Out of all of the games on this list, this is likely the one I've sunk the most hours into, considering how I sometimes played it from dawn 'till dusk during the summer around when I was in junior high.

I wish the cheat "CTRL + SHIFT + C aging off" worked in real life :(

Today I bought nine Sims 2 expansion packs on a #Flea Market for a whopping 8 € in total.

EA can keep their DRM infested copy. Also, I'd like to have the 10h of my life back that I wasted on an illegal torrent of Sims 2, which didn't even work in the end. Honesty pays off.

edit: just bought the remaining two expansion packs and five stuff packs on amazon for another ~36€. Looking forward to finally experience the complete Sims 2 game and everything its expansion packs have to offer. 44€ for about 20 (?) GB of data isn't too bad, imho.

edit 2: woah, I own 28 games in the 'Sims' franchise now oO

I have a mad scientist living in his big creepy mansion together with his zombified brother and a stoic butler, and to make things even more wacky they have to raise an unruly alien child. I love how this game allows me to create the greatest sitcom ideas of all time. And I forgot to mention that the zombified brother is also an heroic cop.

btw, one of the expansions added the Gamer career track and it's amazing. I got all the way to the top career level in it. The levels are: 1) Noob; 2) Button Masher; 3) Trash Talker; 4) Gold Farmer; 5) Flag Capturer; 6) Platform Jumper; 7) Power Leveler; 8) Real Time Strategizer (wynaut Strategist but okay); 9) Guild Leader; 10) Game Designer. I just love that you can be a professional Trash Talker, but it doesn't pay well :D

My teenage character had her first kiss with one of her good girlfriends, and while the sappy cutscene with the hearts and shit was going on, in the background, her elderly mother could be seen shredding on the guitar in her pajamas. #sometal

omg this is perfect because my Sims 2 disc doesn't work anymore

The Sims 2 gave the original a bit more depth and meaning. The graphics are more realistic, and the radio music is better. The aspirations make the individual sims feel more unique, and the wants add another layer to the game. The gameplay is still very addictive and fun. The addition of natural death and more age levels make things feel less pointless.

The Sims 2 greatly expanded on the original with deeper character customization and the Aspiration system that guides each character's desires and fears, depending on which aspiration (e.g. romance, family, wealth, knowledge, etc.) you choose for them. The Aspiration system is great in that it gives you more interesting goals for when you get bored of tediously grinding through skill points, short-term friendships and promotions. However, sometimes you just don't want to do what the goals advise, which, over time, causes your character to become a pathetic, morbidly depressed bum. Still a much better game than the first.