Give credit to Maxis and EA Games for continually driving a wildly successful franchise. Aside from the expansion, which pop up a couple of times a year (the game released in 2004 and since then there have been five expansions – University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets and Season), there has also been a nice flow to packs that feature stuff. Stuff? Yes, stuff – the nice little objects that enhance the game by adding in furniture, interactive objects, new hair styles and clothes.

So far there has been Glamour Life Stuff, Happy Holiday Stuff, H&M Fashion Stuff and now, to sate the need to party, there is Celebration! Stuff. Celebration! Stuff is a collection of objects, clothing and hair styles that are geared to round out the party aspect of the life of Sims. It does not improve gameplay, does not add new zones (aka neighborhoods), does not improve the sound or graphics, or stop the game from being a general resource hog.

This is not an expansion pack – it is a collection of objects that players can call into the game.

Want to make that birthday party go over the top? You can get cakes here. How about balloon archways for your garden. Or maybe your female Sims will opt for a fancy upswept hairdo with (what appears to be) flowers entwined into the hair to give that wedding party the added touch of sweetness and innocence. Tiaras and veils are also available.  

The program itself requires the original Sims 2 game to play. Players used to having to make a backup of the My Documents/EA/Sims 2 folder need not fret in this case (though it is wise to do that on occasion anyway if you download content from the Web) as the program will reset any camera hack you may have but won’t overwrite content. Global hacks seems to be working as well after the installation of this content pack.

The program has party-themed building designs in the Building mode and new clothing options will show up at boutiques. You can purchase the new decorations and party objects in the Buy Mode.

On the short list of objects, there are lighting items, centerpieces, furniture (including folding chairs, tables, buffet tables and bars), a new grill, artwork and banners.

Celebration! Stuff is a content pack, pure and simple. If you have not downloaded fan-created content from the Web, this is a nice way to really add to the base game, or expansions, and create a festive atmosphere in your game.

Gameplay: 7.0
If you don’t have any of the expansions, and have not downloaded fan-created content from the Internet, this package provides a nice little addendum to the whole party element of your Sims’ lives. It does not, however, change gameplay in and of itself with new gameplay or interface elements.

Graphics: 7.7
Going to attach the same rating as for the Seasons expansion. The new objects are nice but really don’t open up entirely new areas.

Sound: 7.0
Nothing seems to have changed from the Seasons installation, so the score is the same as for Seasons.

Difficulty: Easy
This has nothing to do with game difficulty mechanics. You just buy the objects and insert them into your Sim household or business (if you have the Open For Business expansion).

Concept: 7.0
The Sims party scene gets a boost, and that’s about it.

Overall: 6.8
A nice collection, though a little skimpy. Similar items can be downloaded off fan sites for free, but this game provides the underscoring meshes needed to make some of those work correctly. Don’t expect this to totally change your game. It is a nice collection of items, but that is all.