What's the benefit of each pack?

[Jessie-the-Foodie]

Hello...I was thinking about buying another expansion pack or stuff pack...you know, the other games that come with The Sims 2 and also the stuff packs...

I was wondering which you have, and what the advantages are and disadvantages? Right now all I have is Double Deluxe, which comes with nightlife and celebration stuff...

It might be a long time before I can/have the opportunity to get another game, so this can take a while...but I'd really like to think it over...

I'd like to hear about all of the packs out there and pros and cons about them...along with how they work. For example, if I install seasons, will I be able to use both seasons and nightlife, and have my sims have a night on the town in the middle of...winter for example?

Other things to consider are, right now my family limit is 8...Does having something like pets or something increase the family number OR do animals count as family members? Is there a hack or something also to make that number larger (curious)...

Oh...another question...involving seasons...

It can rain and snow and such in seasons, right? Well right now all I have is The Sims 2 Double Deluxe with Nightlife and Celebration Stuff, so it doesn't rain...or snow...I was wondering if rain and snow and whatnot affected things such as objects put outside. For example, you know how you can have paintings on an outer wall, and put objects such as beds and tables and chairs and raidos and just about everything outside? Well would the rain/snow and such ruin some of these objects? And does seasons get storms?

I'm not just asking about these, I'm asking for info on all of them ^^;.

Oh, and which pack has the band set? You know, like the guitars and microphone and such?  

[Bara no Uta]

You can have 8 family members and 2 cats/dogs, but if you want more pets you have to make less family members. So like if your family only has 7 people you can have 3 pets.

Anyway, I only have a couple besides Nightlife (I also have Double Deluxe), so that's all I can really answer for.

Apartment Life:
Pros: Sims can live in apartments and have roommates, who they can befriend or fall in love with (or be enemies with). Sims can be witches or wizards. Can have closets. When you make a friend sometimes they can get you discounts.
Cons: Can't control roommates. Can't build apartments easily. Can't see inside others' apartments (as far as I know).

Pets:
Pros: Can have pets. More objects and wallpapers. Sims can become werewolves.
Cons: Pets are extremely needy.  

[Jessie-the-Foodie]

I put up some more questions ^^;. Thanks, by the way. I'm glad to know that I'd still be able to have two pets with a family of 8...By the way, are there pets other than cats/dogs? For example, can I have a...rat for example?  

[Shiver`]

Rat, no. But you can get a gerbil! It works the same way as a bird or fish do, meaning you can't customize it and won't show up in you family menu.  

[shutterbeebee]

Open for Business is pretty neat you can own the businesses that come with the pack or you can make your own business. You also get another neighborhood with apartment life Bella Dona Cove is what it's called.  

[nomdeplume1795]

I also started with Double Deluxe, and I don't have all of the expansions but I can answer for these ones:

Pets
Pros: You get to have pets and strays in your game, the option to make your sim a werewolf, and your pets can have jobs which brings more money!
Cons: I can't think of any for this expansion. I love my pets!

Seasons
Pros: It adds weather to your game and distinct seasons, adding realism to your game. Your sims can actually get too hot or too cold, and there are tons of new objects. You also get the option to make plantsims!
Cons: This one can be hard on your graphics card if you don't have a good one.

Glamour Life
Pros: Gorgeous new dresses, clothes, and furniture! A must-have addition to the clothing and objects Sims 2 comes with
Cons: There could be more stuff, but its worth buying if you like fancier objects and clothing in your game

Freetime
Pros: My personal favorite expansion, this one gives you much more stuff for your sims to do and work at. It keeps them busy and makes your sims more unique. There are also tons of new clothes and objects. It adds more realism to your game.
Cons: None!

Thats all of the expansions that I have, and whichever one you choose to get all depends on what you personally want in your game. Also, I believe Seasons and Freetime add more jobs to your game as well.
Hope that helps!  

[nomdeplume1795]

Oh, and as an add on to my earlier post:

Some of the packs I mentioned also add new neighborhoods, if you like that sort of thing.

Seasons adds a neighborhood called Riverblossom Hills, and Freetime adds one called Desidereta Valley

All of the packs add something special, and more than I can possibly describe here.

I hope you end of with one that you like! =D  

[Simming]

In Seasons objects such as a stereo or bed are not effected by weather changes, really all they get is if it is snowing they get a light dusting of snow on them. Your Sims however are effected by the weather, if it's summer and Sims spend to much time out they will get heat stroke, and in the winter they can freeze, also if they decided to head out during a thunderstorm there is a chance of that they might getting electrocuted. So yes there are storms, rain and thunderstorms, but they are fun to watch. The weather changes are a great way to add something new to the game. Each season lasts for a total of 5 days, and you can even edit it so instead of having fall winter spring and summer you can make it be winter fall winter fall or all four seasons are just summer, pretty nice if you don't end up liking a certain season.

The guitar, drum set, and bass come with University, and the microphone comes with Apartment Life.

Also FreeTime is really great, gets you Sims into exploring different hobbies, I'm a huge fan of the arts and crafts stuff that comes with this expansion pack. This pack come with a violin, sports equipment, pottery wheel, a ant farm, a junky old car your Sims can rebuild, ballerina bar, and much more.  

[Fiona_Gryphin]

The University expansion lets teenage sims go to college.
There are three colleges, each one seems to look like it was meant for a specific neighborhood.
You get new career paths for those who graduate college, and new career rewards.
You can create zombies with the Resurrect-o-Nomitron.
You can drink people if they get eaten by the cow plant.
It is recommended that you have only a few students in a house at a time (you can lose track of students and cause them to flunk out).  

[Onion_peeler99]

Well, I can tell you about the ones I have:

Nightlife:
Pros: You get a whole new bunch of stores and restaurants.
Cons: Nothing, except some of the fashion is a lil off!

Seasons:
Pros: Obviously that you get weather! Yay!
Cons: If your sim child get too cold, the social worker will get them right away. Sometimes you may get tired of a certain weather, but you can't really help it.

Teen Style:
Pros: The clothing is really nice!
Cons: Not very much variety. You have three 'clique' style, if you may. Goth, Socialite, Surfer.

Celebartion:
Pros: You can really spice up your weddings, which includes awesome new outfits.
Cons: Well, just about that it doesn't put a big impact on the game.


My friend has Open for Business, and I've played a few times. It's so good!

Good luck with whatever you get!
-Onion mrgreen