In the Sims 1, the ground was usually nicely egalised - you can't build on shallow ground. In the Sims 2 that's still the same for walls. However, building foundation (or a patio - there's only a visual difference) will help you with building on hilly terrain. It will provide the flat underground your house needs. And besides the regular square blocks, you can also place diagonal blocks to give it a nicer shape. But as your house will be a bit higher than the ground due to the foundations, your Sims won't be able to just skip on it. That problem is solved by using modular stairs, which you can paint in multiple colours, and with or without rails - as you wish. On the foundation you build the house itself, which isn't much different from The Sims 1: Put down some walls, do some decoration, and that's it. The main improvements are done in the little new features, which together make building your house a lot better.

One of those small additions is that walls can now be put next to each other in any angle. Sharp corners, as shown in some screenshots, are now possible as well. Furthermore you can put windows and doors on diagonal walls, and the two-story windows look impressive. You can pick the colours of doors and also stairs, and sometimes it's even split up so you can make a combination of colours on one door. Changing the appearance of anything costs just §15.

Something to keep in mind is that fireplaces now need a chimney as well. And chimneys don't go straight through walls, so you have to do a bit of planning when placing a fireplace, as you'll also see something of it on upper floors. If you don't like it, you'll have to surround it with walls. And if you lose your orientation while building the home, it's easy to enter a top-down camera mode by the click of one button.

In the Sims 2 you will have to build the roofs yourself - if you want anyway. It doesn't come cheap, but you can put any roof you like on your homes. If you're lazy, there's still the option to get it done automatically. You can choose from several roof types, including a flat one. As said, placing a roof isn't very cheap, but you get every simoleon back when you delete it - which makes sense when you keep in mind that making a roof isn't easy and will take you several attempts. Sims will still start with §20,000 on their accounts, and paying §3,000 for a roof on even a small house is quite a lot. New is also that you can actually place objects under the roof on an attic.

As for walls and floors, there's the improvement of the eyedropper, which saves you browsing to the entire catalog looking for an item you used on another place in the house. Floors can now also have larger textures than just one tile, and so you can have stretching textures without needing multiple floor textures.

Of course flowers and trees are not missing in the new game, and especially the trees improve the look of your house a lot. On the ground you can use several grount types, from grass to dirt, which will all come together seemlessly. As for pools, there isn't much news to tell since The Sims 1, except that there's now a light which you can place in your pool. Ground water is also still available, and by building a foundation over it, you can make quite nice bridges over them as well.

Fences are of course also there, and contrary to walls these can be build in uneven ground. If you want to let your Sims in and out of the property as well, there are some new gates to fit between the fence. Small fences can be put around flower beds, and the combination looks impressive - better than expected. As mentioned above, there's quite a lack of content. Besides for the walls, floors, etc., this also goes for stairs. There are 6 types of stairs, and they're all straight ones. Don't expected curved stairs for your castle, or lifts or teleporters. Changing the colours gives you some variety, but according to SimsZone it won't live up to the expectations. Also, a lot of content seems to be from the Sims 1 and isn't really new. Although unlikely, SimsZone hopes Maxis will add some more content in the final version of the game.

Buy Mode
After building the home it's time to fill it with furniture. The first thing mentioned are the new menus. The items are sorted in three submenus, the first to sort them by function, another to sort them per room, and finally the Collections. The first two have been seen in The Sims 1, but the Collections allow you to make your own sets of furniture and to sort them however you wish. As said in the Build article about stairs, objects can easily be recoloured. There are some models which come in many different colours, to bring some variety. Sometimes repainting can be done in multiple, e.g. for beds you can pick the frame and sheet colours separately. All for the cost of §15.

Compared with The Sims 1 there will be many more objects to choose from. However, many objects from expansion packs are not included - especially the "freaky" stuff. Necessary objects however, like chairs, tables, and beds, come in a large number of models. Also, a lot of furniture seems to come straight from The Sims 1 and expansion packs like House Party - but by far not everything is included. There are brand new objects as well of course, mainly for the little Sims - expect some new content like toys, a cradle, and more. There are also some unique, sometimes even freaky objects which come as career or aspiration rewards, but those will be explained in a later article.

A few examples of new objects are given, but of course it's far too much work to explain every object in detail. That's something to find out about when you get the game yourself. Some new things are in the simple things. Do you want to place the dishwasher in the counter? That's now possible, and although it's slightly more expensive it does pay off visually.

Beds are alos not just for sleeping. The famous "Play" option is also there for any double bed. And if it brings life to a new Sim is again up to you, as you can choose to "take" one from the pie menu. Furthermore the bed is also available for simple relaxation, to read a book, or for some daydreaming. Sims do remember which bed is theirs now as well, but you'll have to point them a few times.

The TV has been improved as well, and especially the game console is a nice addition to the game. Games can be bought in the community area. The actual moving pictures, which as Maxis has said can be changed by putting AVI files in the game, make everything very impressive. Some things have staid the same for objects though: objects age and their value drops over time, and especially cheap items seem to require some repairs. Technical things that haven't changes is that objects can't be put straight on diagonal walls, nor can lamps or paintings go on them. Curtains are an exception. As for downloading files straight to the game - from within the game - nothing much can be said. The button to do it is there, but without a working server there's not much to do with it.

In conclusion, SimsZone was a bit disappointed with the supposed lack of objects at first, but the options to change the colours add enough variety in interior. So the amount may seem small at first, but on second sight it's a lot better. There's also still enough to discover, as some interactions cannot be chosen from the pie menu but are actually there. Think of a teenager hanging on the door of the fridge, to open and close it several times.

Of course we'll keep you updated on what else SimsZone has to tell in their review. For their screenshots and even 2 small videos today, please go to their review special.

Written at 22:38 on Friday, 13 August 2004 by ChEeTaH.

Written at 01:48 on Tuesday, 17 August 2004 by elvendragon

Awww... they should make some new objects never before seen just for the sims2. I don't want the same old objects from the sims1, but in 3D! Boring!

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