Blogomattic A Fine Line Between a Story and Reality

The Sims 3: More of the Same

The Sims franchise is pretty well loved by most of the people who have had the fortune of playing it. When our beloved Sims went 3D five years ago it changed the life sim for the better. However, the players were still limited to playing a single household (called a “lot”) at a time and only the people in that lot would age. The rest of the town was left in some sort of time suspension. The Sims 3 finally solves this problem. A saved game no longer focuses on individual lots in a single town. This time the player has a whole seamlessly connected town that ages simultaneously.

The basic Sims 2 game controls persist and even the Sims 2 cheat codes were brought over. Fundamentally, The Sims 3 is no different from The Sims 2. For the vast majority of The Sims 2 player this may be a blessing and a curse. For me, it is exactly why I want to continue playing. This is a franchise that does not need a huge overhaul like other game series. It’s minor changes are what make an endearing game.

Gameplay:

• The controls and menus are the exact same.
• Build mode, Buy mode, and Live mode are are the same.
• The interface is cleaned up and less cluttered.
• Professions have been structured to be closer to real life professions.
• Skills have to be revealed through actions, but if you are a Sims 2 player then you know what objects boost what skills.
• Personalities have been hugely overhauled and are really noticeable in the individual sims.
• Phones and alarm clocks do not go off for hours on end.
• Going to a different lot no longer involves saving, loading, and time changes. It is all one seamless neighborhood.

Visual:

• Sims no longer have that goofy look about them and “townies” no longer come in three flavors of hideously ugly.
• The graphics engine is much better and lighter. The Sims 3 runs at full graphics capability on my laptop when The Sims 2 had to be scaled down to medium for smooth rendering.
• It is pretty as hell.

Conclusion:

If you are a Sims 2 player you’ll feel right at home. If you are new to the series the learning curve is very low. It’s “More of the Same” mentality is what makes it great. 4.5/5