I raced out last night and picked up a copy of Ambitions, the latest expansion pack.  My VERY first impression was that this expansion pack takes a heck of a long time to install.  I'm pretty sure that's true (and not just due to my impatience) because it turns out that THIS EXPANSION PACK IS WICKED HUGE.  Also, AWESOME.

You probably already know that the idea behind Ambitions is to introduce new career paths.  Except that unlike the previous careers, you can follow your Sim on these new paths.  In fact, it seems that you and your Sim basically pursue them together, racking up points by tracking down mini-quests, not unlike those available in the World Adventures expansion pack.  Except that these quests aren't - not to mince words - BORING.

This difference is why what you get with Ambitions is "professions," not "careers."  There are several different professions, including Firefighter, Ghost Hunter, Architect, and more.

Furthermore, you can now register your Sim as a freelance self-employed agent.  I know, right?  Instead of just fishing and selling fish, you can now officially become a licensed fishersim.  I don't really understand it, either, but it's neat.

BUT ALSO!

All of the dialogue bubbles have changed, and several of the menus have been enhanced and reformatted.  This blew me away!  Previously when the game gave you a message like "So-and-so will have a birthday in two days, why not buy them a cake?" that message would fade after a few minutes.  Those of us who occasionally leave the game running while we go get another cup of coffee have learned to keep an ear cocked for the little "whifft" noise these bubbles make when they appear, so that you can race back to your computer and see what just happened.

THIS IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE.  Instead of independent bubbles, there is a persistent panel in the upper right-hand corner which slides in and out when you click the arrow.  It holds all of the messages that you haven't actually deleted, and you can scroll back through them to see what you missed.

Other messages and menus are enhanced, as well.  It's a treat to see, and makes a huge difference.  Information control has always been a big issue for the Sims games, thanks to their amazing complexity.  These new menus go a long way to helping that problem.

A lot of items have been introduced, as well.  You can buy a trampoline, some kind of strange yard game, recycling bins… oh, and LAUNDRY MACHINES.  That's right!  They do LAUNDRY now!  Put a hamper in your Sim's bedroom and it will collect their dirty clothes when they change outfits.  Or - as I learned - sometimes your Sim will just drop them in a pile on the floor.  (I don't know where they got that idea.  I certainly never do that myself.  Never ever.)

There is a ton of new stuff to play with and explore in this expansion pack.  I'll be honest with you, I'm kind of "meh" on World Adventures after having played it for a while.  But so far Ambitions is completely blowing me away.