In chronological order:

University
Good: New interactions; instruments; new careers; toga parties; the cowplant!
Bad: Zombies are boring to play; college takes too long without hacks.

Nightlife
Good: Cars! Dating! Vampires! The music.
Bad: Outings seem kind of pointless (and the prizes are ridiculous: who goes out and buys you a couple-thousand-dollar DJ booth just because they had a good time downtown with you?)

OFB
Good: Crafting, servos (although they're kind of ugly,) businesses; later EPs tie into its features nicely.
Bad: Businesses can be really fiddly to run. It doesn't add much beyond the businesses, servos, and craftables.

Pets
Good: Pets.
Bad: That's all there is to it; I agree with Chandi, there's definitely a bias towards dogs. Sometimes it feels like the pets don't actually have all that much to do. Also, I had major installation issues that didn't crop up with the others- I ended up having to reinstall OFB in the process! Basically, while it's nice having cats and dogs around, I just ended up missing Unleashed.

Seasons
Good: Weather and seasons at last, growable food, leftovers, fishing, the cute country set. Once again, later EPs make use of its features nicely.
Bad: Plantsims are way too easy to take care of, thus not so fun to play.

Bon Voyage
Good: Am I the only one who liked the original Vacation? Yeah, I like this for about the same reasons. The Far East objects are nice, and beach lots are great.
Bad: SecuROM, very buggy release (endless NPCs!)

Freetime
Good: More stuff for kids to do, more ways to build certain skills, the hobbies and new careers. So, more for your Sims to do, overall.
Bad: SecuROM, no playable supernatural Sim

Apartment Life
Good: Apartments turned out to be more fun to play than I honestly expected. Once again, there's new options for Sim kids, and the new outfits aren't bad (especially with HP's Female Modesty mod.)
Bad: SecuROM, witches and magic are lackluster compared to Makin' Magic, the return of the "endless NPCs" bug at first

I don't touch the stuff packs.

I guess my personal ranking would be something like Seasons > Nightlife > Freetime > Apartment Life=BV > Uni=OFB > Pets. Yes, there's a couple ties there, so what?

Based on this thread I have just purchased Seasons and Freetime (I already had Nightlife). I do so hope they're as good as people are saying.

well now out of University, Nightlife, Open for Business, pets and seasons,
I would say Pets and seasons are the best

My order would be
Pets-Seasons (these two both make first place, they add some great stuff)
Nightlife (This one's very fun, makes communty lots actuall worth using)
University ( the instruments are just must have... some awesoem items added to the buy list, some good new CAS stuff aswell, and while going through college can be boring it's awesome having six aspirations and two locks)
Open for business- (I don't regret buying but I just don't use the features much)

My picks would be Nightlife, Pets, Seasons, and Apartment Life.

I've got them all because I'm a completest but to be perfectly honest I have never once in all my Sims playing time sent a Sim to University, never opened a home business, and very rarely go on vacation. I think they were great editions to the game but personally I just don't use them. Pretty much the only time my Sims get out is when they go to work.

#1 Bon Voyage-- Theres just nothing I DONT love about this expansion pack. I guess I am just a vacation guy, but everything seemed so....relaxing. I mean the beaches are beautiful, the momentos give you somethin to work form far east adds some culture to the game, camping is fun too.

#2 tie between Open for Business and Apartment Life
I really love both of em, they are really fun. OFB was my favorite for a looong time.

#3 Seasons
This gave a very nice atmosphere that wasnt there before, with weather and seasons.

#4 Nightlife
Dating system is awsome, so are the cars of course

#5 Pets
Although it is low on my list, I would never unistall it, the game doesnt seem complete to me without it. I cant imagine making my family without my cat Muffy :lovestruc

#6 University
Takes too long and when I dont send them to college, they get the bad "never wnet to college" memory. Also no way to send adult sims to college. I still like it though

I have yet to play freetime....

My favorite is Seasons, because of the amount of thought that went into the EP from the creators, like different color palettes for each season (especially the red and orange tones for autumn) and the weather! I also really enjoyed the farming crops but I don't really like the Plant Sims...

#2 - Bon Voyage. I love being able to send my Sims off to exotic locations and having them learn new things. Also I loved Vacations in Sims 1 so it's not a surprise I liked this one.

#3 Open for Business. I always wanted to be able to make my Sims run a cafe or a store in Sims 1 so this was a great addition for me.

