*****

-- Please note that this review may contain spoilers --

Celebration Stuff is a 'stuff' pack that consists of a number of new objects and outfits made exclusively for celebrations; specifically for weddings and milestone birthday parties.

All stuff packs are far smaller than actual Expansion Packs and contain much less content; however, they do fill a niche that is left out in the actual expansions.
These packs are quite expensive so it is all down to consumer choice; whether or not the niche that is being filled is important to you or not.

Like my other stuff pack reviews, I will explain the 'facts' surrounding the pack first and then follow up with my personal opinion.



-The Facts-


-Specs

The stuff pack requires at the very least:

OS: Windows Vista, XP, Me, 2000, or 98

Installed: The Sims 2 for Windows

CPU: 1.0 GHz or faster

RAM: 256 MB or more

Disc Drive: 8x or faster CD/DVD drive

Hard Drive: At least 350 MB of free space

Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible

Video: DirectX 9.0 compatible
Video card must have 32 MB or more memory and one of these T&L capable chipsets:

ATI Radeon 8500 or greater;
NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS or greater


-The Order

Although not necessary, all eps and stuff packs should be installed in the order of the date they are released. This is because each pack contains a patch for the previous game.


-Buying & Building

Celebration Stuff has some beautifully made objects, and it is clear that quite a lot of work and design have gone into their creation. All items are designed to be temporary placements for weddings or parties such as a new buffet table, chairs and tables, two new wedding arches, and plenty of decorative items. Pictures of the new objects can be found on the official Sims 2 website.


-Clothing

The clothing provided in Celebration Stuff include new white-tie formal wear such as wedding dresses and dinner jackets. There are also dresses for flower girls and brides maids. There are a few new hairstyles including one with a veil for that special moment when your sim lady takes those life-changing steps down the aisle.



-My Opinion-


-Specs

As mentioned in my H&M review, the specs listed on the box can be deceiving. Meeting the minimum specs alone will not allow for decent game play, if at all. In my experience, the Sims 2 requires a computer that is as powerful as possible. It is common Sims 2 community knowledge to take the specs they give you and multiply them to provide the 'real' minimum specs. Below is a more accurate estimation of the specifications you will need:

OS: Windows Vista, XP, Me, 2000, or 98

Installed: The Sims 2 for Windows

CPU: 2.0 GHz or faster

RAM: 1 GB or more

Disc Drive: 8x or faster CD/DVD drive

Hard Drive: At least 1.5GB of free space

Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible

Video: DirectX 9.0 compatible
Video card must have 32 MB or more memory and one of these T&L capable chipsets:

ATI Radeon 8500 or greater;
NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS or greater;



-The Website

When considering buying a stuff pack, the Sims2.com website proves especially useful. It provides individual pictures of most items contained within the pack so it can help you decide whether or not the stuff pack will meet your tastes or requirements.


-The Order

Personally, I insist that my games are all installed in the order that they were released. This ensures that the patches are linear and should help to avoid bug problems. While this isn't entirely necessary, I would advise doing the same if possible.


-No new wedding features?

As this is a stuff pack, nothing has been done to change the game play in the slightest. I would have liked to see new features and social interactions based around weddings such as the ability to pick the best man, brides maids, and flower girls. While clothing is provided for these positions, it relies on the player's imagination to make use of them.


-Buying & Building

Most of these objects are quite restricting in that they can only really be used for celebrations such as weddings and birthday parties and may not fit very easily into everyday life; however, some of the more general items such as light fittings, decorative objects, and the new grill (which I love) can be an attractive addition to regular households.

It can be a lot of fun to deck a garden or ball-room out with these items in preparation for a wedding or a formal party, but taking the decorations down once you are done can be just as soul draining as the real thing. I sometimes don't have the patience to go to all the work, so even with the pack installed there are still some weddings that will go on without the new items.

The items can be entertaining for a while, especially if you have a party set up or intend to build special party venues, but the novelty can soon wear off.


-Clothing

Again, the problem with the clothing is that it is too specific and therefore quite restrictive. It is perfect for weddings, but nobody is going to be wearing a wedding dress on any other day of their life, unless you are wanting to make a corpse bride. It is nice, however, to finally have fitting wedding attire included in the game.


-Conclusion = So is it fun?

As mentioned earlier in the review, the purposes of stuff packs is to fill a niche and their worth depends entirely on how interested a player is with the contents of the pack.
The worth of this pack depends entirely on how the player uses their game. If you are story inclined and love to host a lot of parties and weddings then the pack will be perfect for you.

I was able to find the pack relatively cheap (5.98 from ASDA with free delivery); I doubt that I would have been impressed had I paid the full 9.99 recommended retail.