The Sims 2 expansion packs
Eight expansion packs have been released for the 2004 life simulation video game The Sims 2, the second major title in The Sims series. All expansion packs were developed by Maxis Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts. Expansion packs tend to focus on major new features, with many objects, clothes, styles, neighborhoods and life states are geared towards the pack's major theme. The first expansion pack, University, was released on March 1, 2005. The last expansion pack, Apartment Life, was released on August 25, 2008. University 
The Sims 2: University is the first expansion pack for The Sims 2. University introduces a new "young adult" life stage who live in separate college towns and attend university; with its dormitories, the expansion pack marks the first time in the Sims series where player sims are able to live with non-player characters. Sims who attend university gain access to new careers and interactions. Nightlife 

The Sims 2: Nightlife is the second expansion pack for The Sims 2, released in North America on September 13, 2005. Nightlife expands the game's social and romantic interactions, introducing elements such as romantic chemistry and a formal dating minigame. It also introduces "downtown" neighbourhoods that house community lots such as bars, clubs, and restaurants; changes to the game's handling of objects, including a full inventory system; and new gameplay options, such as the ability to turn sims into vampires. Open for Business 
The Sims 2: Open for Business is the third expansion pack for The Sims 2, released in North America on March 2, 2006. Open for Business adds tycoon elements to the base game, allowing sims to run businesses from their homes or community lots. Multiple new advancement systems are added, such as talent badges, which track sims' progress in business skills; business ranks, which measure a business's success based on its company loyalty; and business perks, gifts or skills granted to a sim for running a successful business. The expansion pack also expands upon elements introduced by previous expansions, such as restaurants and romantic chemistry, and expands the base game's building options. Pets 
The Sims 2: Pets is the fourth expansion pack for the PC version The Sims 2, and was also a stand-alone game for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable and Wii. Pets for PC, GameCube and PlayStation 2 was released on October 17, 2006 in North America. The expansion pack adds domestic animals to the game, allowing sims to own cats, dogs, and other species. Players can customize the appearance and personality of their pets, which are able to learn tricks and work jobs. The stand-alone console games maintained the open-ended sandbox gameplay of the series; the handheld versions had more structure, including role-playing video game elements. A sequel to Pets on Nintendo DS, The Sims 2: Apartment Pets, was released on August 26, 2008. Seasons 
The Sims 2: Seasons is the fifth expansion pack for The Sims 2, released in North America on March 1, 2007. Seasons introduces weather and seasons to the game, as well as new gameplay features such as gardening, fishing, and supernatural human-plant hybrids known as PlantSims. Bon Voyage 
The Sims 2: Bon Voyage is the sixth expansion pack for The Sims 2, released in North America on September 4, 2007. Bon Voyage adds the ability to book in-game holiday travel to one of three pre-defined destinations, broadly themed around the Far East, Polynesia, and a generic "mountain" region respectively. Each destination has its own unique culture, activities, and attractions. FreeTime 
The Sims 2: FreeTime is the seventh expansion pack for The Sims 2, released 26 February 2008. The expansion pack introduces hobbies as a new feature for sims to pursue; sims can pursue ten possible hobbies and gain enthusiasm and benefits as they advance in them. The expansion pack also revamps the aspiration system, a system introduced in the base game that influences sims' long- and short-term goals. Apartment Life 

The Sims 2: Apartment Life is the eighth and final expansion pack for The Sims 2, released in North America on August 25, 2008. Apartment Life re-introduces magical abilities to the franchise, as well as new features like Sims' relationships with neighbors inhabiting the same apartment building, interacting with an NPC landlord, a new reputation system, and new activities for publicly accessible lots. A spin-off of Apartment Life and Pets, The Sims 2: Apartment Pets, was released for Nintendo DS on August 26, 2008. Gameplay

