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| From: Electronic Arts
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $13.99
You Save: $6.00 (30%)
New (13) Used (17) from $12.22
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 461
Format: Cd
Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Xp
Genre: artificial_life_simulation_games
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Windows 2000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 15371
UPC: 014633153712
EAN: 0014633153712
ASIN: B000VSEF52
Release Date: February 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: new new new
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 41
 Overall Fun March 7, 2008
E. K. Pearson (USA)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
It's been very hard for EA Games to top the Season's expansion in way of activities and good game content for the Sims 2 game franchise, but they come pretty close with their new expansion Freetime.
The big draw is the new hobbies that are available for your sims to do in their spare time. And while this can certainly keep your sims extremely busy, often it feels like there's never enough time to do it all in. It does help fill in those gaps for age groups of toddler and children though , which is a great stress killer as both age groups have been limited in activities for so long. As your sim increases their "points" in a certain activity, options like surfing the web and posting blogs on the pc concerning your sims hobbies opens up. Eventually you have a special membership to a exclusive club for that hobby as well where you can go to do things related to the hobby or even just meet other sims who might share that hobby.
Also in this expansion is a second meter for your sims lifetime achievements. As your mood stays platinum it builds faster giving you points to spend in four categories: Motive Decays, Career, Your Chosen Aspiration, and a category to select a secondary aspiration if you want. The secondary aspiration is long overdue in my opinion, as it stops the extreme one-dimensional aspect of picking your aspiration. So now your sim may be obsessed with money, but if you select Family as a secondary, you might actually want children or to interact with your own family more. The Motive Decay section is almost essential these days as motives seem to pile drive down faster than I ever recall them doing before, especially as you partake in the various hobby activities.
However, this expansion comes with some MAJOR Annoyances. I swear that Maxis holds a meeting before each expansion to study and put together some of the most aggravating behaviors possible to irritate their fan base (Sea Chantey anyone?). In this case it would be the phone ringing off the hook and people stopping by chronically at your house (and no... locking the doors to household only does not keep them at bay) as you learn new hobbies. The phone only rings off the hook for the first few points into a new hobby, but if you have more than one person in the household it can drive you absolutely NUTS. And imagine if you play more than one household in your neighborhood. It grinds on a player very quickly. Another bad point is that as you don't do something for a hobby bugs the player by saying that you need to do activities associated to get it back up. So when you're just doing the basic skills (for scholarships or jobs) as you no longer study since the points pretty much are a permanent thing once you get them, or do anything else related to that field it will give you messages telling you that you're losing points in it. The downer regarding hobbies is that a sim doesn't actually get to pick what their "predestined" hobby is. You basically experiment around until the sim gets a highlighted section. This is the hobby that your sim is most interested in doing. It would have been nice for the players to pick themselves, based on their sims habits and personality. Be prepared though for your sims to pick up new gestures with every new hobby they gain points into, and while it's cute the first few times, you eventually get tired of them rubbing their bellies thinking about food or cracking their knuckles (beware, some sims will actually whistle the Sims 2 theme song). Based on all these exasperating things mentioned, this player currently has all sounds turned off.
The expansion does offer a few overdue new things though. The ability to sort and create your own music channels (so pick your favorite Sims 2 songs from all the radio stations or set up your own MP3's), a few new badges for your sims to earn and a new neighborhood with new characters to play. The sewing badge is rather neat in that you can actually make one custom outfit for each gender/age once you get high enough, it would have been great if Maxis had expanded that option a bit more for making custom outfits. There's also an option to study parenting out of the bookshelves now, once learned you're able to click on a baby and see their greatest need. However, I find this option completely unnecessary considering that babies in the game are very simple, and usually it gives me a toilet symbol (as if you can do anything with them regarding) and you just have to wait for a diaper change anyways. Other neat things include Mr. Humble, who might visit your household and give you a special PC that has a preview of Sims 3 on it, and if your household is really into their hobbies they could just get a visit from the gypsy who'll leave a mystical genie lamp which grants 3 wishes (careful what you wish for though...). Of course there's a few new outfits for the expansion, but have to say that I found them rather hideous (another specialty of EA Games as of late, wondering if they let 4 year olds design the outfits these days to save money) and one new hair for adult males. So if you're expecting a lot more content in that area, you'll be disappointed. The last neat item they placed into this expansion is the ability upon a sims birthday to grow up to three townies with you, so now when you make friends with little Marsha Bruening, she can go through the life stages with you, instead of still being a child when you're an elder and wondering why you don't hang with her anymore.
Overall, the expansion gives enough new stuff to keep you busy for a bit and expand your sims activities making it a decent buy. Finding the time to squeeze it all in may be a problem though, and people who used to keep busy creating large sim families may find it near impossible to do now. Still this is one of EA's better expansions and should have enough stuff in it to keep even a finicky simmer busy for a good while. And thankfully thus far this expansion has been bug free, which I know purchasers of Bon Voyage can greatly appreciate. Happy Simming!
