GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 09/13/2007
- Updated on: 09/19/2007
- Released on: 09/04/2007
- Originally published on GameSpot: The Sims 2: Bon Voyage (PC) Review
The Sims series' unique formula of simulating the lives of little computer people as they live, love, and go to the bathroom has been successful more or less from the start. Both the original game and the solid sequel, The Sims 2, have consistently stayed interesting, thanks to a never-ending stream of expansion packs. And Bon Voyage, the latest expansion for The Sims 2, adds a good amount of variety and some handy new options that make managing your computerized families' lives even easier.
Bon Voyage offers three different vacation venues with plenty of amenities.
The focus of this expansion is vacations--specifically, moving your family of "sims" out of the house and checking them into a fabulous resort hotel, then hitting one of three different vacation spots: sunny beaches, tea gardens, or ancient ruins. At these vacation spots, your sims try out leisure activities, collect souvenirs, and interact with the locals, who may teach your sims new "social" gestures specific to the area.
Even though three vacation venues may not sound like much, each setting offers multiple hotels with different price ranges, but all of them have enough in the way of basic services to help your sims survive their off-time. The better resort hotels have swimming pools, hot tubs, and other relaxing activities, but they all have handy, round-the-clock room service to feed your hungry sims; beds, showers, and TV sets to take care of their fatigue, hygiene, and entertainment needs; as well as plenty of other guests to socialize with. Since going on vacation suspends the regular flow of time from their home and professional lives (so they don't have to worry about missing a day of work), staying in a hotel makes life much easier for your in-game family.
Once you're settled in a hotel, you can take a cab (or hoof it) to a nearby tourist lot. There's a decent variety of tourist areas for each venue, including shopping and recreation areas where your characters can collect many different items, such as fresh fruit from the local market, or hidden treasure from rummaging through the cabin of an abandoned pirate ship. There are plenty of new social interactions and new activities to try at these venues as well, such as building sand castles or swimming in the oceans, which make excellent group activities. This helps shift the game's focus away from always worrying about your sims' needs (making sure they aren't hungry, tired, or bored) and makes it easier to focus on getting your virtual family into a fun-filled group activity quicker. And the ample population of other sims at both resorts and tourist areas provide plenty of opportunities for characters to network, make new friends, and learn new social gestures (such as bowing, which the kimono-wearing locals at the tea garden can teach you).
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