The Sims: Hot Date Review

The Sims now has three expansion packs with the addition of The Sims: Hot Date.  The first two, Livin' Large and House Party, consisted of new objects that players could place in their Sims' homes to add a little variety to the original game.  They did not, however, add much in the way of new gameplay.   Hot Date changes this trend by adding an entire new dimension to the game.  While it does add over 125 new objects to the game, Hot Date's biggest addition to the game is an entire new area in which Sims can interact: Downtown.

Downtown is a collection of bars, restaurants, and other places for Sims to meet and mingle.  To help them to get to know each other better and get the sparks flying, Hot Date adds over 40 new Sim interactions and a new attribute called interests.  Interests rate your Sims interest in a variety of topics such as sports and Hollywood.  Find a Sim with similar interests and you'll be able to talk the night away,  Sims with different interests will find their conversations quickly dying.  

This expansion pack is named "Hot Date" for a reason - score enough relationship points with a Sim and you can ask him/her out on a date.  Downtown provides plenty of venues for lovebirds to enjoy a romantic night on the town.  Restaurants, ice cream parlors, a beach, and a park with a pond all provide opportunities to try some of those new interactions mentioned earlier, such as playing footsie under the table at a restaurant or making out on a park bench.  If you can't find the perfect nightspot, you can build your own on Downtown's empty lot or download a new hangout from The Sims website.  

If things progress well on your dates, then you can propose and your new Sim mate will move into your home.  Hot Date's new features also extend to your relationships on the home front.  The relationship bar used to measure your closeness to your Sim friends and lovers has now been split into long and short term components.  Fights and misunderstandings will have a large impact on the short term rating, but will not impact the long term as dramatically.  This makes it easier for your Sim to manage his/her relationships - Sims are no longer as high maintenance significant others as they used to be.

You might be wondering how your Sim can manage to spend enough time downtown to have fun, let alone cultivate a dating relationship.  What about work and those dirty dishes piling up on the floor?  To make it easier to balance work and play, Hot Date stops the clock on your Sim's homelife when he/she is out partying it up downtown.  Time passes Downtown, and your Sim will still have the usual needs to which to attend, but when he/she finally comes home, it will be the same time as when he/she left.  Now you can party all day and night and not miss a day of work!  Where can I find Downtown for myself?!? 

Hot Date adds so much new to the game, that it is a no-brainer purchase for fans of the game.  Downtown adds a whole new facet to the game and exploring it will provide many hours of entertainment.  It gives players a chance to have more fun with their Sims by providing a neverneverland playground for them, free from the shackles of work and housecleaning.

On the downside, Hot Date does suffer from a few annoying quirks that have been a part of The Sims from the beginning.  Sims can get themselves stuck in a corner behind other Sims or have trouble negotiating a crowded room to reach something on the other side.  Also, queued actions sometimes are mysteriously dropped, forcing the player to requeue his/her Sims actions.  While veteran The Sims players have probably learned to live with these quirks, it would have been nice if they were corrected by the game's third expansion.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 88%. If you enjoyed The Sims, you'll love Hot Date - there's just so much new to explore.

System Requirements:  300 MHz Pentium II CPU; 64 MB RAM; 2 MB Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM; 600 MB Hard Drive Space; Mouse.