The Sims 3

Review from Yug - Thursday, 11 June 2009 @ 9:07am

At least World of Warcraft keeps you communicating with REAL people.

The Sims franchise on the other hand, turns you into a reality TV show voyeur, addicted to the lives of your created characters while neglecting your own.

And it’s totally worth it.

I also have another theory – I think the boom in ‘cross over games’, the genre that appeals to both hardcore games and non-gamers alike (Guitar Hero, Little Big Planet, everything on the Wii) started with the Sims. I remember buying the original back in 2004 and finding that not only was I addicted to it, but my sisters played it more than I did. Seriously, they spent HOURS in the character creation screens alone.

So now the series is the best selling PC franchise in history (having sold over 100 million units worldwide), guess EA figured they had run out of ideas for expansion packs and it was time to release an official ‘third’ title for the masses.

My vision for the launch of GameDamage

The Sims franchise is an institution. Although the claim is that this is the 3rd in the franchise, there have actually been 25 ‘The Sims’ games (including expansion packs and console versions) released so far.

For the diehard Sims fans who want to know if this latest incarnation has enough new features to convince them to upgrade, I can’t answer that, as I left the Sims universe after I’d bought the second expansion pack for the first game and realised I was neglecting my ACTUAL life in favour of the simulated one. So I decided to bring in two experts, two individuals who I know have played the Sims in every incarnation, bought almost every expansion pack, and have played the Sims games almost to the exclusivity of all other games.

I’m pleased to introduce these two guest reviewers who will give their comparisons between the Sims 3 and the previous games – my 2 sisters, Amy and Rebecca.

First up, Amy focuses on the character creation process:

So what is the character customisation like? Personally, I never felt I could get close enough to a sim’s face in the other versions, but ah-ha! Now I can get in close enough to have their face as big as mine on the screen! Sims 3 has developed an even more in depth way to customise your little simmy (if it’s possible... Oh look, it is!) And I have to say, it was wholly interesting and enjoyable. The old slider bars going from fat to skinny, plump to gaunt, big to small; what have you; are not only focussed on one part of the body being changed, but will affect the areas immediately surrounding as well. If your sim is skinny, the neck and face will become thin as well. And alternately if you make your sim fat, the neck and face will flesh out to emulate that weight in an eerily realistic way. There’s even a specific slider for skin tone, so you don’t have to pick from four generic tones, instead you can make up a colour anywhere in between. All these specific customisations continue for makeup, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, clothes, and then!

You could honestly spend a few good hours just trying to make your sim look like the exact replica of Russel Brand, if you so chose. And though I found it incredibly fun changing the features and getting different and unique combinations every time, I really just wanted to get in the game! I am a bit obsessive compulsive when it comes to that initial stage of the game, but even then it felt like I had to do perhaps TOO much before my character was complete. This was probably the only thing that annoyed me about the Sims 3 in the character customisation stage; there was too much to get through! But once you do get through it the results are extraordinary. What you end up with is a very real, malleable, good quality sim to play with.

A few minor changes as well: instead of the sim reacting to your every change, ie. smiling when they like the hair cut, or make up, etc. They stay completely still. Blink a little, the hair moves a bit when they turn, but otherwise completely still. There’s also an added feature where you can select and highlight a part of the sim, double click, and it goes directly to that customisation tab. Very handy to speed the process up, but it does take some getting used to!

So really, the big difference between Sims 2 and 3 in ways of customisation is there’s just more stuff. More to mould; more to pull and push and squish and paint and create; the possibilities are so surprising and it’s definitely a whole lot of fun.

Next is Rebecca with her thoughts on the actual game itself:

I had been waiting for the release of Sims 3 for a while. I was beginning to get sick of playing the repetitive stories in Sims 2 and creating the same type of characters. So when Sims 3 came out I was looking forward to seeing how different it actually was. After playing it for 2 solid days I noticed there were differences I liked and didn’t like. Sims 3 is so different to any other of the Sims, it’s a whole new game.

My favourite feature in Sims 3 was that I could walk over to visit my neighbour’s house at 2 in the morning for late night snacks. In previous Sims, you could only play your own house unless changing families or meeting people downtown.

There are so many changes in Sims 3; you can now visit a graveyard at night without actually having to kill a family member or be a part of the Goth family (Which are actually Gothic’s now, with Mortimer Goth resembling rock legend Slash), The Sims’ needs meter is very easily filled (only one plate of salad needed to take it from empty to full). The biggest difference in Sims 3 is that there is an entire town to explore and you can do it by telling your sim to walk down the street. No longer are taxis needed to get to a shopping mall. You can go to the library, see a movie, take painting classes or even buy a car.

Even the hardcore Sim fan might need time getting use to all the new features and new control system, but it’s definitely a great game to play and will easily replace Sims 2.

Something to check out: look through the windows of your neighbours houses, the Sims just stand there facing the wall, it’s a little freaky.

And then there's my opinion, the slightly jaded cynic who has tried to AVOID the Sims for all these years. What did I think of it?

It's fun. It's addictive. It's also about as far removed from being an actual 'game' as I can imagine.

How YOU doin?

Which isn't a bad thing, it's just the appeal of the game doesn't really hold up for me. It's got everything you expect, as well as the new additions mentioned above - in particular the ability to roam free in your neighbourhood - however I just couldn't loose myself in the lives of these virtual characters enough to justify continued play.

But hey, I honestly think that's just the way I'm wired. My sisters on the other hand are so excited I suspect their boyfriends are concerned they'll get neglected.

Pros

Improved graphics, roam all around the neighbourhood, heaps of new content, character customisation is improved, career mode gives you some focus

Cons

It's the Sims - if you didn't get into the previous games, you won't find anything to change your mind here