The Sims 2: University Expansion Pack (PC CD)

But the real fun part of the expansion for me was the new objects, clothes and gameplay that's on offer. One particular fun new addition is the ability to join a "Greek House". You'll have to flatter the ego's of the often difficult members but if you get in your sims can live a real college dream. Another really great aspect is the ability to join a band! You can even create a household of Sims from scratch and turn them into a band if you wish. There's a funky new style to decorate your rented house, dorm or greek house with and lots of really great items. Throwing Parties is fantastic fun - you can host a Sports Party for your sims and thier friends to watch the latest boxing match or other event (You now recieve the Sims Sports Channel on your TV) or throw a greek-themed affair complete with toga's! Again, brilliant fun. With "The Sims 2: University" the creators have once again created a world of possibility for us lucky gamers to explore. There really is so much to find and explore and enjoy it's hard not to fall in love with the game. The expansion keeps all of the game's original charm and adds something very exciting to the mix. For players of "The Sims 2" this is a great addition and to people who've yet to experience the game at all, "University" signals a great time for you to buy both original and expansion and get in on the action. Until the "Nightlife" expansion hits shelves in the Autumn, this should tied Sims fanactics over through the long, hot Summer.


Brilliant!!!   March 10, 2005
Donna Myers
84 out of 90 found this review helpful

P>It's absolutely brilliant. There's so much more to do. There's 3 types of University to choose from and they're really good. You choose a Major and it shows you 3 jobs it helps towards and the skills you need. It's not too hard to get good grades and each time you complete a semester (there's 8), as long as your rating is good, you get a grant for the next semester. My Sim had a full rating for her first semester and she got 1,200 simoleons.

There's loads more objects, skins, wants and fears, including ones that help towards your new 'influence' meter. You can now combine 2 households as long as it doesn't exceed 8 sims. You can also play the teenage NPC's if you put them into University and once they've graduated you can put them into their own houses in the game, or combine them into another lot.

The dorms are brilliant as there are loads of other NPC's wandering about and your sim is more forward in talking to other people. There's also plenty of objects to help them increase their cooking skills, mechanical, etc.

Earning extra money is also easy, you just go to the coffee shop or bar, click on the sim working there, select 'serve drinks' or 'serve coffee' and your sims changes into the uniform. They get paid by the hour so you can decide how long they work for.

There's coffee shops, gyms (with loads more equipment), parks, Student Unions, etc, for your sim to visit. You can now also buy mobile phones, hand held games, etc.

Your sims now have lifetime wants which will put them into platinum for the rest of their lives. One of my sims wanted 6 grandchildren and the other wanted to reach the top of the Police career. You can also have more than 2 sims talking at once.

I only played it last night for about 3 hours and I'm hooked! I was getting bored of playing The Sims 2, now I've got something to play again!

For those that want to know, the next expansion pack is out in the Autumn and is called 'Nightlife'. You can go to bars, pubs, restaurants, nightclubs, etc. The flyer shows a female Sim with Vampire teeth so maybe they also include new types of Sims and skins too.

I hope this helped! If you haven't already bought this game, buy it now!


Education was never this exciting!   March 12, 2005
Khaled McGonnell
114 out of 123 found this review helpful

So, now time for a proper review, with a copy of the game that's actually been paid. First of all, let me commence by filling you in on the meaty additions to the game. After all, some people will buy this add-on just to enhance their existing Sims. Sims 2 University adds four new careers: Artist, Paranormal, Natural Scientist and Show Business. These new careers also come with their own career rewards, of most interest being the Resurrect-O-Nomitron and the Cow Plant (fans of Evil Dead and Little Shop of Horrors will appreciate)! For those of you who liked some of the original careers, the graduated Sims will accelerate into the existing career paths, particularly if you've selected an appropriate major (for instance, a major in economics will set that Sim up nicely for a career in Business).

There are a lot of new items, with some requiring special mention. The new instruments can be played in sync and earn money for busking Sims, and hustling at the pool table is a joy to watch! There are also some new items specific to the campus allowing all manner of nefarious deeds.

The actual game dynamic of this expansion is what really impressed me. Where as previous expansions for The Sims just added a few actions and items, this provides an entire mini-game within Sims 2. There's such an enormous amount of scope that how you decide to play it really is critical. Time in Sims 2 could be countered with the Elixir of Life, but The Sims 2 University only gives you finite time. This expansion actually feels more like a game than a simulation, which I find a very satisfying addition. So how do you win?

