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Hot Stuff!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: April 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Since receiving The Sims Deluxe Edition as a Christmas present this past year, I have put in countless amount of hours creating sim characters, buying them houses, building them houses, decorating their houses, making them friends and moving them up the ol' career ladder. After getting The Sims Unleashed, I have put in countless amount of hours buying my sims cute little pets, and having them save money on food by growing their own vegetable gardens.

Now, with The Sims Hot Date, I have put in countless amount of hours making my sims characters get a little friendly with each other - if you know what I mean (wink-wink, nod-nod), and I think you do. With Hot Date, a whole new neighborhood is added, called "Downtown". It costs 50 bucks to get there, but it's a great place for your sims to go to try and get lucky. However, I have a tendency to make my sims go too fast in the love lane, so the option of inviting another sims home has not yet worked to my advantage (the other characters usually tell me where to go, then walk away). Tons of new items have been added, including booths, a "lover's swing", a heart-shaped hot tub, a pond, new floor tiles, new wallpapers/paints, etc. Also included are new actions that can be used, such as the cuddling feature, which can be used when two sims are on a couch or love swing together. There's tons to do Downtown, including eating at a restaurant, going to the beach, and shopping (you can either buy new clothes for yourself, or you can buy candy, flowers and stuffed toys for your significant other). And also, like in Unleashed, there is an empty lot included, where you can build your own business.

Okay, now to discuss the ONLY thing I dislike about The Sims add-ons: as everyone has pointed out, with every new expansion you add on, you can multiply the loading time by like a hundred. My advice is to click on The Sims icon, and when it starts to load, go find something else to do, like bake a cake or something, and hopefully by the time your done, the game will be loaded and ready to play. It's really a shame it has to be this way, because if it weren't for the long wait everytime you load (and the fact that when your character is Downtown, things run a little choppy), The Sims and all of it's expansions would just be too good to be true. But if you like The Sims at all, you need to get this expansion - and hope that your characters are luckier in the love department than mine.

Lots of fun if your computer meets the specs

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: September 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I would not recommend this game for anyone who has below a 500 mhz Pentium 2 or Duron processor, especially if you download fan skins and objects a lot. (The more non-official stuff you put in your game, the more memory and/or processor power you will require, and the longer your game will take to load.) When I had this game on my old 500 mhz processor, I had about 1 gig of fan stuff in my downloads directory, it took half hour to load, and animation was choppy when downtown got crowded. (If you do use custom downloads, I strongly recommend to back them up before installing ANY new Sims expansion pack. That way, if you have to reinstall from scratch, you can reinstall your custom downloads.)

But if you have a newer computer or are not using custom downloads, the game runs great and is lots of fun. (Once I got my new (faster!) computer, the game ran so much better and I never had anymore trouble with crashes or slow-downs when downtown.) If you liked the lovebed from Living Large or Sims Deluxe, you'll love the new interactions and relationship options in Hot Date.

An overall good expansion pack with some noticeable flaws

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: March 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

As a rather avid Sims player, I was excited about this game. Finally, you could control a Sim somewhere other than his or her own house, and meet Sims you didn't create. I think the problem is, while the downtown area is a great idea, it wasn't executed all that well. As several other people have pointed out, it tends to run slowly. You can only control one Sim there, and you can't save while you're there, so messing up means you either have to start from back before going downtown, or live with your mistakes. The Sim you control doesn't have free will, and won't do anything unless you tell them to. These reasons all contribute to why I don't take my Sims downtown very much when playing the game.

The expansion pack's other major contribution to the series is that it introduces many new social interactions. Some of these are fun to watch, and they remove some of the boredom you might have experienced with the minimal number of social interactions in the original game. The Sims will also get sick of certain interactions more quickly than before, making it harder to make friends or fall in love. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends on whether you like building relationships to be a challenge, or it's just something you have to do to get that next promotion.

Overall, this is a good addition to the Sims series, and I'm glad I have it, but I really wish the programmers had worked out the downtown area so it wouldn't have been so frustrating.

Smart and creative

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 17
Date: November 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Genuiously, Maxis brought us "Sims Hot Date". This is something you must get if you are a Sim Lover. I was reading a couple reviews about Hot Date being slow. Really, that is not an issue. If you have 2 other expansion packs and you dont have much space on your computer, and your computer is not fast, yeah that might make the 3rd expansion pack (HotDate) slower.

Hot date is amazing. I cant imagine what they will do next to make The Sims better. You can go downtown and get "snuggly" with your date. And you can even go downtown and invite other people that are already down there on a date. This game is simply awesome.

In my opinion, you will have to have this. It is WELL WELL WELL! worth the money. No other game can beat the Sims. I cant believe how far it has came.

And dont take my word for it! Go to TheSims.com to find out more about hot date! Then if your ready, order it! (you must order it!)

It Keeps Getting Better

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: December 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Finally, the Sims get out of the house. EA/Maxis have outdone themselves again, and it makes me wonder just what they will do for the next Sims expansion pack. (Pleeeeeeease tell me there will be another expansion pack!) That cost is not an option when you build your downtown (though it may figure into how much your Sims spend once they get down there) inspires all kids of creativity. Once it's built - which takes as much time as building anything in The Sims - your set to go. The new NPCs make for more interestingly gameplay, and your character might just meet his/her new love while they're on the town! While the choice of items available downtown was limited at first, Maxis has come through with add-ons that make it simple to make your downloaded objects available downtown, and at the same time add them to the sub-categories EA and Maxis (bless them!) have included in the build and buy modes. It makes furnishing a house much easier, with less clicking through options than was required before.

Maxis has come a long way since the first, classic-but-humble version of Sim City. They keep (pleasantly) surprising us.

