Customer Reviews:
 You have to really know if you want it, before you buy it. November 20, 2006
Ryan (Berlin, DE)
70 out of 78 found this review helpful
The Sims series is known for the inventive and compulsive way in which it milks the cash-cow dry of every last drop. In the case of The Sims 2, this means not only barrage of expansion packs (which, so far, have all actually been rather good), but Stuff packs. Basically, they locked one of the developers in an office for a couple of weeks, told him to create some content that generally followed a theme without messing around with the game mechanics, then sold it for a huge mark-up. 60 new items, clothes, wallpapers and floors. That's it. What constitutes just a fraction of what makes up a full expansion pack (which makes major changes to what you can do in the game and where you can go) is sold for more than half the price of a full expansion pack; 20% of the effort, yet 70% of the profit. Yes it is a sickening testament to the saturation of capitalism within the modern social structure.
But, unfortunately, the stuff is good. This particular set caught my eye because of the complete new modern-style (which is actually more art nouveau, but never mind) bedroom set. So far, the biggest downfall in the Sims is that hardly anything matches. Railings don't match banisters, stairs don't match floors, floors clash with walls and ceiling lights just don't go with anything. Finally, we could create a bedroom that was not only uniform in its style AND colour scheme, but actually looked good too (yet still, the ceiling lights didn't match a darn thing). Also, the clothes are great Long, elegant dresses for the women and smart shirts and suits for the men. No more plaid shorts and sandals!
Also, other reviewers have made the arguments that there is a whole internet of user-made content out there. True, but many of the people who play The Sims are not the types to go sifting through page after page of user-made content, let alone know how to find any. Also, except for rare exceptions, user-made content is, unfortunately a far cry from the level of quality and polish that is provided by the official content. The custom textures and/or mesh are usually poor, at best; the item will have no kind of unique secription, will not work properly, the sims' interaction animations won't look right, or it will be placed in the wrong section of the catalogue. Believe me, I have a hard drive full of downloaded content, and - not even considering the HUGE extra loading time all custom content lumps onto the initial load and all menu loads, there are very few items that I could say truly match Maxis original quality. Plus, most of these items require at least a couple of the expansion packs to work anyway.
So, user-made content is fine, but it doesn't hold a candle to what is officially released. It's a shame that EA see the game as little more than a money-machine (kind of like the aspiration reward found in the game, actually), but on the flip-side, their hunger for profits mean that we end up with more stuff then ever...
 Not so Glamorous September 9, 2006
Mrs. J. J. Cann (UK)
32 out of 42 found this review helpful
Overpriced, You only get 60 new items and they are not all that good, One for the die hard fans only I think. One plus is for players who like to give their sims authentic weddings it the addition of a veil hair-do and nicer formal outfits for the men.
It's always good to have more stuff October 3, 2006
Gem Tetley (Bristol, UK)
32 out of 39 found this review helpful
If like mine your PC can't cope with any big expansion packs, this is a nice little extra that helps make your Sim's life a bit more interesting. It won't add hours to your loading, and there is no time consuming moving between sites.
 Not as bad as all the other reviews make out... January 13, 2007
J. C. Learoyd
31 out of 34 found this review helpful
I don't usually bother to write reviews (although I do read other peoples). I was reading the reviews on this Stuff Pack for Sims 2 and thought that they were a bit harsh. It's not as bad as some of the reviews make out.
You not only get the 60 new objects, but there's some new interactions and new reward objects too, and there's 'chemistry' which I really like - Sims have little lightening bolts if they like another Sim and it points you to which interactions will go well between them. There's a new part of their personality traits for chemistry and you can change you Sims likes and dislikes, so it brings another dimension. They can scope the room and check out who they fancy.
On top of that, I think that it's good value for money because it means that you can get some new stuff for your Sims without having to spend out on buying a whole expansion pack (which sometimes slows you game down loads anyway - depending on how good your computer is) and it's easier to play than some of the full size expansion packs which are quite complicated for young Sim fans.
I am a massive Sims fan (and I'm not so cynical about EA games and them introducing stuff packs) so on the whole I'd say it great.
Glamour Life September 2, 2006
Penelope Hound (england)
25 out of 41 found this review helpful
Just another expansion pack from the Sims. Not much special about it, but there is something about getting new sofa's which just excite people so maybe there is hope for this...or maybe it's just another of the "expansion packs" which aren't needed.
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