The Sims 2 Bon Voyage
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What games are they interested in and why? If your kids are over the age of ten, I can almost bet they are asking for, among a few other things, computer games for Christmas! It seems that kids are into these games in a very big way now, but are they bad for them? Some experts say that spending too much time in front of a computer monitor is bad for a child's social development, but can it be any worse than hours spent watching TV? Do you know about the games they are watching? Do your kids spend hours in front of the computer screen? Do they find them more interesting than watching TV? There seems little point in banning these activities completely, even if you dared because you will likely end up with World War 3 on your hands. Perhaps a compromise could be reached to limit the time spent in front of the computer screen but I wish you the best of luck with that one! This quest has been to find out about computer games which all came about because I wanted to know what to get the kids in my family for Christmas and the answer was a resounding "computer games" I asked them why they found computer games so fascinating and they came up with a few mutterings, such as "really cool" "fantastic graphics" "great sound" "interactive games" another said with a snigger "I can be the boss and I can give the orders" This left me wondering what they were all about. So, now that I have discovered that most kids love computer games, here is my simplistic guide to their world. The first game my kids told me about was called Sims 2 and my first reaction was to say "what on earth is Sims 2" and my grandson replied "you wanna catch up" How charming! My guide to the world of Sims 2. Firstly, it's very important to remember, before you dash out and buy a computer game, that you find out what computer system the game will be played on. Is it a PC operating with XP, Millennium or Vista and so on, or maybe it is a Mac computer? Perhaps it's a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox etc. etc. This is something I found out about the hard way, so don't fall into the same trap of thinking that it will just be okay to buy any ole game because it will be wrong. Here are the six basics on how this game works 1) Sims 2 is a strategic simulation of real life, and the kids can create and control the characters in their own virtual world. They can create their own family, choose where they live, and dictate how they live out their lives. 2) Sims characters can be people or they can be animals, so you can choose a Sims pet to enjoy. There are even Sims seasons so your characters can partake in the seasonal activities of spring, summer, autumn and winter but there will be severe consequences if for example, the characters get too cold or too hot! 3) Your characters can go on an exciting Sims Bon Voyage holiday where you get to choose from three exotic locations and whether it will be spent in a luxury hotel or enjoying the "great outdoors" camping with the virtual family. 4) The characters have the same needs and wants as in real life and as their lives evolve, they may marry, have children, go to school, go to work and form relationships exactly as in real life and with the resultant outcomes being either very good or very bad. 5) There is no "final" outcome to the game, which is continually ongoing. Most everything that is done in real life is echoed in the Sims world starting from birth, to the toddler stage, on to older child, teenager, adult and then on to the senior age. Throughout their lives, the characters experience the same difficulties and challenges that we face in real life, such as caring for baby, the frustrations of caring for a toddler, through to trying to teach parent resistant children and trying to earn a living etc. 6) They have, what are called, up to "eight needs" or "motives" and this even includes the need to go to the bathroom, to sleep, to eat etc and the players are able to tell when these needs arise by observing the display meters that hover over the Sims heads. These can change color from green (full) through to red, which means the meter is empty. Being on empty is a danger sign that can cause big problems such as the younger Sims characters fainting to the senior Sims dying so being vigilant and keeping the meter on FULL is the name of the game. This is just a snapshot of the Sims 2 world from my stand point and this cyber world appears to have as much variety as life itself. Some of the games I have seen, that have been created by individuals are very entertaining and quite Ingenious but in some cases, the themes should be XXX rated. I personally think this game is great fun but not suitable for kids under the age of say twelve years but hey! What would a senior like me know! I am going to continue the journey into the world of today's kids and their computer game existence and will keep you posted with my understanding of other types of games currently on the market. You never know, perhaps you will end up buying one for your own entertainment instead of the kids!
