What's New

Sims 2 FreeTime by Greg Kramer
Updated February 26, 2008

February is a month of holidays and happenings; the better to keep us distracted through the final frigid flailing of winter. I, however, look forward to it for what February means to me: Sims 2 expansion pack time. Sure, September means that too, but I can (usually) tell the difference. Where was I? Oh yes, like the passing of the seasons, so too is the calendar marked by the next evolutionary expansion of the wildly successful and enduring Sims 2 franchise. This time around, our little virtual creations get something they’ve always desired: more to do with their off hours.

Sims 2 FreeTime not only provides Sims with new ways to pass the hours between work, sleep, and socializing, but also offers Sims new ways to define themselves and participate in specialized communities. To achieve this, the pack adds ten hobbies:

1. Arts & Crafts
2. Cuisine
3. Film & Literature
4. Fitness
5. Games
6. Music & Dance
7. Nature
8. Science
9. Sports
10. Tinkering

Sims can build their enthusiasm for as many of these hobbies as they (and you) like. With enthusiasm comes increasingly powerful benefits, some specific to the hobbies themselves. For example, Science hobbyists eventually gain several new telescope interactions, while Nature enthusiasts acquire a new Jogging activity that take them off the lot to get some exercise. No matter which hobby your Sims pursue, they get other perks like a hobby magazine, membership in the hobby’s secret club, access to the club’s secret HQ, etc. There are so many things to do and ways to play to pursue your Sims’ hobbies, that you might consider telling them to quit their jobs.

Sims 2 FreeTime is about more than just hobbies. Your Sims also gain a new Lifetime Aspiration Score. This new way of measuring how your Sim is doing in life unlocks a wide array of superpowers and even the possibility of selecting a secondary Aspiration (for Sims who excel when multitasking).

Of course, there are also dozens of new objects and social interactions (it could hardly be called an expansion pack without those), but also new careers (and career objects) and two new Talent Badges. These and other new tools enable your Sims to make their own custom outfits, frame homemade paintings, collect bugs, bird-watch, compete in dance, computer games, and cooking competitions, write more customizable novels, watch movies on TV, become better parents to their babies, compose their own electronica, program their own radio station, play with model trains, and summon a magical genie. All these and more can become part of your Sims’ lives.

Taking a cue from all this newness, this guide (our eighth in the Sims 2 series) introduces the first of several changes to help you find the information you want. The most obvious change is in the new object catalog, which highlights every object in its natural habitat (your Sims’ homes). This and other new layout features should make these guides an even more valuable resource as you learn to incorporate Sims 2 FreeTime’s array of new features.