First, I absolutely LOVE this EP! This is probably the best EP they have released for the Sims 3. As I mentioned before, I really wasn't into the whole University Life EP, I wanted something else that could enhance gameplay in a more adult and mature way. Sometimes I feel that EA seem to market the game towards their younger crowd: "woohoo", "juice", "pillow fight", "make funny face". Really EA? There's a HUGE crowd of adult Sim players who would love more realistic content. With that said, they are on the right track with University! The new herb interactions are a nice, new touch; As well as the "woohooty text", "juiced kiss", "juiced woohoo", etc. these all add new ways to play the game without feeling like you're being restricted to a game for a 12 year old. The new interactions are great and I love the new interaction with the photos on the wall, "Reminisce", now your Sims can look at photographs and remember the good times. I've always wanted something like this for wall photos and now we have it! Your Sim also gets a new moodlet when they reminisce. Moving along...
Parties:
I haven't had a chance to play with all of the party modes but the new parties add a lot of new interactions and fun to the game. You WILL be invited to a LOT of parties while at University so be prepared. Of course, you don't have to attend all of them but if you're aiming to attempt a Social Status, you will need to attend at least some of the parties and interact with the Sims that are in that certain Social Group. It's kind of like the Celebrity System, but the Social Status platform has been thought out a bit more compared to the Celebrities. More about that in a bit though.
- Keg Parties are pretty fun to attend and throw. The Keg is probably one of my favorite new objects in the game. It hasn't gotten old yet! Getting "Juiced" is fun but does not offer any new interactions such as your Sims appearing to be inebriated or the such but it does unlock new interactions for your Sims. Juiced Kiss, Juiced Woohoo, Juiced Jump into Arms, etc. The animations are still pretty much the same but these are located under FRIENDLY and ROMANTIC. For example, if you're at a Jock Party/Keg Party and get an opportunity to "Woohoo", if you use the Juiced Woohoo interaction under friendly your Sim will kiss the selected Sim and make their way to the nearest Woohoo spot. A post on the Sims 3 Forum said that this would not make the Sims romantically involved but with my experience, this hasn't been the case. A "Friendly Juiced Woohoo" resulted in the Sims becoming romantic interests... unfortunately.
- Bon Fire Parties are also fun but seem to go along with the Keg Parties. The bonfire object is a neat object that your Sims can interact with and pile on the wood to make a large fire. Your Rebel Sims can also throw herbs into the fire which put the Sims in different moods. I haven't played with all of the herbs but the Cinnamon makes your Sim feel romantic. There's a few others that increase the speed of learning the athletic trait and others that increase your learning/studying.
Social Status:
I won't go into too much detail because there's a lot to the statuses. However, you can choose to climb one social status, two or all three. The new statuses are: Rebel, Jock and Nerd. As you climb higher in each status your Sim will unlock new interactions, traits, etc. This can be hard work, especially if you're busy partying, studying, exploring town, romancing a Sim and trying to graduate on time. However, this is a much needed type of gameplay in my opinion. I don't mind working to unlock interactions and getting to add a trait.
Smartphone:
- As you play the game and progress in Social Networking, Social Networks, etc., you will unlock new skins for your phone.
- Social Networking: Blogging is a new feature which is really fun but a lot of hard work. You aim to write posts and gain followers and donations to your blog. As you continue climbing your way to the top of Social Networking a great new Relationship Altering Application will unlock for your Sim. It first allows to you set the relationships for Sims up to the friendship level. As you rank higher in the Social Networking skill, setting Sims relationships to romantic, etc. unlocks. This is a great feature for those who want to alter relationships quickly without a Mod to do so.
There's so much to explore and do in University. It's like a breath of fresh air! I have only touched on a part of the Sims 3 University Life- there's more you will have to explore, unlock and find out for yourselves. I assure you that this EP is worth every penny! This is how EPs are supposed to be done. This EP is packed with new objects, gameplay, and interactions. This is exactly how the Sims 3 should have been years ago with EP releases. Did I mention I'm also playing this EP WITHOUT mods? I haven't done that in years, ever since Twallan's Mods were released for the Sims 3. This EP feels complete without any mods. However, when my Sims return home from University, I find that I still need the Mods to make the gameplay at home feel more packed with options. That's saying something EA... In conclusion, this EP is amazing and so fun to play and explore. There's so much more left for me to explore with University but everything that I have experienced thus far has been amazing and loads of fun. I find myself not wanting to do anything but Sim and I haven't felt like that about the Sims 3 in years. Way to go EA and Maxis!
