Tech Olive

In the past, I played the original Sims for countless hours. I loved creating my ideal family and watching them squirm when I didn’t allow them go to the bathroom.  Unfortunately, Sims 2 never really piqued my interest so I never played it, but I felt it was time to jump back in for some serious gaming time with The Sims 3.

I had some worries when starting out though. Since I missed out on The Sims 2, would I know the controls?  Now that your Sims have a life span, how will that change the challenges in the game?  Would The Sims 3 meet my expectations?  In this review I will mostly be focusing on the creation of your Sim and the simulation itself. Unfortunately, time did not permit me to review the build mode.

Character creation goes to a whole new level in The Sims 3. I was shocked at the number of selections that can be edited and tweaked for a Sim. There are adjustments for hair with highlights, facial hair, eyebrows, and eyelash length. No longer do all the Sims look generic and mostly the same. You can choose different outfits for each different activity.

As previously mentioned, age is now a factor and is divided into 6 groups; toddler, child, teen, young adult, adult, and elder. Lastly, you choose 5 traits (from 65!) to go with your Sim that create their personality, which promises to be unique with so many options.

Pros of the character creation portion:
Options: There are so many unique options to choose from and adjust for creating a Sim. No two Sims will ever look exactly alike, unless of course you make a twin (which you have the option to do). There is even a color wheel to change the preset colors they give you.
Traits: I find the traits so amusing. You can create an evil Sim, a flirty Sim, a Sim just like you or the complete opposite.

Cons of the character portion:
Time Consuming: It took me about an hour to create one Sim from scratch.
Age: There is little to no visible difference between teen, young adult, and adult.
Options: Who cares about eyebrows or eyelash length? Some of the options are tedious and could have been left out.

After you create your Sim, you then choose a Lifetime Wish for your Sim. The game will generate five options based on your traits. When your Sim completes this goal he/she will receive Lifetime Reward points that can be used to purchase bonus traits. During normal game play the Sim also lets you know small wishes that he/she wants to accomplish to get Lifetime rewards. I really enjoyed this aspect of the game because it gave me concrete goals throughout the game, which kept me interested for much longer.

The Sims 3 is packed with cues to help you work towards the Lifetime Wish as well as making your Sim happy day-to-day. This was a much needed improvement in the series.

In The Sims 3, the whole city is in one game instead of a bunch of expansion packs that are filled with loading screens. You can follow your Sim in the car or on a bike while he/she travels throughout the city. It is really entertaining to go out on the town and chat up the locals. I always wondered where my Sim disappeared to when they went to work and now I can see the building they go to. Although very few city buildings have actual, viewable interiors, you can however follow them into other people’s houses once you’ve been invited in. You can even annoy the people who invited you by making your own food out of their fridge or sleeping on their couch.

The Sims 3 offers a large social system. When talking with other Sims, your conversational choices are massive. Plus, there are other specific interactions based on the specific person you are interacting with. Something I found to be very amusing is that when a young adult couple wants to wrestle under the covers, you can try for a baby. When they reach elder status, it’s called woohoo. The massive scale of social choices make it lots of fun and keep it very entertaining.

This is the first version of the Sims I have played where the Sims have a life span and actually die. There is also actually a time limit to reach the Lifetime Wish and after my Sim met his Lifetime Wish, the game lost momentum. I felt that all I was doing was waiting for him to die. You can retire from your job, but the gameplay becomes quite a bit more mundane. What happens in death? You become a ghost and go to the graveyard. GAME OVER. Let down. Sadness. *Sniff*.

*Be sure to watch the XFire broadcasts of The Sims 3 going on for the next few weeks.*

Scores

- Graphics:  8
While visuals have improved from previous games, it is definitely no Crysis. Having said that, it is extremely detailed when it comes to food, books, and other miniature details you normally wouldn’t notice.

- Storyline: 10
With the endless story lines you create, no two people will play the game the same way. Who doesn’t like playing God?

- Gameplay: 8
There are boring moments because not all lives you control can be fabulous. Sleeping, showering, and eating become a bit mundane, but the creators have done well at making your Sim entertaining.

- Controls:  9
Controls were awkward at first, but easily mastered. The tabbed information and other navigational options right on the toolbar make a lot of actions much easier.

- Lasting Appeal: 10
Virtually endless configurations for your Sim make this game extremely re-playable.  There are numerous new details that you didn’t catch the first time.

Overall: 9 Olives