Never thought I'd say this.... March 1, 2008
TigerTie (USA)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
I never thought I'd say this but now the game is even harder to master! Not that that's a bad thing, but I was having enough trouble micromanaging families individual needs and wants, now have to micromanage their individual hobbies too? And keep track or their pets? And make sure they don't freeze in winter? I'm complaining yet I'm happy at the same time. Free Time offers a lot of new activities individuals and groups can work on, and the new objects are quite entertaining. And with lifetime bonuses, I can finally give romance sims something to aspire to, and not feel too bad about it. It's just I have all the expansion packs, and I would say this one is the hardest for me to get used to because you can't just not play it like university or OFB when you get tired of it; there's an extra meter for secondary aspirations and a whole new aspect of gameplay when it comes to hobbies. I'm just saying for me it's going to take a little getting used to. I had a system on how I played and now I have to change it. I guess that's the challenge :-)
Freetime is great! March 4, 2008
K. Philbert (Rosedale, NY)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Freetime allows your sims to have hobbies such as Tinkering, Science, Nature, Arts & Carfts, Film & Theatre, Nature, Sports, Gaming, Cuisine. Once your sim reaches the half way point of mastering these hobbies it opens up a secret lot where your sim can perfect these hobbies. If your sims is into to cuisine a secret lot will open up that allows them to enter a food contest. Also your sims can earn membership into a hobby club once they reach this half point in there hobby skill level. Once they master a hobby then your sims will be in the zone. When your sim is in the zone they glow and their motive meter decreases alot slower which allows them to participate in this hobby a lot longer.
Freetime also offers new interactions like birdwatching, bug hunting, sing nursery rhymes (which sounds funny), watching movies, blogging about your hobby on the computer, browsing the web about your hobby, reading about your hobby in the newspaper, etc. It also adds a new study skill called parenting which allows your sims once they have earned this skill pick up on your sim's baby needs lowest motives and try to fulfill it. Which takes the guess work of trying to do everything for a screaming baby when you can't see their needs meter.
Freetime also offers new furniture such as a new microwave, stove, toaster, dishwasher, trash compacter, etc. that are different colors. Other furniture options include new baby furniture. The is what I love because the new baby furniture is a lot nicer and elegant. Other furniture include sports or hobby related items such as basketball court, soccer, ballet barre, sports rugs, picture frames, desk supplies, painting supplies, pottery making machine, sewing machine, restorable car,etc. Some new lots which include Nerissa's clothing store, Freetime Recreation Center, and two other homes.
Sims can now have a secondary aspiration as well. They can also earn aspiration benefits which will allow them the benefit of for example to beg for there job back if they were fired or have there hunger & energy meter decay slower. Overall I feel like the sims 2 life is so complete right now. I could not imagine another expansion pack being added on to the ones I already have because there is sooo much to do as it is. Between walking the dog, having hobbies, working, and having a family there is much to keep up with. Some people reading this review might think their sims have no time for Freetime but this is not really the case. Your sims can earn skill point and hobby point at the same time. For example, studying cooking can earn your sims skill point and hobby point. This was a great idea and is definitely a great expansion pack to have.
Great, except for the SecuROM May 30, 2008
P. Newman
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
As a former die-hard Sims 2 fan, I have the base game and all the expansion packs. Free Time is the most fun since Open for Business, because it gives Sims new things to do and new places to go. It also gives them new abilities based on their accumulated aspiration points, like being able to invest in the stock market and being able to make a chicken soup that cures colds. Yes, a lot of fun. But, the day comes when SecuROM decides to mess up your game, and then it's not fun anymore. I had the same problem with Bon Voyage, the first game that EA Games decided to put SecuROM on. I played happily for about a month, then suddenly the computer kept crashing. So, with great regret and a little sadness, I must give up the game. It's a lot of addictive fun, but it's not worth the problems EA's copy protection software causes. Bye, Sims 2. Bye, EA Games.
APPARENTLY THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH FREE TIME February 29, 2008
NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit)
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is the...7th expansion of the SIMS 2, so one has to ask: was there ANYTHING not done yet? Well, apparently yes.
Our Sims are given a choice of 10 hobbies (ranging from dancing and sports to...video games - Sims playing the SIMS 3? Yeah...deliciously ironic) which not only improve their mood but also their job skills if compatible. Said leisure-time activities can also serve in making money, since most hobbies end up, first, creating something and, then, improving on it.
Yes, there is a new Hobby-meter...Keeping it high will ensure your Sim's admittance into hobby-specific exclusive clubs. There are music and dance, arts and crafts, sports, fitness, scientific, nature lovers, gaming, cuisine, tinkering, and, finally, film and literature clubs - each branching out into more specialized subcategories.
Besides new clothes and items, this expansion comes with 5 new careers: architect, dancer, entertainer, intelligence officer (no Sim-Jack Bower, no) and oceanographer. The controls are more or less the same - and so are the graphics and sounds (well, whatever sound the SIMS ever had). What I did not appreciate was...SecuROM (hence the second star withheld).
SIMS 2 always required a lot of micromanagement. FREETIME does add another level of complication, but I am sure it will appeal not only to hard-core Sims-fans. However, by taking care of your Sims' free time, make sure they do not take up all of yours...
Since this is supposed to be the last expansion, fans of the series will not resist. However, keep in mind that EA will probably release a SIM 2 bundle in a couple of months. If missing on more than a couple of expansions, I would advise to wait.
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