Location, Location, Location

Each of the 3 locations has its own build style with themed objects and decorations. New roof types and styles help here with the addition of the amazing Pagoda Roofs as well as new textures like straw for the beach huts and corrugated steel for the mountain buildings.

In Takemizu Village you might make a wish at a shrine (wishes can come true, but you could also be attacked by bees if things go badly), or join the locals for a tea party. You can meet and greet with the Wise Old Man and learn legends which you can take home and share with other Sims, telling the story in your own unique way. You can even practice Voodoo if you learn the skills from the Witch Doctor.

On Twikkii Island, build sandcastles on the beach, look for seashells, sunbathe (watch out for the sunburn), dig for treasures in the sand, swim in the ocean (yes, you read right.. Sims can now swim on open water) or explore the Swashbuckling Shipwreck!

Up in the mountains at Three Lakes you can make use of the Spa and have a massage (you can learn massage skills to take home and perform on your friends and family), spend some time in a Sauna, throw axes (dangerous at the best of times), challenge other Sims on the giant log rolling pit and learn "slap dancing". Incidentally, each region has its own dance, which again, Sims can learn and take home to teach others.

Each location has its own style of food booth which is where Sims eat on vacation. They can also order room service from their accommodation. These fooderies are the place to meet the locals who you can win over as friends or lovers. You can even invite them back from the vacation resorts to visit you, or even move in.

Each location also has its own special greeting (again, a learnable skill). If your Sim is a well seasoned traveller who has learned the greetings he will be warmly welcome at new locations. If on the other hand they aren't too up with the local traditions, they will find it harder to integrate within the local community.

If you can find the secret mountain cave location you may be lucky enough to spot Bigfoot. If you do, you can befriend this "very useful character" to come back and live with you (he's good for work). "Where is the screenshot of this beast" I hear you cry. Well, when you get to my summary at the end you'll understand why this article is sadly lacking the picture you (and I) desire :-(

The 3 design styles: Mountain, Far Eastern and Beach

Life's a beach!

Beaches, say the developers, were one of the hardest things to create in tems of additional gameplay functionality as they realised that the sea and sand really needed to be interactive. So now, Sims can actually swim in the sea, as well as the resort pools.

The beach is the area where Sims can burn too, and the animations of Sims standing on hot sand are naturally full of foot hoping and "ooch, ouch" sounds :-)

Back to life, back to reality??

The return to reality (is that the right term for a Simulation??) can affect Sims in different ways. If they had a bad vacation experience then they might return with jet lag and will be grouchy until they get over it (I know that feeling after flying back to Europe from EA in California). But if the trip was a positive experience than Sims receive Vacation Benefits which will make their lives even better for a while. The better the vacation, the better the benefits. Each Sim gets to choose from 6 benefits:

Carefree: With this reward your Sim will enjoy the benefit of an additional want slot! With this reward you will be carefree in no time.

Refreshed: Everything is always easier when you get back from a great vacation! With this reward, your Sim will have a bonus gain in skill building and badge building activities. Also this Sim will be able to complete homework faster.

Productive: With this reward, your Sim will want to spend less time slacking off after having such a good vacation. Their comfort, social and fun needs will take much longer to decay!

Jen e sais quoi: Give your Sim that something extra special that other Sims will notice! Romantic pursuits should be easier with this benefit.

Industrious: With this benefit, your Sim will be a star at the work place! High job performance and, therefore, promotions will be much easier to achieve.

Forgiving: With this benefit, your Sim will be much harder to annoy. Any Sims that you were furious with will be forgiven and negative will take longer to build.

Jewelry, Jewellery... many cultural differences!

Some of the items that can be found at each location include jewellery items (spelling differs by region), which can also be purchased in the resort shops. The new items include watches and bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces as well as some face piercing for the nose, lips and eyebrows, and all are unique to the 3 different locations. New clothing options are also available from resort shops based on the new themes.

