As is the form with other neighborhoods, Belladonna Cove has been fleshed out with various families with their own back stories. So, if you wish to be embroiled in the community's story, you can do it from the start with one of these families.

The DeBateau Family

Armand DeBateau lives with his adoptive teenage daughter Tara in one of the Cornerstone Condominiums on Audrey Avenue. He is a business tycoon, which is probably advantageous as the rent of their apartment is not cheap being §6,513 per week. There is some trouble in Armand's past as his wife left him, not wishing to be forced to give Armand an heir. She has been cut off, still lives in the Cove and we'll be meeting her later. Armand is a Family Sim and his life goal is to reach his Golden Anniversary, although that might be tricky to achieve considering he has no partner. He is, however, good friends with both of the Cordial sisters. One of them might be getting an offer to get better acquainted with the richest guy in the Cove.

Tara's lifetime goal is to max out all seven skills. As she is a knowledge sim, this could be achieved, especially with some of the Lifetime Aspiration Benefits from FreeTime. One of her major wants is to go the University, which should give her a big start and more time to reach her goal.

The Baldwin Family

This family, who do not appear to be related to the infamous acting clan of Baldwin brothers, live at Tech Terrace, which is another of the more affluent apartment buildings up on the hill. Benjamin Baldwin is Popularity Sim with the lifetime goal of becoming the Mayor of SimCity, although as he is an Inventor and only 10 days away from becoming an elder, it might be difficult to attain. According to his bio, he is a prominent member of the high society of Belladonna Cove (although he apparently has no friends) and his reputation is only that of an Amicable Acquaintance Something to work towards, no doubt.

Isabel Baldwin is a Family Sim and has the lifetime goal of becoming Captain Hero. As she is a stay-at-home mom looking after Marcus who is a toddler and only has 13 days before becoming a senior, it might also be difficult to attain. She has a recently retired uncle who lives in the Cove and is a bit of a casanova. She has to keep her eyes on him in the event that he causes an embarrassment.

Sofia is a B-Grade public school student who is five days away from becoming a teenager. Marcus is a toddler who is five days away from becoming a child. He still needs to learn to walk, talk and use the potty. Talking of potties, the apartment does not have one, nor does it have a changing table. If an accident is to be avoided, immediate purchase is required. Don't worry, the Baldwins have over §58,000 so they can easily afford them.

Geoff & Connor

Geoff Rutherford and Connor Weir live at 240 Audrey Avenue which is a house next door to Tech Terrace. They have pooled together their resources in order to buy this house in the best part of town. Geoff comes from a family with money and has an insatiable desire for love. He is a Romance Sim with the lifetime goal of becoming a Celebrity Chef although he is currently a Junior Executive. Connor is a Money Sim, he is also a Junior Executive and with the lifetime goal of having six grandchildren. He is sharing with Geoff to help with the bills, although as there is a household cash balance of over §72,000, there should not be a problem if Connor moves out.

Geoff is related to the Cleveland family who we shall be meeting shortly.

Gabriel & Chastity

Gabriel Green and Chastity Gere are friends who have known each other since elementary school and have agreed to be roomies. The question for this couple is whether Gabe will realise Chastity has grown up into quite a wild woman. Gabriel, who reminds me of Aragorn from the Lord of Rings trilogy, is a Knowledge sim, he works as a convenience store clerk but has a lifetime goal to become Chief of Staff at the hospital. A career change might be in order ... plus a new wardrobe. He is good friends with Samantha Cordial. Chastity is a romance sim, works as an Executive Assistant and her lifetime goal is to have 20 simultaneous lovers. That's a really tough one. She is good friends with "Uncle Carlos" and Kimberly Cordial.

They live down from the hill at 108 Bella Park Road in what appears to be a converted factory located between Central Drips Coffee Shop and Main Street Mobile Homes. Whereas those who lived on the hill had plenty of money to spend, those who live down here seem to have next to no money to spare.

Jessica Peterson

Formerly the wife of Armand DeBateau, Jessica left him when he pressured her to give him an heir. That is one of the stories. From checking her memories, it is found that she was caught having an affair with a "mystery sim". She is a Fortune Sim who works as a Record Store Clerk but with a lifetime aspiration to be a Criminal Mastermind. Surprisingly well skilled, this could be quite possible. If anyone, Jessica Peterson has the fortitude and determination to make it back up to the top. In some worlds, she might be called a "gold digger".

