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"The expansion pack already exceeded my expectations."

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The Sims 2 University

Relive the best years of your life -- Sims style

By Karen Chu

I feel like my young emo Sim kid Cornelius Fargo Hobbes, in true emo nature, yearns to get away from Veronaville. If only there was some way to get him out of the house for a few years, expand his horizons, send him somewhere he could really meet some new faces. Thankfully, here comes Sims 2 University, the first of the next half-decade's string of relentless expansion packs where players can experience "the best years." From emptying kegs to trying to cram more and more things into less and less time, from counterfeiting money to persuading "that green alien girl" to do your term paper, this is an expansion worth attending.

Sims 2 University undeniably lives up to what a quality, bona-fide expansion pack should be: an addition to a game that is not scaled to be a sequel but to be a supplement that introduces refreshing new features that build on the core game play. It offers more of the addictive micro-management game play that Sims fans know and love by introducing a new teen life stage that was underexposed in Sims 2, a stage that increases the immersion of the "from birth to death" feeling of the Sims 2.

Although you can start your Sim fresh and hopeful in University, I brought my proud young Cornelius up from a child to gain the full experience. After all, any teen with passing high school grades can attend college with no difficulty. The easy application process of button clicking, and having the Danish-like Sims government who subsidizes all college funds make the admissions process even easier. For university-hopeful Sims, a good career in college can unlock new choice career paths for the years after college, as well as add two additional Wants slots for more rewarding activities for your Sim to pursue and rack up those Aspiration and Influence points.

A bittersweet wave goodbye and a taxi ride later Sim teens can start getting their learnin' on at one of three readily available schools: the Ivy League-esque Académie le Tour that touts a first-rate education but offers no Greek societies; La Fiesta Tech, the modern campus nestled in a desert notoriously known for extraterrestrial commotion; or the diverse and well-rounded Sim State. After choosing the right school, comes move-in day. It's perhaps the first sign that you may be in over your head as you struggle to choose between the dorms, your own place, or the Greek system. Just like real college, you can always move out at any time, but of course, made easier at the click of a button. The dorms are a safe bet since the food is free, and there are always fresh faces to see. The Greeks are choosey, requiring you to throw a successful get-together to get in... then constantly throwing more parties to ensure that your faux-Greek-letter adorned house is the campus' number one hot spot for drunken debauchery goodness. Lastly, you can buy a lot and build or remodel a house to suit your college dreams, whether you dream of a house full of secret society members or you and your band just need a place where you can really, really thrash.

Aside from the new places to live and co-eds to pillow fight with, there's more random clutter to acquire. College paraphernalia available in the Buy Mode, such as the illustrious White Rabbit hash pipe—er...I mean "bubble blower," and school pennants, can increase your cool while keeping your Sim's bank account low. But fret not, there's always the grand option of working part-time at minimum wage. The job system is more convenient than outside of University, allowing you to work whatever hours you like and actually be able to use the bathroom to relieve that cursed bladder tension anytime. In addition, you don't have to hunt through the newspaper for work, instead just talking to the locals and seeing what needs doing.

Despite the myriad of extracurricular activities, staying in school is top priority. After all, you do get quite a bit of scholarship moolah with good grades. Once you are moved in, settled, and working in your free time, you face the same realization that brings terror to most college students in real life. You have to go to class. It takes four years of one class everyday per semester and two semesters per school year to complete any of the universities, but don't let the light class load trick you into thinking that university life is breezy. Sims 2 University is hard. There, I said it. Though your Sim students have more free time than Sim adults, that extra free time will be spent with more crap to do. In addition to your chosen aspiration, imagine an invisible "Education" aspiration, demanding school responsibilities that lie outside of the classroom such as completing assignments, researching with a group, writing term papers, and increasing skill points through study and practice. The busy schedule of a Sim student is made a tad less hectic now with the new Influence meter located in the tool bar. Shacking up influence points will allow your Sim to persuade others to do your Sims' chores. But even after mastering the art of persuasion, your Sims will still have a jam packed schedule. This can make managing Sim students arguably more of a cerebral effort than managing Sim adults. Is it a blemish? Hardly. Sure, it takes a lot more extensive planning to make sure your Knowledge Sim won't be an anti-social loner, or your Popularity Sim will pass sophomore year, but more things for Sim co-eds to do mean more voyeuristic fun!

The perks of adding University to your Sims 2 game don't just include having newer and more features. Yes, there are more fresh faces to meet and build lasting friendships with and more themed furniture to add style to your environment, and yes there are woo-hoos aplenty. But what makes Sims 2 University worth lightening your wallet for is that it is a Sims expansion that can stand by itself. If you want to get that "just one minute more" buzz but don't have forever to spend playing, playing University from move-in day to graduation will take roughly eight hours. At the same time, you can utilize this extra life stage to build up your character and unlock new careers, which is a nice touch. It gives players more drive to see their capable college graduates soar, so they can see more in the world of Sims 2.

In the end, my young emo Sim Cornelius Fargo Hobbes graduated on the Dean's list with a physics major, earned a few grand through grant money, became best friends with the school mascot llama, swapped spit with several co-eds, partook in the Greek system, and printed some counterfeit money. As Cornelius returns home, he has two more Want slots, more aspiration and influence points, and a promising future working in the exclusive field of natural sciences. Needless to say, he's the envy of every block in Veronaville.

It would be nice to experience vacation and breaks from school in the game. Any one would jump at the idea of their Sim spending spring break in a Cancun-like Sim neighborhood sipping mini umbrella adorned drinks and getting freaky on the dance floor. But then again, that might kick the ESRB up a notch, and the expansion pack already exceeded my expectations. There is a real pleasure to having one more voyeuristic step in your Sims life, as they seem that much closer to a real family that you get to play in the sandbox of. The expansion neatly captures the frenzied pace of college, the numerous things you can discover and do, the strange secrets every campus is rumored to have, and of course, streaking.