#4 University. For a first EP, this was pretty good. Added lots of new things and features, and although uni gets a bit slow without hacks, I liked the level of detail that went into creating an "authentic" uni, along with the Greek Houses and the secret societies.

#5 Nightlife. This was fun at first but I then lost interest in this EP for some reason :S Cars are really good and I also like the addition of the "attraction" meter.

#6 Pets. I was never a big fan of pets in Sims 1 and I wasn't a huge fan of them here. The strays come and mess up my yard all the time! The pets are cute, but I feel like Maxis is more dog-friendly. Also, they're kinda boring.

I don't have Free Time or Apartment Life (waiting for the Mac versions...)

Can anyone tell me if it's worth spending £20 on Celebration Stuff and Glamour Life?
There the only games I don't own (I havn't got M&G but i've been trying to - no where has it in stock- so i'm not counting that as i'm deff getting it)
Anyway - yeah are them two worth getting? I never have big weddings unless i'm doing it for photoshots -or the couple have lots of family and friends - but are the clothes and hairs worth £10?
Anddddd is glamour life worth getting? Are there nice clothes and hair included? are there any unqiue objects that aren't already in the games (i don't use object CC)?
Thanks for any help guys

Heya, Charley, I'm not overly thrilled with Celebration Stuff, either with items or outfits. I like Glamour Life. It added nice hairstyles, clothing, and some really neat furnishings, decorations, and lights. I'd say if you're concerned about saving money, skip CS and go with GL.

My favorite EP's from most favorite to least favorite are:

1.) Seasons I like almost everything this EP brought to the game, from the weather effects, to the seasonal bonuses to activities, to fishing and gardening, two activities I enjoy actually doing myself. I'm very glad they fixed the hot tubs so that people didn't spontaneously combust after spending just a few minutes soaking. I do get marginally irritated with how often my Sims want to notice and react to the fact that it's raining or it's snowing, although the kids' reactions to snow amuse me. Leftovers? Teh awesome!!

2.) Freetime At first I was a little on the fence about this one. It won me over very quickly with secondary aspirations, all of the new craft tables/stations, and even the model train set. I loathed the introduction music, though, like a calliope from hell while waiting for the game to load.

3.) Nightlife This added so many new ways to socialize, and of course chemistry, which I absolutely adore. I'm not so wild about the vampires. I actually find them very boring to play and their vocalizations like the hissing and the "blah" somewhat annoying. Cars. Did I say cars?

4.) Bon Voyage Maybe it's still entertaining to me because it's still fairly new to me. I haven't had it all that long, but I really enjoy the vacation spots. I like letting my Sims explore, and the beach sounds are so relaxing it's like listening to a little meditation tape. The ghost pirate captain's sea chanty amuses me to no end. I LOVE the ninja's teleportation ability. It makes getting around on large lots a snap.

5.) University Secret societies, hacking grades, cow plants, and the ability to call Grimmie and rez dead Sims. I love them all. I wish it didn't take so long for students to get through the semesters, though. That does get dull and redundant. I liked the new career options that came with this EP and the fact that graduates get extra want slots.

6.) Tied at the bottom for me are Open for Business and Pets. Maybe it's just me, but I find owning a successful business in OFB without bleeding simloeans out the wazoo nearly impossible. It seems equally bad owning one on the home lot versus one on a community lot. The craftable objects leave a lot to be desired, particularly the robots, which break down and cause chaos way too often to be worth the time and effort it takes for a sim to learn to make them. The outfits and hats/hair that came with this EP are absolutely hideous.

The birds and womrats in Pets are eating machines. The only useful thing about the birds is that they provide a way for anyone who is a child or older to earn charisma points while having fun increase. It annoys me when visitors leave the cage open, and the birds fly randomly around the lot. I've had lots of glitch issues with the womrats, and they also sometimes take a ridiculously long time just to feed.

Stray dogs really annoy me, killing flowers, chewing up objects, chasing people all over the place, barking at all hours at my sims' doors, knocking over garbage cans and rolling in filth, digging big holes in the yard and just generally making horrible pests of themselves. The interactions with pets are very limited and eventually redundant. They have no personality to them, really. Their only advantage is that you can send them to work to make money and be rid of their annoyances from your lot for a few hours.

I didn't include Apartment Life in my list simply because I haven't had the EP long enough to give an educated opinion of it. I love the idea of it, and I hope having my sims living in apartments is as fun as it seems like it will be.

