I was really looking forward to Seasons and I couldn't wait to get all the great weather changes for my Sims. The new weather is fantastic and really adds a new exciting element to gameplay. However, although the weather is brilliantly done and the festivals and new activities are really fun and interesting, the expansion is just a little disappointing, as it seems that EA really rushed the release date without having perfected the game.
Each season normally lasts for seven days, but players have the option to change the duration of each season. Each season has different weather effects like sunshine, rain, lightning, fog, hail, and snow. Also there is a holiday held on the last Friday of the season, which is a special day and Sims don't go to work or school. There is a new festival community lot that takes the place of the town's main park and offers different activities for each season.
Summer is the first season of the Sim year. The weather is mostly sunny and warm with an occasional rain, and Sims have to use parasols and umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun and the rain. Opening their colourful parasols and umbrellas is really adorable, but keep in mind that they will not do that automatically, and you actually have to buy them and put them in their inventory. Sims can now swim in the sea which is great, but they can't swim in lakes, which seems odd and if your town doesn't have a sea, it can be a problem. The summer activities include water balloon fights, hot dog eating contests, fireworks and getting a tan. The summer holiday is Leisure Day and it can be celebrated with a Pool Party.
Fall is mostly rainy and foggy with leaves falling from the trees and Sims can rake the leaves and create piles to play in or burn. The fall activities include carving pumpkins, bobbing for apples, entering the spooky shack and pie eating contests. The fall holiday is the Halloween inspired, Spooky Day and it can be celebrated with a Feast Party, where guests bring the food.
Winter is very, very beautiful, as it is mostly snowy and all the lots are covered in snow. Sims can make snow angels, build snowmen, and put outdoor fairy lights on their houses, which creates a very festive atmosphere. Also, children have snowy days when it snows and they don't have to go to school. The winter activities include snowball fights, ice skating, snowboarding, kissing under the mistletoe, and building igloos. The winter holiday is the Christmas inspired Snowflake Day and it can be celebrated with a Gift Giving Party, where a pile of presents appears in the middle of the room and each person gets one.
Spring is mostly rainy and there are lovely flowers everywhere, which Sims can pick and use to decorate their homes. The spring activities include attending kissing booths, dancing contest, and the egg hunt. The spring holiday is the Valentine's Day inspired Love Day, but there doesn't seem to be a special party to celebrate it, which is quite an omission.
There is no new neighborhood with this expansion, which is really disappointing, as I was hoping there would be one. There are no new careers and there are only two new traits; "loves heat" and "loves cold". There are a few new objects, including a new hot tub, some pool equipment and a few furniture, but sadly almost no holiday items, as one might expect. I really don't understand why there are no seasonal decorations, especially considering that there is an important holiday for each season. Luckily, I had already downloaded the Halloween and Christmas themed decorations from the Sim's store, so at least my poor Sims had a Christmas tree. There are also some new hairstyles, that are not that great and a couple new outfits, mostly uninspired outwear.
There are of course those frustrating little things that could have been easily avoided, if the creators had given some more thought into the game. First of all, pets don't really adapt to the changes in weather, so we get Sim cats happily playing and hunting in the rain, which is definitely not very realistic. Also, Sims can now plant and grow pumpkins and they can even have pumpkin pie as their favorite food, which makes no sense, as there is no option to make a pumpkin pie, not even for cooking level ten Sims. Last but not least, is the lack of greenhouses; plants naturally fall into a dormant state for half the year, which means that professional gardeners have no way to earn their living.
The only extra feature of the limited edition is the Ice Lounge community lot, which is nothing spectacular, and I don't think that the objects it includes are that great. I only got it, as pre-ordered the game, but I don't think it is worth the extra price. I recommend that you get the standard edition instead.