Belladonna Cove 
Apartment Life adds a new neighborhood named Belladonna Cove, inspired by New York City. It features many apartments, and San Francisco's Painted Ladies townhouses. Other buildings in this neighborhood include a trailer park, libraries, coffee shops, and grocery stores in addition to several parks. Several of these lots showcase major gameplay elements not available in previous expansions or the core game. When there is a family living in an apartment building, there will be a green apartment icon over the house. Apartment Life adds several social interactions for Sims. Children have new special interactions to use with their peers, as do toddlers. Parents and teenagers can now also play "Peekaboo" with toddlers. Sims of aged Child and up can participate in the "Classic Dance" or "Jump Rope". Apartment Life also lets Sims live in apartments in low or high-rent districts, and allows up to four user-controllable families within an apartment building. The player also has the option to look for roommates whom the player can choose, but not control. When the player reviews potential roommates the player is given a basic personality to help the player decide which roommate would best suit. Though roommates cannot be controlled, the player can view a scale that tells the player how satisfied they are. Magic 
Apartment Life lets Sims become Witches (female) or Warlocks (male), similar to The Sims: Makin' Magic. While playing as a magical being, Sims may choose to be Infallibly Good, Good, Nice, Neutral, Mean, Evil or Atrociously Evil, each of which has a unique costume. A sim may become a witch or warlock by building a strong relationship with an NPC high witch until the option to request the transformation becomes available. A playable witch sim can turn another sim into a witch with level 9 magic skill. Witches/Warlocks may use various magical objects, including brooms and cauldrons. Spells may be cast by using specific ingredients (i.e. Mystic Dust, Dragon Scales, Eye of Newt, Vipers Essence, Crystallized Moonbeams, and the Essence of Light). These ingredients may be obtained in any of three ways: produced in a cauldron, purchased from a Witch/Warlock NPC, or purchased at the secret Witch/Warlock lots. A character's alignment depends entirely on the alignment of the spells that they cast. A good spell will move the witch or warlock towards the "Infallibly Good" end, while an evil spell will push the caster towards the "Atrociously Evil" side. Spell availability is determined by the caster's magic skill level and alignment. The most potent powers of good and evil (such as Throne creation, zombification, repelling the Grim Reaper) are reserved exclusively for witches and warlocks on the extreme ends of the good or evil alignments. A Sim's initial alignment depends on the alignment of the witch or warlock who initiated them into the magical mysteries. Witches/Warlocks can use certain spells and magic according to what order of magic they use. Evil witches can light fires, cause sickness, and even bring zombies to life. Good witches are able to create happiness, put out fires, and bring the dead back to life. Good and Evil witches can each build a "Throne of Light" and "Throne of Darkness" respectively. All Witches/Warlocks can create potions and cast "neutral" spells that allow them to teleport, freeze time, conjure food, and create a potion that turns them back into humans. Players with both Pets and Apartment Life will be able to summon spectral cats. Even if the player does not have Pets, 'lap dogs' are available for purchase in buy mode. Other new additions 
Apartment Life adds a number of playground objects, including a jungle gym, playground slide, merry-go-round, and monkey bars. New furniture items include a Murphy bed, open mic stand, break dancing mat, trash chute, apartment mailboxes, vibrating bed, vending machines, witch-themed furnishings, in addition to new TV sets and a large fish tank. Build mode adds new types of objects and tools, such as spiral stairs, a new elevator (in addition to all elevators previously included in Open for Business), built-in wardrobes, visible ceilings, heating and cooling windows as well as new wall, floor, garage door, and door styles. New modes of transport available are helicopters and witch brooms. While the Sims are living in an apartment, as with university dorms, they will only be able to change the floors and wallpaper within the apartment, as well as place miscellaneous Build Mode objects like marble columns. Also new with Apartment Life is the ceiling. A new 45-degree angle view in build mode will make it possible to view the Sims' ceiling which can be covered in the floor tile of the player's choice. New NPCs include butlers, landlords, roommates, and NPC neighbors. When players move playable Sims into an apartment, NPC characters will move into the other apartments if the player doesn't move other Sims into them. There is now a new meter called the reputation meter, which shows how high the reputation of a Sim is, the more friendly the Sim is with others, the higher it goes. As the meter increases, the player gains rewards which help them with their occupation, aspiration, and living. References 

 
Electronic Arts games
MacOS games
Social simulation video games
Video games with gender-selectable protagonists
Windows games
Life simulation games
Aspyr games
Video games developed in the United States