I bought the stuff packs, just because I like that sort of thing. My favorite stuff packs are H&M Fashion Stuff and Glamour Life. I love the funky clothes in H&M. It doesn't bother me that it's basically an advertisement. I don't run out and buy clothes just because I like them on my sims.

If I had to take an EP off my computer, it'd be Pets. It slowed my game down a ton, didn't add much of worth to game play, and just gave me and my sims annoyances to have to drive out of the yard every time one comes in. I'm a huge animal lover, and I have pets. Sim pets are nothing remotely like the real deal, and I don't feel they enrich my sims' lives much at all.

#1 Apartment life. I love it. The objects are great and considerate. One of the things that annoyed me most in game was that a 3-seater couch looked awkward with the best TV's, because they were only two tile. But Apartment life fixed it! There is great space saving objects and great styles. The interactions are brilliant!
#2 Nightlife. I find that I would be very bored if I had to get rid of this one. The cars a great, and designing houses is much more fun with garages! The new items are fun. The NPC's are very entertaining (Crumplebottom, anyone?) and I love the idea of chemistry. All in all, a very entertaining EP.
#3 Free time. I love all the bonus aspirations and the things you can do with Aspiration points. The new objects are brilliant. The things you can do when you have high hobby enthusiasm is really cool. The clothes are really nice too. The option to watch movies are great. The toddler table is a life saver!
#4 Seasons. I love weather in my game. I love the pool slides. It's essential for farm/country type homes. I enjoy this in my collection very much. The hairs are very nice!
#5 Bon Voyage. The beach lots are pretty, and I love the new things your sims can do! Telaportation, gestures, sea chanties, massages it's great! Sure for a great time!
#6 University. I love all the careers. They're great. I also love the hairs. The instruments are a big favourite of mine (even though they can be annoying!) but apart from that, this EP does nothing for me. I never even send my teens to college.
NOT so lucky LAST: Open for business. I never use it. EVER. The only good thing is the new deserts. The hairs and clothes make me wanna SPEW! In fact, I hate this EP. Tying with OFB is pets. Blargh. Annoying, and I never use it. Waste of money. The only good thing about the one I got was the free pawprint mouse for my PC. Then again, I lost that.

I only own Free Time, Apartment Life, Seasons, and Nightlife, so I can't really make an unbiased opinion. But, as far as my EPs go, here's the list:

1. Seasons : The weather and decor are the best part of this game. I love the option to set hair for any outfit, and I love the gardening option. My favorite of the four I own.
2. Nightlife : Cars, dating, and good clothes. Great EP to start with.
3. Free Time : Honestly, I only bought it for the dance option (my life is dance, so I thought I should put it into my Sims lives too ), and I was disappointed in the lack of good technique for the Sim who maximized interest in Music and Dance. But, it is still a great EP and I enjoyed all the items that came with it, along with the outfits.
4. Apartment Life : The only major problem I have with AL is the lack of child and toddler clothing. I wish there were more objects too. Still an excellent EP and definitely worth the money.

It's finally happened. I got AL, and my load time is insane. I need more memory for my computer, I guess, but the easier option is picking an EP to uninstall -- and that's SO hard! I like them all.

*sigh*

Well, let me start by thinking which ones I have to have:

1. Nightlife - I have to have this.
2. Seasons - Must have weather!
3. Uni - Unlike most, I like Uni! And the extra slots are very nice
4. AL - God, I am addicted to apartments. I love having multiple families together!
5. BV - Vacations rock.
6. OFB - I never use this one, I think. I never got into it.
7. Pets - Oh, I have to have my pets. I have made sim-kitties and doggies for all my past and present little ones.
(and then all the stuff packs, H&M was a waste, I thought and so was Teen Style Stuff, but those are small, altogether.)

I guess it's going to be OFB, though darn it IS potentially useful...

Anyone have any other thoughts?

Great and useful thread.
I'm considering buying a new EP. I stopped buying them after BV mainly because of my lack of time to play and, well, TS3 coming out.
Since I've finally decided to not buy TS3 at all, I thought I might get a new EP just to feel a bit spoiled again :D

I originally liked Apartment Life, but looks like Free Time is getting good reviews too. I wonder if an AL+FT double pack will ever be released :D

BTW, of all the EPs I have, my fave has to be Bon Voyage. Maybe it's just because it's the one I've played less, or maybe it's 'cause I really like vacations and journeys. I loved "Vacation" in TS1 as well.

