they are limited to superficial things like hair color, cologne, and vampirism. With all the traits that Sims get, you would think that some others, like neatness, would make the cut.
The turn-ons are intended to be part of the new “date meter,” but you can have a great date by just sticking to the tried and true methods of fun, smooching, and backrubs. In fact, a large part of the “it’s OK” vibe is derived from the simple truth that the original game already had a great romantic minigame. If anything, romance is easier, since you are now told whom you have chemistry with and whom you don’t. Where University opened up the game in novel ways, Nightlife merely gives you new places to do the same old thing.

This article originally appeared in Computer Games Magazine #181