These items also appear in Create A Sim under a new category below the clothing tab, so they can be included when creating new Sims and families too.

Objective objects

As with any EP, Bon Voyage comes with a wide selection of new interactive objects, many of which can be used at home. Tents offer an outdoor alternative to accommodation and can also be placed on Community Lots to allow Sims a place to grab a short sleep for that all important R&R. They can also be used at home in back yards. Hot springs act like Hot Tubs and the Xen Garden can be used for mediation (and it needs raking now and then too).

The Monkey Ruins. Are the place to make offerings, but I'm told that adding soap to them has a funny, yet undesirable effect! I wish has the pictures to show you.

On the vacation Lots, a Giant Tree Ring is a living record of special evens, and there are of course many more that I will leave you to investigate in your own time.

Going even further...

So lets cover the "other" things that don't fit in the sections above.

Sims can own and build up their very own "Holiday Home", which they can use for vacations and can even invite friends and family to join them there too.

Bon Voyage probably has the least amount of cross EP content that we have seen recently. Pets are unable to go on vacation, although it is believed that they can go to holiday homes.

Weather effects from Seasons will work in all locations and they default to certain season settings, such as the beach having a summer, summer, summer, summer configuration. There are no Open for Business type abilities with vacation lots. You can't be a hotel manager I'm afraid.

Sims at University can go on vacation.

The gift giving feature from Seasons is enhanced, as Sims can return from vacation with mementos and gifts for the Sims that were unable to make the trip.

Sims can die on vacation!

Sims can now choose to walk between Community Lots in the way they can walk between vacation locations. Reduce your simulated carbon footprint by ditching the taxi service!

One of the most impressive objects in Bon Voyage for me was the Swashbuckling Shipwreck. There are many interaction already built in; Walk the Plank, Climb the Crows nest, Man the Wheel, Raise the Jolly Roger, Fence with Cutlass, Explore Pirate Ship and Plunder the Captains cabin. But with the help of a moveobjects cheat or 2, it's totally possible to place objects on the decks of the ship as they are actually working floors. This would allow for example, for you to place wedding arches up there or hold parties and other celebrations on the deck of the pirate ship. This new location will make for some great stories, I'm sure!

And before you ask.. Yes, Sims can now get married on Community Lots :-)

We all come home in the end.

Yep, we all left EA and were sent forth to spread the word, which I hope I have done. The problem I had this time around was simply the lack of time to spend playing Bon Voyage (hence the lack of screenshots and details of some of the elements I mentioned). I don't know whether its just because I didn't have time to do all the things I wanted to do, or that Bon Voyage is so packed full of bonuses, things to find, secret elements and more to keep you busy for a very long time. Either way, I could have happily spent a couple more hours plying just to complete this article, let alone trying to improve my Sims travel rating, gathering all the mementos, learning all the dances and stories that I could send my Sims home to tell others, massages... The list of things to go goes on and on.

For that reason, I have to say that Bon Voyage is the first EP for me that really ads some objective based gameplay with something a bit more rewarding to achieve than just skills or badges. The end of vacation rewards are a nice touch too. All in all, I rate this EP up there with my other favourites, Seasons and Open for Business for the way that I play my game. I look forward to being able to spend some serious time looking for all that stuff I didn't have time for this time around at EA.

Note to EA.. more time needed to preview the next EP ;-)

I'm done. I hope this article helped inform you about what you can expect to see in Bon Voyage and helps you make the decision as to whether to buy it on release day, or the week later.. either way, this is one pack you need to buy ;-)

You can see many more TSR Exclusive Screens by following the link below.

My thanks to the team at EA for the opportunity and information, and to my Sims Community colleagues who attended, making the day informative and enjoyable once again.

/Steve

Links:
Enlarged Article Images & other TSR Exclusive Screens
Official Screenshots & Renders at TSR
Sims 2: Bon Voyage at the Official Site

Steve's Guestbook, in case you want to leave feedback about the article :-)