Most helpful customer reviews 216 of 232 people found the following review helpful. I'd have a lot more fun with this game if I was actually playing it. But as usual, this EP shipped with a bunch of gameplay bugs and also an ugly, potentially dangerous form of copy protection by Sony called SecuROM. A Brief on Bugs: - Game shipped w/a programming error that created Tour Guide after Tour Guide, unchecked. Too many character files in a sim 'hood means too many opportunities for them to corrupt and your 'hood to go boom. A third party fansite had a fix before EA did (like two WEEKS before EA did). The fansite fix didn't weigh in at a whopping 15 MB like the EA patch did either, considering the EA patch fixed very few things and another will be needed. Must be fun to download on dialup. Say 'No' to SecuROM: SecuROM is Digital Rights Management (DRM) or copy protection software. EA doesn't want you copying the games you buy from them. 'Kay. *cough*violatesFairUseAct*cough* But SecuROM v7 is DESIGNED to disable software, like CD/DVD burner drivers or emulation software, that it thinks might be used for 'pirating'. DaemonTools, Alcohol 120, and the like. Oh, and factory installed versions of Nero and Roxio too...? Yes. Seems the version of Securom shipped w/BV wasn't updated enough; anything it doesn't recognize as kosher gets shut down, so if you've got a newer comp, it could very well affect you most of all. It doesn't happen to everyone, but that it's happening at all is unconscionable. Because of a game, some people are having drives REPLACED because they don't know about Securom's effects, reformatting their computers, finding their antivirus settings altered, and in the biggest of ironies, some are searching the web for ways to strip their comps of Securom and use a NoCD cracked .exe to run their purchased games, as they cannot otherwise. Securom is PIMPING piracy! More simmers than ever are now aware of how to go about it, out of fear of what Securom might do or has done to their own or other people's comps. In the US, none of the boxes came with any warning whatsoever that the DRM used might cause these kinds of issues. If you install BV, Securom installs with it, and the 'removal' tool from Sony EA was forced to post on the official site (after being harangued into investigating several weeks after BV's release) DOES NOT fully remove Securom from your comp. You're stuck with it, and due to it's very rootkit like behavior, it is a total bear to completely remove. Once you or a tech remove it, w/the Sony tool or otherwise, you cannot play the game you paid for. And problems Securom can create with driver software may or may NOT go away when you remove it, either. BV has been out 3 months and EA has still not addressed this very serious issue in any satisfactory way. In fact, EA is blithely sticking with Securom for all its future games (it's in a lot of them already). People are contacting the FTC, states attorney generals, and the BBB about this issue. Some who aren't suffering make light of it, blame people's comps, or call others hysterics, but when something that came unannounced with a game starts dictating what you can or cannot do with your comp outside of the game, it's not hysteria, it's major. It's affecting PAYING CUSTOMERS, people who gladly pay for every title they play and would never condone nor be involved with software piracy, and worst of all - Securom is a total failure as copy protection. NoCD cracks (ie. Securom-less game .exes) were available within 24 hrs of the game's release. Anyone can understand a publisher's need to protect their product, but not at the expense of people's personal property, time, money, aggravation, livelihoods, etc. If this is the wave of the future, I want no part of it - we own our computers, not EA or Sony.
***If you are responsible for the welfare of your comp, you need to seriously evaluate the possible damaging consequences of installing this EP or any other game that uses such invasive and possibly debilitating copy protection software.*** EA has a Securom board on their official TS2 site, look it over, draw your own conclusions. Check out the Bioshock, Neverwinter Nights 2, Command and Conquer, and Supreme Commander game boards too. It's not just BV that has these issues; those games all use Securom too and have similar problems. Do I have anything nice to say about BV? The water's pretty, and walking to lots is cool. But my simming buzz is pretty dead right now from game bugs - and worrying about the future of my computer's functionality if I decide to upgrade a component or add a peripheral that Securom decides it doesn't like. I wish I'd never installed it. *Edited, as time marches on. Please see comments for updates. 65 of 69 people found the following review helpful. I can't burn or back up anything to disks, I can't play DVD's, it's just a disaster. Before I could figure what was causing all of these problems, I logged on to the official website to report my disk problem (asking for the original) which is when I also learned about SecuROM. It turns out that this software is causing all of these problems and there is no easy way to remove it. It installs itself with rootkit-like behavior, its very hard to find, and thus, very hard to remove as well. As you can tell, I was extremely disappointed to read about this, and will be reformatting my whole computer to get rid of this nasty problem very soon. I just want my computer to function once again like it should, and I will NOT be reinstalling Bon Voyage or purchasing anymore products from the Sims 2 line until its guaranteed that the game won't cause any other annoying problems with my computer. Its such a shame that I didn't get to enjoy this game like I should have, and it's even worse that I can't play the game I payed $30 for, and that it just really messed with my computer. And that's the only way I can sum up this game: very disappointing. 70 of 75 people found the following review helpful. |
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Filed under Software by on Oct 27th, 2011. 
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