A challenge! (The Sims 2: Open for Business (Add-On) (PC))

Member Name: candyfloss89

Product:	The Sims 2: Open for Business (Add-On) (PC)
Date:	07/07/09 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: businesses are challenging so gameplay isnt unrealistically easy, range of businesses you can create

Disadvantages: almost too hard at times,

Another sims expansion pack and this one is relativley new territory for EA. We've had a remake of The Sims vacation with The Sims 2 Bon Voyage, The Sims unleashed is The Sims 2 Pets and The Sims Hot Date is similar to The Sims 2 Nightlife. So this expansion pack is exciting and one which represents a new challenge for simmers.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The Sims 2 Open for Business allows Sims to build and run there own businesses, from restaurants to florists to toy stores and bakeries. Your Sims can run home based business or buy a community lot to create your own retail megastores. Watch you business flourish or flounder as you try to win over your customers.

BUSINESS
Open for Business allows Sims to build and run pretty much any business they like. For example, if you want to run a bowling alley you just have to buy a bunch of lanes and charge admission. Want to build a garden centre? It's as simple as arranging a bunch of plants and garden gnomes on your lawn and you can start selling! You can even charge your friends for visiting your house if you want - just set a ticket machine outside your house! This is handy if you have a romance sim who you wish to run a brothel! There are literally hundreds of business oppotunities to chose from.

To run a sucessful business you need to hire employees and a manager to run the business for the times when you wont be there yourself. Employees have different salaries and skills which is why its probably easier to start a home business where family members can help out. Manage jobs such as working the cash register, stocking and restocking items and baking cakes in order for your business to run smoothly. The smoother your business operates, the more likely your customers are to gain loyalty points which will keep them coming back. Your business will also gain business ranks. Higher business ranks will lead to business perks you can earn including lower wholesale prices and motivational tricks for your employees.

NEW OBJECTS
New objects include all the items which you need to create a sucessful business such as cash registers and work benches to make your sellable objects. But these objects are not just useful for running businesses. You can use the electronics bench to build robots until your good enough to create a servo robot which will function like a maid, cleaning and looking after your home for you. Or you may purchase the flower bench so that your sim can create nice decorations for their homes or to give as gifts.

TALENT BADGES
Next up, there's the "Talent Badges" system. Sims need talent badges to create sellable objects or gain talents needed to sucessfully run their business. Sim can earn talent badges in areas such as flower arranging, restocking, or running a cash register. Talents are developed through experience (the only way to learn to use a cash register is to use one day after day). It takes a lot of time and dedication to earn a talent badge but unfortunatley it's necessary if you want your business to run sucessfully.

ADVANTAGES
Businesses are hard to run. They take dedication and multi tasking and sucessfully managing several factors such as staff, prices and merchandise. I've stated in previous reviews that often The Sims 2 is just too easy but this isn't the case with open for business. It's a demanding system and one which is incredibly satisfying when you finally suceed because it will take such hard work to get there.
Its adds alot of overall gameplay. Running a business is almost like a mini game in itself.

Another strength of this expansion is how it opens the door to create just about any business you can imagine, as mentioned previously. Your sim can sell absolutley anything from chairs to garden gnomes! All they need is the stock and a cash register. You can even run a beauty salon which is a fantastic and convenient way to give a makeover to all the ugly premade characters in the game! Since I find most EA made characters hideous, with crap hair and inflated lips, I relished this oppotunity.

DISADVANTAGES
It's advantage is its disadvantage really. It's too hard! Community lot businesses are hell to run. You'll probably need a manager because you wont want to go there everyday and work. The reason? your sim has to travel to the community lot which means a loading screen. Travelling home will mean another loading screen. Then they'll get up the next day and do it all again. This is tedious since I hate loading screens anyway. This is the reason I almost always create home businesses.

Staff wages make it almost impossible to make money, especaily when your trying to establish yourself as a business and dont have much money anyway. They are paid every hour so having more than one member of staff working for you will seriously eat into profit but having your sim do everything themselves is impossible.

SUMMARY
If you enjoy the relativley easy gameplay of previous expansion packs, your not going to like the difficulty level of this one so don't buy! If however you are bored of the monotimy of your sims everyday lives and would like a challenge, definitley buy this game.

Summary: one of the best add ons yet, worth a try for those wanting a fresh challenge