Sims 2 Open For Business expansion pack

The Sims 2 Open For Business expansion pack was a must have for me. I love the original game, as does the rest of my family. We have all of the other expansion packs that go with The Sims 2. I bought the Sims 2 Open For Business game at Game Stop, a store near by where I live. I bought it brand new and sealed for only $19.99 at the time. That was a few months ago.


How to install the game:

It is simple enough to install the Sims 2 Open For Business expansion pack. First be sure that The Sims 2 original game is installed because with out the original game installed this one will not install. To start the installation process, just remove the plastic from the box. Take the disk out and put it in. You then choose what install option that you want. You can choose to do a custom install and place the game where you want it on your computer. Or you can choose to use the recommended install which will place it right on your C drive for you. Then you will be asked for the Sims 2 disk 1 from the original game. You click done and then it checks for updates on it's own.

Who can play this game:

The Sims 2 Open For Business is rated E for every one. It can be played by children 6 and over. My daughter is six and she plays it daily. We all have fun playing this game. It is easy and a lot of fun to play. My daughter plays it well, but some times has a hard time and asks for help so we end up playing together.

Graphics and sounds:

Considering this expansion pack runs from the original game there is not a whole lot of change in the graphics or sound. They are both as good as ever and work great. There is no skipping and there are no problems with the video or the sounds at all.

Requirements:

You need to have Windows 98 or higher in order to run this game in your computer. We have Windows XP and like I said every thing in the game works great. I have had no trouble at all since installing it months ago.

What you get with the game expansion:

When you turn on the game you will see that there are new objects, new walls, new flooring, new clothing and much more. You can now give your Sims uniforms for work if you want. You can buy a store or a lot to build a store on. And fill it with new items for other Sims to buy. You now get shelves for the store, lights, signs for the store, some displays to put in your store and a lot more. There are literally hundreds more objects when you put this expansion pack in with your original Sims 2 game.

How to play the game:

To play Sims 2 Open For Business is simple as can be. The object is pretty much to build a store and keep it up. First you want to make sure that your Sim has good communication skills so they can speak well with customers. I started when my Sim was just a child. I built up all of his skill points and when he was a teen I made sure he had a job. He earned badges at his job. Once he became an adult Sim I had him purchase a lot. I built a store on that lot using the build tools. Then I put stuff in to the store.

The first store I made was huge. I put a clothing section, house hold section, nursery section kitchen section, hot tubs and more. It was three floors high and massively stocked with items. That was the flaw I made. I figured the bigger the store the easier it would be to make money. I did make a lot but I had to hire as many employees as I could. Keep my Sim working most of the time and sleeping on breaks instead of in his Sim home.

The second store I built I made sure it was big, but not too big that the employees could not handle it on their own if they needed to. I hired the employees by using the computer. You can also do this by using the phone. You need to make sure that you have enough people to stock shelves, to be cashiers, customer service people and of course some one to tidy. You can then select any employee that you think is best for the job of manager. I judged this by their talent badges. The more badges the better for manager choice.

You can earn talent badges as well. Make your Sim do the same jobs that your employee does. Stick to the same one and get the badge in that field. Then you move on to the next one. The badges are bronze, silver then gold. Gold is the highest one that you get.

You can earn business rewards as your business ranks higher. One allows you to sell items at best cost to special customers, to get whole sale prices cheaper then you normally would and to manipulate customers as well. All of it leading up to making more money for your business and earning the best business award in the end.

To earn the best business award you must earn your customers loyalty, make sure they are happy and stay that way, be sure the store stays clean and tidy, make sure that your business does not lose rank and so on. Then an unknown person will appear and begin walking the store. You will know it is the inspector by the clip board he or she periodically takes out and writes on it.

You also need to keep your employees happy as well. To do this you need to make sure that you pay them, promote them, give pay raises and generally be good to them. They will then do the best job they can, be more willing to work hard for you, stay for longer shifts and more.

There is always the option of making just a clothing store, food store, market or anything else that you may want to do. There are a lot of options and roads you can take with this expansion pack. I like it a lot. I have made many top ranking stores since I first got the Sims 2 Open For Business expansion pack.

All of this and more is what can be expected in playing this game. It is hard work there is no doubt about that. But the challenge is what makes it the most fun. If it were too easy it would not be as fun as it is. I like the challenge. I have fun with it a lot. This is one of my favorites of the expansion packs.

My thoughts about the game:

I enjoy playing it like I said. I like the fact that there are a lot of new objects and decor items for the game. You can go all out with a store or make it plain and simple either way you can have a good time playing and make a good business.

My recommendations:

I honestly would like to tell every one who has the original Sims 2 game to get this expansion pack. If you liked the original game there is no way that you should pass it up. It makes the game challenging and more interesting to play. This is a great learning tool for younger people as well. It shows them what it takes to have to work and run a business because it is just like doing the real thing. I wish you got paid for it! It is a fun game to play I do recommend giving it a try.