Following in my fave list, Seasons and Open for Business.
Seasons adds such a great realism to the game. I love the snowmen and the sunbursts and the gardening. I also think this EP combines with Bon Voyage nicely.
Open for Business might not add a lot to the game, but I've always loved shops and always dreamed about actually own one - and finally I've reached my goal, yay! - so I loved this EP. I guess that taking care of a business might get boring after a bit, but then again you can send sims on vacation to take a break! :D

For those of you who have M&G, is it worth it?

I want to buy a new EP soon. I already have DOuble Deluxe, so which should I get, Pets, or Apartment Life?

We had a similar question on TSR.
http://forums.thesimsresource.com/s...ad.php?t=366275

Really, it depends on if you want your Sims to have pets and werewolves, or if you want your Sims to live in apartments and have witches. But if you download custom lots, I think you should buy the EPs in order, since many custom lots assume you purchased your EPs that way!

It's settled, I'm getting Pets. If I can find the money, I'll get Uni too.

I'd say get Uni only if you don't use cheats or hacks. The dorms and dormies are boring, and the secret society lots aren't as accessible as Freetime's Hobby Lots. That being said, I send all my teenagers to a single University residence, where they skill-up and make friends among themselves. Alumni "donate" their career rewards to the University students. I have a dorm where I put the cowplants so they eat dormies who turn into ghosts and zombies!

EDIT: I forgot to add that Pets have some pretty funny Chance cards, related to the Pet jobs. You thought it was silly to see your pet get into the carpool? Just see those Chance cards!

I picked Uni because I find it has more to offer. I like going off to the dorms to get to know my sims better before deciding what life they have ahead of them.

I like NL and OFB best, I was never really a fan of Uni, though it did have it's merits, but those invading cheerleaders drove me crazy lol

I have Pets too, but I just didn't connect with it like I thought I would. But NL I love, for me it's a definate must have ^_^

I have Double Deluxe, which has Nightlife and bits and pieces of Uni and OFB (such as inventory and LTW), but just found out I was sitting on $20 in Best Buy gift cards. So I'm gonna buy an expansion pack finally! 8D As I said, I only own one, but here's my opinion on them in the order I plan to buy them-

Nightlife: If I'd had a choice in the matter I might've bought it later, but still a great and highly entertaining EP. Dates are adorable, cars are good, and while chemistry can get a tad annoying when your sims don't match up right, it does add a layer of realism to the game. Also, it gave me Pleasure Sims, who are adorable. Adults wanting to jump on a couch = win. ^-^ The Gypsy is very helpful, and while I haven't seen Mrs. Crumplebottom yet I'm waiting for the day it'll happen. :3

FreeTime: The one I've decided on buying. All the stuff packed with it looks just plain awesome: the hobbies and secondary aspirations will really help bring out my sims' personalities (not to mention give them more ways to build fun than plunking them in front of the TV) and I'm really gonna need the ability to age townies for my legacy.

Uni: I've heard all over the place that Uni is dreadfully boring, but it still attracts me, probably because I'm not old enough to attend college yet. Besides. COWPLANT. I've been waiting since I heard it existed to get my hands on it.

Apartment Life: While I'm not too crazy about apartments, the new clothes and building options, which I've heard are fantastic, really draw me to it. Besides, I'm curious about the magicky types.

Seasons: Only slightly uncomfortable with the idea of having weather, but that's prolly just because I'm so used to it not existing. It looks like a really cool and dynamic EP though. Besides, PENGUIN! May switch this one with AL, who knows.

Bon Voyage: This one I'm a bit mixed about. While the vacations sound fantastic, I'm not sure I'd get much opportunity to use them, and that's bad because they look very memory-intensive. D8 That aside, it does look quite cool. Not that excited about it. Except maybe for the Unsavory Charlatan, he looks like a riot. Yes I do rate EPs based on their minor quirks, why do you ask?

Open For Business: While I really want a Servo, I'm not sure much else attracts me to it. I have a feeling it'd be fun for a while, but I'd get bored with it too easily. D8 Besides, considering Double Deluxe has OFB code in it, I could probably spawn a Servo in boolprop...the option appeared, but I was afraid to click it. This and Bon Voyage are tied.

Pets: I'm not really sure what I'd do with it honestly. Pets are good, but the other packs are better. I won't lose any sleep over not having this one.