Great game, a few bugs still to be worked out...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: April 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've been slightly obsessed with playing The Sims since the day I first got the game. This wasn't too long ago but I was enjoying the interactions and wanted a bit more. Lo and behold, I got Hot Date. I have to say, I've been having oodles of fun designing the downtown area and taking my Sims places where they (literally) had never been before.

I greatly enjoyed all the new objects (ceiling lighting...finally!) and architectural styles and definitely enjoy watching my Sims cuddle, blow kisses, flex muscles, you name it! Also, being able to invite the Townies over is great and all these things expand the game so much which only makes it better.

So I was there, feeling like quite the architect AND matchmaker when a few problems starting coming up such as Sims that would never get into the cab to go downtown, the cuddlers who just got stuck... I have to add that I installed the patch offered on the official website to fix both of these problems but sadly, it didn't have the desired effect so some Sims are just not able to EVER get downtown when they call the cab and some others just well... cuddle too much, let's say.

So, despite all this, I still have enough resources to garner A LOT of quite fun gameplay but still, I wish it were perfect, just as it was intended to be *sigh* Still, it is way too much fun for me not to recommend it due to a few problems. Get it, you'll really enjoy it.

I can't wait!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 27
Date: August 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Hot Date is expansion pack #3 and I'm going nuts waiting for it. Living Large and House Party definately did not disappoint, and I'm sure Maxis isn't going to let us down with this one! So many Sims fans pour their heart out into making extras for everyone to download, but being able to "leave" the Sims house and go out on the town is absolutely FANTASTIC! I cannot wait until this expansion pack comes out!

Great expansion with a few flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This expansion pack makes by far the most radical changes to the game, not only with the new downtown area, but in terms of interactions with other people (loads of new choices) and building relationships. It's much more challenging, but if you were finding the game to be getting a bit old, Hot Date will liven it up very quickly. The downtown area is great and adds a whole new dimension to the game. However, the downtown area that is provided is kind of boring. You're better off building your own.

There are a few flaws:
1) The game runs A LOT slower with Hot Date, especially when that second window pops up (like when the car pool shows up). My screen actually freezes for a few seconds before I the window actually appears. Plus it takes much longer to save the game. I have a pretty powerful machine, too (Pentium 4, 1.4GHz, 128 MB RAM), so less robust machines are really going to dog.

2) If you enjoy interactions with the kids (as I did), there are fewer now. All that's available most times is "Talk" and "Tickle", whereas before you were able to "Joke", "Entertain" and "Hug". The kids seem to be becoming more and more of an afterthought for Maxis, which is too bad because they made the game more fun. Kids can't go downtown, either.

Hot Date takes some getting used to at first, but overall, I think it's a great expansion pack for an already incredible game.

Takes THE SIMS to a Whole New Level!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I initially balked at getting THE SIMS EXPANSION: HOT DATE--until I was able to get it for only $19.95! Talk about money well spent! As much as HOUSE PARTY added to the game, this expansion pack adds *far* more to it. Finally providing us with a whole downtown area for your Sims to shop, eat, date, ogle, etc., HOT DATE clearly sets the stage for the upcoming *final* expansion pack THE SIMS ONLINE, due out later this year. It also adds a dimension that is much broader, and more complex, than any of the previous expansion packs have offered us.

Realationships are a much bigger deal this time around. They are also more difficult to establish. It now matters what specific interests you have in relation to what other people have. The more your Sims have in common with others around them, the faster it will be to become friends with them. Having next to nothing in common with another Sim, however, will make building a friendship virtually impossible. That's okay, though; you'll just have to make the effort to go downtown to one of the stores and pick up some magazines to read. This will help you build up your interest in subjects so that you can help get the guy or gal you want. :)

Also, there are now two relationship bars for each person you meet. One tracks short-term rapport; the other tracks long-term feelings. This is quite useful because, even though you may have ignored a friend for a bit too long, you can become friends again real fast, either in person or via the telephone. Long-term feelings take some effort to build, but they take little effort to maintain. That's what makes it so cool.

For those of you who somehow just don't get the whole SIMS phenomenon, this new chapter in the saga is unlikely to change your mind. However, for those of us who are more or less SIMS addicts, this represents exactly what we've been looking for. This is THE SIMS, in a much bigger, badder, bawdier world--and we're all the more grateful for it! :)

Magnificent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Having all of the expansion packs to the Sims--so far, I am delighted to say that this is the best to them all. It doesn't add a tremendous amount of objects, but it adds an entire new world to the little sim "bubble" your sim has been living in. Now they can go DOWNTOWN! There are so many things to do downtown and what can I say---ITS HOT!

You can now eat at nice resteraunts, go to the beach, try on new clothes and thousands of other things.

***WHY SHOULD YOU BUY THIS GAME?***

-Adds an entire new world to the sims that includes many, many activities.

-Whenever you get bored with just simply having your sim wake up, get dressed, go to work, eat dinner, and go to bed you can take him/her downtown for a spicy night on the town.

-New Items. They didn't add as many as I had hoped, but they added quite a few very good items. New walls and floors, tables, chairs, desks, and decor.

-New SKINS-I love new skins. They added quite a few good skins to this expansion pack although I think they could've added a few more with very little effort.

***WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS FOR BUYING THIS GAME***

-If you don't have a good computer, the sims game-play will be strenuous and slow.

-It crashes periodically on all systms

-The downtown is extremely crowded and hard to move around in. Sometimes it take 4 to 5 hours just to get downtown and eat a small dinner. This is perhaps the most annoying aspect of this game.

-You can't take a group of friends downtown with you... Just one person

-There are several errors like this one--In order to get the option "call a cab" to go downtown, you must buy a specific phone. This specific phone is old-fashioned and ugly in addition to this. There are several errors like that.

Should you get this? I highly recommend it

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