Well, as I said, there's many ways around it. It just depends what you want for your Sim. Money is available in all manner of ways, truly not disadvantaging any skill sets over others. Busk, steal, hack, hustle, study or earn your Sims, simoleans are to a large extent the key to your Sims success. Then, though as in reality not necessarily the focus, there's the academic slant. Your Sim has to ensure they get the necessary grades to pass each year, and avoid getting kicked out of Uni. The results will also affect your income (through scholarships) and your career prospects. Finally, your Sim's will need to have some college buddies to get them through Uni mentally intact. As usual, friends can also ease other burdens, such as with Group Research, getting into Greek Houses, and being inducted into the elusive, secret society.

Your graduated Sim is plunged back into the mainstream game with a few additional perks. Lifetime Wants are your Sim's ultimate aspiration. Although tough to achieve, they will grant the successful Sim a permanent Platinum Mood! They get to hang up their diploma certificate and exert their influence on lesser Sims, getting them to do tasks for them. These simple additions to the main game are an excellent and innovative addition. Each copy of the game will also give you Sims junkies a taster of more things to come, in the shape of the Nightlife expansion (not that that should come as a great surprise).

All in all, I think the Sims 2 University is an essential purchase for anyone who has the original. This add-on also brings such a new dynamic to the game, a pace, excitement and finality, that I would recommend it to those who didn't even like the original.


A good new dimension to the game   February 28, 2007
Fisher Queen (Scotland)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful

This is one of those games, you'll either love, or loathe. Personally, I love it.

The game basically adds a new "age group" to the game of young adult. As soon as your Sim child becomes a teen, they can apply for scholarships and move to university, leaving behind their family. Their degree can then be used to boost their future career choice and introduce them to new Sims (as well as have more options of wants, and more locking facilities over their wants).

Once at university, your Sim can either move into a dorm or (if they have enough money) move into rented accomodation, or, if they pass the "friendship" test, move into a Greek house. You can also send NPC Sims (those who tend to wander past, or appear as "friend from school") to university, and put them into families. When your Sim is in a family group, they retain their original surname, its just the group name that you change.

The game could benefit from a few changes - for example, when building a university campus you don't get the automatic building choices of community areas, nor can you build dorms (unless you use cheat codes to change the lot zoning). If you have the Pets EP, you'll find that your Sim can't adopt a pet. Nor can your Sim have babies.

There's a lot more "playfulness" to the Sims as well, from streaking, to pulling pranks with sprinklers. Your Sim can also work in the cafeteria to earn a few extra Simoleons, or tutor other Sims, but there's no option to find a job. Your Sim can get engaged, but both the Sim and their beloved will have to be in the main community of Sims 2 before they can marry. Befriend the right Sim, and you might also get whisked away in a black limo to a mysterious secret society! There's also the option of hacking grades, but be warned, if your Sims skills aren't up to scratch, they risk getting caught (and penalised!).When your Sim graduates, they can move back into their original community with the standard 20,000 simoleons and start a new family from scratch for themselves.

The extras - hair, clothes, furnishings, and decoration are wonderful - it's very extensive, and a great first EP for anyone wanting to move on from the original game, and for those items alone it's definitely worth purchasing. Given that this adds an extra age group to your Sims lifespan, it will take longer to complete, but you'll find that it gives them a much more rounded character.


Life just got better!   March 16, 2005
63 out of 68 found this review helpful

If you are umming and arring about whether or not to buy this extension pack i recommend you take the plunge. As a vetern of the orginal sims each extension pack brought a new dimension to an already scarily life like game, and when the sims 2 was released i found it diffcult to think that the sims playing experiance could get any better, well i can tell you that after barely 72 hours of having the extension pack, Maxis have done it again they have made an already great game even better! The new 'young adult' life stage is a master stroke and the university experiance is just as demanding and engaging as real life. The young adults can have sports parties or entertian friends round a huge bonfire whilst roasting marsh mellows, they can also take a trip around the campus, meet new people in the Sudents Union or buy mobile phones in the shopping mall, oh and with all the exciting new activites don't forget to study at the libary, or do your assignments or your sim will be put on academic probabtion and eventually kicked out! However if your sim finds the right balance between playing pool and writing term papers then a big graduation party awaits before they move back to their neighbourhood ready to persue one of the four new career paths. All in all this extension pack goes where no sims have gone before, and a whole new world awaits you at University!