This expansion gives Sims the opportunity to become Witches (female) or Warlocks (male), similar to The Sims: Makin Magic. While playing as a magical being, Sims may choose to be Infallibly Good, Good, Nice, Neutral, Mean, Evil or Atrociously Evil, each of which has a unique costume. A sim may become a witch or warlock by building a strong relationship with an NPC magic user until the option to request the transformation becomes available.
Witches/Warlocks may use various magical objects, including brooms and cauldrons. Spells may be cast by using specific ingredients (i.e. Mystic Dust, Dragon Scales, Eye of Newt, Vipers Essence, Crystallized Moonbeams and the Essence of Light). These ingredients may be obtained in any of three ways: produced in a cauldron, purchased from a Witch/Warlock NPC, or purchased at the secret Witch/Warlock lots.
A character's alignment depends entirely on the alignment of the spells that they cast. A good spell will move the witch or warlock towards the "Infallibly Good" end while an evil spell will push the caster towards the "Atrociously Evil" side. Spell availability is determined by the caster's magic skill level and alignment. Even the most skilled Infallibly Good Witch will be unable to cast any but the single simplest Evil spell. The most potent powers of good and evil (such as Throne creation, zombification and revivification) are reserved exclusively for witches and warlocks on the extreme ends of the good or evil alignments. A sim's initial alignment depends on the alignment of the witch or warlock who initiated them into the magical mysteries.
Witches/Warlocks can use certain spells and magic according to what order of magic they use. Evil magic users can light fires, cause sickness, and even bring zombies to life. Good magic users are able to create happiness, put out fires, and bring the dead back to life. Good and Evil magic users can each build a "Throne of Light" and "Throne of Darkness" respectively.
All Witches/Warlocks can create potions and cast "neutral" spells that allow them to teleport, freeze time, and use a spell or potion that turns them back into humans. If the "Pets" expansion is also installed, Witches and Warlocks can summon spectral cat familiars.
New objects and tools
Apartment Life adds a number of playground objects, including a jungle gym, playground slide, merry-go-round, and monkey bars. New furniture items include a Murphy bed, open mic stand, break dancing mat, trash chute, apartment mailboxes, vibrating bed, vending machines, witch-themed furnishings, in addition to new TV sets and a large fish tank.
Build mode adds new types of objects and tools, such as spiral stairs, a new elevator (this expansion pack also includes all of the elevators from Open for Business if it is not installed), built-in wardrobes, visible ceilings, ducts, vents, and heating and cooling windows as well as the usual assortment of new wall, floor, garage door, and door styles. New modes of transport available are helicopters for purchase and Witch brooms.
While the Sims are living in an apartment, as with university dorms, they will only be able to change the floors and wallpaper within the apartment, as well as place miscellaneous Build Mode objects like marble columns. Also new with Apartment Life is the ceiling. A new 45 degree angle view in build mode will make it possible to view the Sims' ceiling which can be covered in the floor tile of the player's choice.
New NPCs
New NPCs include butlers, landlords, roommates and NPC neighbors. When players move playable Sims into an apartment, NPC characters will move into the other apartments if the player doesn't move other Sims into them.
Reputation meter
There is now a new meter called the reputation meter, which shows how high the reputation of a Sim is, the more friendly the Sim is with others, the higher it goes. As the meter increases, the player gains rewards which help them with their occupation, aspiration, and living.
Life skills
Sims can learn new life skills, they include Fire Prevention which makes them calmer in a fire, Anger Management which means they won't stay angry at another sim for very long, Lifelong Happiness which reduces the decline of platinum and gold mood statuses, Physiology which means body skills increase faster (due to a bug in the game all skills increase faster), and Couple Counseling which means if a friend's relationship is on the rocks the interaction 'counsel' will be available and your sim can repair the relationships.
Compatibility with other Expansion Packs
Players with both The Sims 2: Pets expansion pack and Apartment Life will be able to have witch's spectral cats, and with the Pets expansion pack, the player can have pets in the apartment. If the player doesn't have Pets, 'Lap dogs' will be available for purchase in buy mode without the Pets expansion pack.
Heating and cooling makes a difference to a Sim's temperature gauge if Apartment Life is played with The Sims 2: Seasons expansion pack installed.
Roommates
This expansion pack offers Sims the chance to live in apartments in low or high rent districts, and allows for four user controlled families to be within an apartment building. The player also has the option to look for roommates whom the player can choose, but not control. When the player reviews potential roommates the player is given a basic personality to help the player decide which roommate would best suit. Though roommates can't be controlled, the player can view a scale that tells the player how satisfied they are.
