Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #442 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2008-02-29
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: Windows XP

Amazon.co.uk

It’s all about fun, personal development for your Sims in The Sims 2 FreeTime. Sims can follow their individual interests, whether it’s immersing themselves in books, becoming an award-winning foodie, flying a remote-controlled helicopter or playing the violin. Gifted mechanics can repair and then drive their newly-renovated sports cars. Sims can rake in oodles of Simoelons with skilfully crafted pottery or by writing a mesmerising novel.

Cool careers bring happiness and fulfilment to your Sims and your storytelling opportunities expand. New cool career options await, including oceanography, architecture, and entertainment. Now by honing their talents, your Sims can unlock a secondary aspiration making them even more unique.

Customer Reviews

My favourite expansion
I also own all the expansion packs and am a dedicated fan of the game. This, in my opinion, is the most pleasant expansion (including Apartment Life which I didn't like at all). The new interests add lots of fun, and you can also sell the things you make. And it's refreshing, when you want to exercise, to have a ballet barre instead of those old machines. The clothes and objects associated with the new hobbies and new careers are imaginative and more beautiful than the EA people usually make.
The only nuisance, as somebody already mentioned, are the phone calls. He also mentioned a fix, I'll try to search for it! I wish there was also a fix for those phone calls saying "Are we still friends?" which don't add at all to the relationship.

Each expansion gives something, but this one, together with Seasons and Pets, is the one that adds most interest and beauty to the game. No, it doesn't alter gameplay radically, but it brings a new way to look at activities, and many new activities as well, some of them very interesting and fun to watch.
I had thought that Open for business would be a great expansion, but in fact I've only opened shops a couple of times, then lost interest in it; University is so boring, it takes so long to graduate, and you have to do the same things for long long hours.
Pets is lovely, but if you have a pet you have to dedicate very long hours to it, you don't have any life anymore. In real life (I've got cats) you can have your pet on your lap and stroke its head while reading at the same time, or talking to your friends and family: not in the Sims. So it's either keeping your pets happy or having career and family and friends. Sometimes I have to send the pets to work INSTEAD of the Sim, so that he has all the time to cater to their needs and the needs of his family and house.
Seasons I love, but there's the heartbreak of the sick tomatoes to watch dying if you're not extra careful. Planting things needs lots of care too.
For the moment being, Free Time does not have any such problems, it's all sheer pleasure.

Fun, except for the spam
After migrating from The Sims to The Sims 2, it was inevitable that the expansion packs would follow shortly after. I just couldn't resist. The Sims 2: FreeTime was one of the first expansions I opted to buy, as I considered it to be the best value amongst those available.

In a nutshell: FreeTime gives your Sims 10 types of hobby to pursue: music, art, dance, mechanics etc, etc. Spending time developing your Sim's enthusiasm in a particular hobby area can lead to such rewards as being invited to visit secret locations and take part in contests. You may also be given special items (reward plaques and the sort) for spending long enough pursuing a particular hobby.

One of the most notable additions that this expansion pack adds to the gameplay experience is the ability to have 3 other Sims (as long as they are not part of your family/household) grow up with your Sim when they reach a birthday. This is pretty useful, as it prevents that childhood crush that your Sim had his/her first kiss with remaining a teen, whilst your Sim is an elder.

The major, major downside of this game is the spam. Simply put, once you install this package your Sims will be flooded with it. You'll get constant pop-up messages everytime your Sim tries out a new hobby, not to mention the phonecalls. Hobby club enthusiasts will call you day and night (even at 5am!) to invite you to tell you that they've noticed you have an interest in X subject. It's okay at the start, but if, like me, you have a household of four sims --- that's 10 possible hobbies you can pursue with 4 sims, which equals a potential 40 phonecalls. And they seem to KEEP phoning you, again and again and again. It's utterly irritating.

In short, if there was no fix available for this issue, then I would urge buyers to think twice about getting this pack. Unless you don't mind having your Sims running to the phone every five minutes (usually more often!) it's a total nuisance. However, there is an (unofficial) fix available for this pack, which I installed yesterday. And it is very, very effective (not a single nuisance phonecall!).

With the fix installed, Freetime is a very enjoyable, worthy addition to the Sims 2 collection. Without it, I'm not too sure I'd feel as positively about it. I'd have to think about getting rid of my Sim's phone or something in order to be able to enjoy the game.

Wonderful to play despite SecuRom
I put of buying this game because of the DRM issues these games have after the Seasons Expansion.

I gave in however and bought it and then spent three days backing up my computer incase anything did go wrong. (I highly recommend backing up your system in any case). Do your research into the issues caused by SecuRom and be informed when taking such risks so you can take preventative measures or be ready incase of a system re install.

I love the new features. You have new items that add interest in hobbies, theres a dance bar, violin and you can even fix up your own car, hunt for bugs etc. It makes it easier to be abducted by aliens and to get pregnant with twins assuming your sim has the necessary interest in those aspirations.

I love this pack better than the rest (though I do not have Bon Voyage or Apartment Life) But even so I think this is two thumbs up and Im glad I bought it!

Be warned though, the minumum specs are really not enough if you have many of the expansions and stuff packs. You can still play, but game play will be slow. Have at least 2-3GB of RAM and lots of Hard Drive space and a good processor and compatible graphics card! Also go to EA Sims 2 page and download the patches to fix the glitches!

Have Fun!