She lives in one of the Main Street Mobile Homes. Currently, she is getting on quite well with Carlos. The question is whether she has this geriatric casanova in her sights or that he's just a "good friend" whose platonic company she enjoys.

The Sentinel Apartments

Two families live at the Sentinel Apartments on Bella Park Road. Both are single parents with one child. Both seem to declare the same goal to get to know the other family better.

Vivian Cho and Etsu, who is a toddler, are the first family. Vivian's husband died in the line of duty. She is a Family Sim with a lifetime aspiration to become Captain Hero. She is currently an intern at the hospital and 11 days away from becoming an elder. She is fortunately on good enough terms with upstairs and he has kindly agreed to watch Etsu when she has been at work.

Timothy Riley and Sally, who is a child, live in the apartment from Vivian and Etsu. He is a widower, his late wife having passed away following an electrical accident. It does look as though Timothy used to be in the medical profession at some stage as he has the appropriate skills and a surgical training station in his inventory. Looking through the family album, it even looks as though he has tried to train Vivian at some stage. He is a knowledge sim with a lifetime aspiration of becoming a Chief of Staff. Unless he can jump into a good job in the medical profession, it looks doubtful he could reach it. It is also time he moved on with his life and getting to know Vivian as more than a friend may be an option. Sally might not be too keen on it, although she currently gets on well with Etsu.

Note - Getting neighbours to look after your children while you go to work or out somewhere is easy to do, assuming that they are at home and that you are already somewhat acquainted. If they accept, they become unpaid nannies and upon your return, they continue to help out until you discharge them.

The Patel Family

Over at the Ocean View Apartments, next door to the apartment building where I moved the Cartmans, lives the Patel Family. Ramir Patel is a member of the City Council, although his lifetime aspiration is to become a Celebrity Chef. He is also going to be a father before long as his wife Ana Patel is expecting a baby. She is family sim and works as a hostess at a restaurant. Her lifetime goal is to have six grandchildren, which probably means she intends to have a few more children after this one.

The Cordial Twins

Kimberly & Samantha Cordial are twin sisters, quite similar but different. Both are knowledge sims and Arians. Kim is an Elite Forces soldier but has the lifetime goal of becoming mayor. Samantha is a nurse with the lifetime goal of having 20 simultaneous best friends. This might be hard but it is definitely not impossible. Both of them have taken an interest in witchcraft. Kim is friends with the Evil Grand Witch and Sam is friends with the Good Grand Witch. Kim wants to become a witch, whereas Sam is currently more concerned (in my game anyway) getting engaged to Connor Weir.

Their house has a secret room with shelves upon which are various magical ingredients, which is hinting at the way they might be about to go..

The Cleveland Family

This family of three live at the Bella Park Condominiums, which are facing onto Central Park West. Jason Cleveland is a money sim whose lifetime goal is to make §100,000. He currently works in the Vice Squad. He is married to Marissa Cleveland née Rutherford, whose brother is the playboy Geoff Rutherford. She is also a money sim with the lifetime aspiration of becoming a Criminal Mastermind. As both Jason and Marissa have just over a week before they become elders, it looks somewhat doubtful that they might attain it.

On the other hand, their teenage son Justin may have a chance. He is a popularity sim and his lifetime aspiration is to become a General. Already, he has a teenage job as a Paintball Attendant. However, if he chooses to go to University, he might change his plans.

Carlos Contender

Finally, we get around to Carlos, the elderly wannabe casanova of Belladonna Cove. Carlos used to be a famous sporting star and is a Hall of Famer having chosen not to retire yet. Being a former boxer who wonders about what could have been, perhaps he could have been a contender (yes, pun intended). Surprisingly, he is a popularity sim with a lifetime goal of becoming a professional party guest. As he is 83 days old, his chances appear to be slim to make such a radical career shift. His reputation puts him on the top end of the scale being that of a Sociable Celebrity.

This time, I have not counted how many of the lifetime aspirations do not match the current professions of their sims. What I do know is that the politician does not wish to be mayor, although someone else does, and the doctor does not want to be chief of staff although a few others do. Again, I feel more work could have been done here, just to round it off nicely.

I am very impressed with the look of this neighborhood, the varied and different styles and designs of the lots and the families who populate some of them. I would have preferred lifetime goals that are more related to the sims who have them, but that is a minor irritation.

In the final part of the review, I will be detailing what new cheats there are, looking at the bugs and giving the final conclusions about this expansion pack.