The Sims 3 Bigger and Better

The Sims 3

The Sims is one of the most successful franchises on the market, and for good reason. It is, by far, the most well-known people simulator you're likely to find anywhere. But most importantly, it provides players with a compelling and captivating sandbox that affords freedom of choice few games could ever hope to even compare to. If you're a fan of previous Sims games, the Sims 3 is definitely the game for you . If you've become somewhat jaded, the Sims 3 does manage to add enough changes and improvements that may renew your faith in the franchise.

Check out this guy's Sims 3 Let's Play

The Sims 3 Bigger and Better

The Sims is known for the tremendous depth of choice it grants players. Thankfully, the Sims 3 grants even more player choice as the game is bigger and better than the previous games and expansions overall. As a virtual people simulator, players will create their Sims and set them upon the unsuspecting town in which they inhabit with other like-minded and conflicting neighbors. Plus I just love Simlish.

The Sims 3 Character Customization

One of the things loyal fans of The Sims love is the character customization. With a plethora of options, players could loose themselves in the ongoing process of creating the perfect look for their Sim. It may sound droll on the surface, but there's something about dictating every little thing from the color of the Sim's eyes, to  how tall they are, or what kind of shirt they wear, to the type of shoes on their feet, that is oddly addicting. The visuals are more rounded and organic than the Sims 2, and though the Sims still looks cartoony, keep in mind this is a design choice and is part of the charm of The Sims.You can make Sims that look like you, if you are so inclined, or create the craziest look you can think of. The options are limitless and your only restriction is your imagination. If you want to create a short, chubby guy with clown feet, a punk rock hair style with a fancy watch, shades, and a business tie, while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and leather pants, then by all means be my guest. And to top it off, each Sim gets up to five traits that show what kind of personality they have. They can be incredibly neat, insane, ambitious, workoholoics, romantics, seekers of knowledge and wisdom, and much more.

The Sims 3 Trailer

The Sims 3 Town

The Sims 3 makes a big change to the world in which the player lives the life they wish they could live. In previous Sims games, the player was restricted to their house and certain destinations of interest. And in order to get to these places, players had to endure long loading screens that really took away from the experience. In the Sims 3, the entire town is simulated. For the first time, the society in which your Sim lives feels alive and organic. Other Sims carry on their lives while you control the Sims of the selected household. Now you can send your Sims anywhere in town and leave them to their own devices. And what's great about the Sims 3 is that each individuals Sim doesn't require as much micro managing as in previous games. So now you can take your eyes off Fred for a bit and see what Kate is up to without worrying that Sam might accidentally walk off a bridge or spontaneously combust. It feels like a real society. You can take the family out to dinner, a trip to the beach, the park, swimming pool, the library, shopping, and more; all while interacting with the Sims you encounter going  about their day.

The Sims 3 Goals and Ambitions

The Sim's 3 has some new things to do with a few added for kicks. Old favorites like short and long term goals, or lifetime goals are back. And each goal, whether short or long term, has perks and benefits that go along with it such as not having to pee again. No surprise that's the one most people talk about as its a huge time saver and allows your Sim to do other things. These goals provide some motivation and incentive for what you're doing in a game that doesn't have a plot or much direction. As always, the player's Sims earn skills as they perform certain tasks. For example. Say you're Sim's ambition is to become a renowned musician. He or she will obviously need to hone their skills by practicing an instrument. Make them play the guitar for a while and they'll slowly get better. And this applies to just about every skill from gardening to cooking, to logic, mechanics, creativity, and so on. Each skill can be learned and improved upon with correlating actions, like the example I stated above.

The Sims 3 Home Building

Building and customizing the home in which your Sims live is, for me, half the fun of the game. It can be addicting to earn those bucks to upgrade your home. Who wouldn't want to get a better T.V. Or build a pool in the backyard? Get an awesome computer. The most comfortable bed or couch. Surround themselves with beautiful works of art. Afford to invest in their passions and hobbies such as music or cooking. I could go on. And what I actually may like even more is building the house itself. Now, I normally hate cheating and almost never do in a game as I find cheats make most games too easy and boring, but I can't help myself with the Sims 3. Sometimes I just feel like building a dream home. So the money cheat or any mods and such come in handy. With the money cheat, I can build any home I can think of. And there's a part of me that is fascinated and admires architecture. Some of the vids on youtube are inspired. I recommend you check them out if you're into that sort of thing. I'm not an architect, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate beauty when I see it.

This guy can build a house. Check out his other works on youtube 

The Sims 3 the Mundane

The Sims 3 sounds almost too good to be true as  a sequel, right? Of course, as we all know, most things that sound too good to be true usually aren't as good as we think they will be, or they're something different entirely. With the Sims 3, it's the former of the two. The Sims franchise is in need of some big changes if the franchise is to continue to be the collosal success it has been. The game feels empty at first as all the expansions we've paid for in the Sims and Sims 2 don't carry over. That's right, you have to buy everything all over again. As I mentioned, there is more to do in this game but even having said that I must say there were definitely times when the mundane creeps in on you and you begin to hate having to send your Sim to the toilet or shower or have them make a meal. They do this a little on their own compared to the first two games, but are for the most part, incompetent when it comes to meeting their basic needs. And as you may expect, this may have you feeling a lot of deja vu. There's just no getting around it. Having your Sim explore, interact with other Sims, and goof off in general is fun, but cleaning the dishes or taking out the trash for the 30,000 time is boring. There are still some glitches with the visuals here and there. Path finding is still a big problem. And there are many missed opportunities, many of which have been asked for. Seeing and controlling what your Sim does at work is only one example.

The Sims 3 Final Verdict

The Sims 3 has accomplished much since it's release. With astounding sales and an impressive army of expansions, what the Sim's 3 does best is creating a simulation with endless possibilities and a heck of a lot of replay value. There are even more options in customization, from the Sims themselves to their homes and the world in which they live. The world has expanded to a living breathing society that is tons of fun to loose yourself in. That being said, there are definitely flaws with the game, though admittedly, may only be apparent to those who have been playing the Sims since the start. For it's amazing customization, appealing charm, and a near endless bombardment of player choice, with some noteworthy faults here and there, the Sims 3 earns a solid 6 out of 10.