The Sims 3 Review

Buy The Sims 3 Now

Let your dreams and imaginations run wild in The Sims 3. The Sims 3 is packed with more detail than ever, so be prepared to spend endless hours – yes it is addictive! The start of The Sims 3 presents you with the Create a Sim mode, where you get to choose and edit your Sim or Sims in amazing detail. You pick everything from appearances to personality in the finest detail and you can develop your Sim around yourself quite easily. If you are in a rush then you can just choose a premade family or use the randomise tool to create Sims in seconds.

When you are satisfied with your Sim or Sims selection, it’s time to move them into the neighbourhood of Sunset Valley. Again, if you are in a rush you can just buy a house and move your Sims straight in, but if you’re in a creative mood, then you can buy a plot of land and build the house yourself. I decided to build a house for my Sims; the amount of tools available is incredible. I managed to build a four bedroom house with my 20k budget; it was fully furnished and ready to go. It’s now time to find out what your Sims think of their new home!

Once your Sims have settled in to their new home, it’s time for their life to begin. There are an infinite amount of things to do and explore in The Sims 3. Gardening, fishing, gaming, painting, writing and dancing are just a few activities your Sims can enjoy. A Sim can also make a living without getting a ‘real’ job, for example becoming an author and writing books can pay huge. Hobbies can turn into self employment and as their skills progress so will their incomes. If you do want a job (which can pay handsomely), you are in luck, because the workplace elements have been improved. You can now control options throughout the day on whether to work hard, suck up to your boss, hang out with co-workers or goof off. All of these options can have an impact on whether your Sims get promoted or slacks off.

Sims will learn new skills in a variety of different ways such as repairing broken items, reading books, preparing food, writing books and much more. As your Sims increase their knowledge they will gain a higher skill level.

Exploring the open environment of the town makes an impact on the community aspects of The Sims 3. In older Sim games you would have to teleport to the local town, with lengthy loading times. The Sims 3 doesn’t have a single loading screen –gameplay is allowed to flow. You can go anywhere in the town, which gives your Sims the opportunity to meet new people and to make friends. You can also visit a variety of public venues including the beach, park, swimming pool, gym, shops and even the graveyard. Sims love to socialise and there will be many opportunities for them to interact with new people. The mobile phone is a handy tool that all of your Sims have, Sim friends can call you and you can call them whenever you please.

If the gameplay isn’t enough for you, the graphics are just as good. Everything is displayed in 3D; you can zoom in and out as well as change angles. You will need a top-of-the-range PC in order to run The Sims 3 at its maximum settings; it’s very power-hungry. The presentation of the game is perfectly displayed making it easy to navigate.

The Sims 3 also allows you to share content online, which means you can make movies and edit them on the Sims 3 website. You can make custom patterns for furniture and clothing and share them on the exchange. You can also buy new items and clothing at the Sims 3 store using SimPoints. SimPoints are the virtual currency, used to obtain items in the Sims 3 Store. You can purchase Sim Points in different-sized amounts using real currency through the Sims 3 website.

There is only one reason why you shouldn’t buy The Sims 3, and that is, you will be so addicted you won’t have any spare time! On the surface you might be fooled into believing little has changed between the second and third instalment of EA’s life simulator. But it’s more than a worthwhile addition to any gamer’s library, and while it may be frustrating for newcomers, it won’t take long before you get the hang of it. Don’t hesitate to buy it now!