It's that time again! Yes, time to expand! The Sims 2 has a brand new expansion, this time adding a whole new time to the mix. While the first expansion sent sims to college, this one will answer the old question few have ever asked: So, what do sims do at night? Nightlife increases the size of the world by adding a new "Downtown" section to your town. There is only one Downtown, no matter which town you attach it to. This place has enough shops, restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, and dance clubs to keep your sims partying the whole night away! You can go out, grab a meal, and try to flirting with the waitress to reduce your bill. Or you can ask the DJ to step aside so you can take over, thereby becoming the life of the party!

It's worth mentioning that this expansion does not make as many significant changes to the overall gameplay as the University expansion does. Nightlife seems like a lesser expansion in comparison. In fact, it makes the game much harder to play without cheating, but it makes up for this with the vampire mode, which we'll talk more about later.

Where University added things like musical instruments and pool tables, Nightlife offers more furniture pieces that are suited toward public lots. These include a karaoke machine, a DJ booth, and a gravity-defying gyroscopic dance machine. Perhaps the most significant addition is that of the personal car, so sims no longer have to call a cab and wait for it to arrive whenever they need to get somewhere. Build a driveway and garage, and you can have your own personal vehicle. There is a pretty decent selection of different car types, ranging from compacts, to minivans, to sports cars. Each comes in a wide variety of styles. You can use it to go Downtown, to public lots, or to work. No more car pooling! Or your sim can simply amuse himself by sitting in the car and listening to the radio. Can you make out I the car? Of course you can! What about whoohoo? Of course! The only downside to having a vehicle is that it sometimes seems pretty plain that it's an add-on. When someone invites you to go out, there is no "I'll pick you up" option. You still need to wait for the cab to arrive before heading out.

The "Pleasure" life goal is introduced, which makes things interesting for a little while, but ultimately doesn't add that much. Basically, in the pursuit of pleasure, the sim's wants will change much more frequently than a normal sim's, depending on the situation. In some ways, this new life goal makes things a little easier because you don't really need to plan toward long term goals, and get away with raising the aspiration meter simply by completing a long list of short term wants.

Probably the most intriguing aspect of Nightlife is the dating game. Sims can now invite each other out on dates, which activates a minigame. The player is given a thermometer at the upper right hand of the screen, detailing how well the date is going. Players are given two minutes to raise the bar to the next level, which will reward you with another two minutes, ultimately seeking to attain "Dream Date" status. Doing this makes falling in love move much more smoothly. Factors involved in getting a date's attention is the number of actions a person takes to impress his or her date. These actions are usually specially marked. In some instances, you can even outright ask your date what he or she wants. The amount of chemistry between two sims also helps a lot too. If two sims are turned-on by the same things, they have a higher chemistry rating. A matchmaker even sells potions so that the player can instantly change turn-ons and get more of edge during a dating encounter. For a price, the matchmaker can even "set you up" on a blind date, with compatibility dependant on how much you're willing to spend. The dating game isn't very difficult, and it won't be long before sims will be swooning for you everywhere.

While all these new additions can be fun, they make the game very difficult to play. It's hard enough trying to keep your skills up while trying to work a day job, but throw in stuff that needs to get done at night, and things become doubly hard unless you're willing to resort to cheat codes. Once you make a few friends the phone starts ringing off the hook with requests to go out to party or date. Throw in the University expansion, and studying becomes almost impossible. Sounds almost like real life!

One of the most innovative things that Nightlife brings to The Sims 2 is vampirism. Yes, that's right, sims can now permanently turn into creatures of the night. Turning into a vamp isn't easy. First you have to find one, usually wandering the clubs really late at night. Then you have to get it to bite you and turn you into one of them. Then you get all the benefits of being a supernatural being! Your needs will never decay, so you don't have to worry about sending your sim to the bathroom every ten minutes or having to make food all the time. The trade-off is that you can no longer stand the light of day. Exposure to the sunlight will dramatically cause all your needs to decrease, until you starve, pee yourself, and burst into flames. Only getting a coffin to sleep in during the day can alleviate this problem. Needless to say, the game completely changes around. As vampires, sims will no longer be able to pursue job pursuits that require them to go out during the day, limiting them to thieving, waiting on tables, bartending, or playing music for tips. Additionally, your character will go around saying "Bleh, BLEH!" to others, taking their cue from old vampire movies. This is definitely the way to go if you think the same old Sims gameplay is getting a little stale.

Though in many ways, this is an unnecessary expansion, Nightlife offers a distraction from the standard way of playing The Sims and that alone makes it worth picking up. Although you'd probably never miss it if you didn't have it, it's very worthwhile to have a car and vampirism. What better reasons can there be besides those?