I hope I'm making good decisions here. :D

Just chiming in to say that the best EP for me was Seasons followed by Freetime & Open for Business. Those 3 EP's started me playing Sims again. And for all the reasons already listed upthread.

Didn't see much posts on the SPs - I only have Ikea and I got it because it allows my poorer / uni sims to have nice looking furniture for very little simoleans! I thought Ikea was worth it - you can furnish an entire home without breaking the bank, and since I have no 20K handout installed, my sims are very thankful for the Ikea furniture :-)

I've got Double Deluxe (but I have played the base game) with Open for Business, Seasons and Apartment Life, so I'll give my opinion on these:

Nightlife: Cars are useful if you miss the carpool and the new social interactions, chemistry and matchmaker are good for getting your sims new friends and potential partners. The pleasure aspiration makes good use of all the new stuff. Downtown is good, although there could have been some pre-made families included. I haven't really played vampires.

Open for Business: I like the craft items and they're a good way of making extra simoleons. Servos and robots are good when they're not broken although hiring a maid is cheaper and less effort for basically the same result. The stage tool with modular stairs and elevator are useful space savers. Bluewater Village is good, but the families could have been developed more.

Seasons: Weather and seasons adds a great new element to the game and the autumn skilling benefit is good. Plantsims are easy to take care of and create large families from so again extra simoleons! Gardening and fishing are good additions as well especially with the extra-fulfilling meals. Being able to put away leftovers is a useful extra.

Apartment Life: Apartments are more fun than I expected them to be and are good for making friends with the townies down the hall. I haven't played TS1 Making Magic so I can't compare, but the Magicland is very lame, but then we did get a very detailed new neighbourhood with Belladonna Cove. The new clothes and stuff are very nice too.

Celebration Stuff: I was disappointed with the small range of stuff included so I probably won't be buying any more SPs if they're all like this.

What the heck. I'm avoiding going to practice, so I'll chime in. I has no Bon Voyage (which I have, but to date have not installed) or Apartment Life (because I'm afraid I won't be able to use some of my favoritest hacks with it).

So for me, it's:

1) FreeTime. I likes my hobbies, especially since I got a hack that gets rid of the phone calls and visits about them. I also like secondary aspirations, but what I really like is the aspiration point benefits. I hardly ever use aspiration rewards because they all seem pretty unrealistic to me. The only exception I make is Smart Milk because toddlers annoy the hell out of me. (Just like in real life! My own toddlers annoyed the hell out of me sometimes! ) I want to get them out of my hair enough that they can at least use the potty all by their little lonesomes. But I definitely take advantage of the point benefits thingies that Free Time introduced.

2) Seasons. I like having the seasons, though I confess that in some neighborhoods, I eliminate winter. (Seriously, tons of snow in a desert town like Strangetown? I mean, yeah, it'll snow in high desert places like Santa Fe, NM but it doesn't look to me like Strangetown is high desert.) But what I really like is the ability to store leftovers in the fridge, especially because it makes it so that children can feed themselves. (I'm so neglectful! ) The gardening and fishing thing is nice, too, though the fruit trees drive me batty. I forget I have them and then... *sigh*

3) University. Yeah, I actually like Uni. I did get a hack to shorten each semester by one day, not so much to make the whole thing shorter but just to increase the challenge. I got tired of Sims who had straight As with no effort.

4) Nightlife. I like dates and cars and the chemistry thing. Haven't done too much with vampires because they get boring to me since they don't die. Hate the Pleasure aspiration, for some reason.

5) Open for Business. Mostly it's down here because I don't do the business thing that often, so I could live without it. I don't dislike it, though. In fact, I'm very fond of my little convent that supports itself by selling produce as a home business. I did a brothel once, too, just to see if it would actually work, and that was fun. I should probably do more with businesses...

6) Pets. Again, I don't dislike it, but I hardly do anything with it. The strays are annoying, though. I've resigned myself to a perpetual hole in the ground on all my lots.

Hi My 8y/o brother-in-law wants me to install TS2 on his new comp. Problem is it's not exactly high end computer so I have to choose which expansion packs he gets. Any suggestions? I want him to get the most fun out of them.
I'm thinking Uni (some awesome stuff+lifetime aspirations), Pets (he loves animals), Free Time (hobbies make game much more interesting but not too hard as say OFB) and Apartment Life (flats and neighbours). Plus some stuff packs.
What do you think?

=/ I just wanted to mention that this thread needs updating, what with Apartment Life out and all. It definately deserves to be on the poll. XD