The Sims : Hot Date, not as hot as I had hoped.
Written: Feb 21 '02 (Updated Feb 21 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: New Sims Expansion pack, neat new features
Cons: Slows the computer way down, a lot harder than previous versions
The Bottom Line: I was very disappointed in this expansion pack. I hope Maxis does better with the next one, if they make another.
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| LisaDo's Full Review: The Sims:Hot Date PC for Windows |
I am a Sim-oholic, I don't deny that. When the new expansion pack came out I had to have it. Since it was about the same time as my birthday, so my husband went to Wal-Mart and bought it for me.
I immediately installed the game and started to play. I noticed that it took a little bit longer than normal to bring it up, I didn't think much about it. The Sims always loaded slow, so a few extra moments of waiting was worth it to me.
When the main window came up I noticed a new option at the top where the neighborhoods are listed. Downtown. This was the first thing I checked out. I clicked thru and it once again asked me to wait so it could load. When it came up I noticed that like the neighborhoods the "Downtown" area was sectioned off ito lots so you could go to one of the clus, stores or park that is already set up or go to a lot that was vacant and place your own items for a store or park. You could add or remove items from the Downtown area at will while in "Downtown" mode.
There are items you can add or delete such as candy displays, jewelry displays, hot dog carts, cash registers, and even fish ponds for the parks. You can purchase jewelry and such and return home with it and give it to your mate! You can buy fish food to feed the fish or rent boats and sail them on the pond.
At the Downtown area, the other Sims move about as they want to. There are new characters you can interact with downtown as well called the Townies. There are females to try to hook up with as well as gigalos. If you meet someone that is in your household, you do not have control over them downtown. You can only control the Sim you had call the cab.
When you are in your neighborhood, you are still stuck in your house, but you can call for a cab, now, to head downtown. You do have more options now in decorating your house. Not only are there more floors and walls to choose from, but new objects as well, such as sofas and beds.
Not only can you furnish your home differently but you can interact differently now. Instead of just kissing your mate (or any other Sim) you can choose how to kiss them. Passionately, friendly, just a peck. You can wave goodbye, kiss goodbye or shake hands. You can leap into someone's arms. You can cuddle as well. Many new interactions to be explored!
One thing I don't like it that there are now two bars when interacting with people as to if you like them or not and how much. There is a lifetime bar now as well. I find it a lot harder to make and keep friends. You can be going along, tell them a joke and then juggle for them and they'll boo you. They'll be friendly for a while and then turn on you. Maybe this is more lifelike, I don't know, but I don't like it.
The Sims : Hot Date also slows my system way down. I can play for about 10 minutes or so and notice it will start to drag down. If I go into the downtown area it doesn't last much longer after that before I have to reboot to play. At the time we had a Pentium III 500 with 256 MG RAM and I thought maybe it was just our system, but we have since then upgraded our system and RAM and it bought me a few more minutes of game play, but it still bogs it way down.
As much as I love some of the features and options, I have thought about uninstalling this and going back to just Livin' Large (see my review at http://www.epinions.com/game-review-586E-106CD24B-3A033560-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.198 ) and House Party ( http://www.epinions.com/content_27462372996 ). This new expansion pack has some great features, but I was disappointed in how much harder it was to make the Sims interact and how much it bogged my system down. For now it is still installed, but I have seriously thought about uninstalling it because those neat features just aren't worth it to me. :(
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
LisaDo
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Member: Lisa D
Location: Back home in Indiana!
Reviews written: 552
Trusted by: 274 members
About Me:
Proud SAHM, Navy wife and member of SHLEPS!
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