Hello! I'm Nicola, and thanks for taking the time to read my review. A bit about me, well I'm 20 yea...
Hello! I'm Nicola, and thanks for taking the time to read my review. A bit about me, well I'm 20 years old and I live in Kent, I spend far too much time reading and watching movies and writing for this place :)
Member since:23.01.2007
Reviews:50
Members who trust:13
Before I start this review, I should mention that I am a long time Sims fan. I have every single game and every single expansion, and therefore have played the game rather a lot over the years! I have been eagerly following the release of Sims 3, even building a laptop based around it's specs, and so I was very glad when it FINALLY got a release after numerous hold ups!
So, what do you do in a Sims game? Whatever you want, really. For me I like to create little families who live out good lives. I like to get them to the top of their careers and into fabulous mansions. Some of my friends have their own unique little ways of playing it - some of them like to terrorise the neighborhood, whilst others like to create soap style dramas with their Sims. It really is up to you what you do with them.
Though you can play a premade family, that's not something I really enjoy. I much prefer to make my own Sims completely from scratch. In the Sims 3, this is very easy to do, and it's very easy to make your Sims look exactly how you want them. You are given a colour palette under each option and so are able to make your Sim exactly the way you want them to be. For example, you can change your Sims skin tone to be as light or as dark (or as green!) as you want them
to be. You can change their hair, give them roots, give them highlights - all chosen from a colour palette rather than a preplaced grid. There are default faces and shapes but if you don't want to use these you don't have to. You can tweak every little detail, from how wide their nose is to how much their chin sticks out! Personally I find the Sims to be much more attractive and varied than in The Sims 2 as well, I found it much easier to make Sims look exactly how I wanted. Next up, give them some clothes! The base pack contains a good variety of clothes - and this time, you can edit them exactly how you want them to be as well. For example, I gave my Sim a jumper with a circular pattern on it. I didn't really like the colours, and so I was able to change them completely. For example, clicking on the base jumper allowed me to change the colour of that, and then clicking on one of the circles allowed me to change the colour on that, etc etc. You can also change the colouring of shoes and accessories, such as making a bracelet fit an outfit more appropriatley. And finally, give your Sim some traits! You can choose five traits for your Sim and there's a good variety, from mean spirited, inappropriate, friendly, vegetarian, etc etc. When you have chosen your traits you are given a choice of 5 appropriate lifetime goals. Pick one, and off you go!
There isn't a massive choice of where your Sims live, however an interesting feature is you can now choose whether you want to buy a home furnished or unfurnished. Obviously unfurnished is cheaper, but furnished seems to give you a good deal. And if you are hideous at matching things like I am, it's perfect! As with when creating Sims, you can change the colours and patterns of items so that they look exactly how you want them to be, and another improvement in this area is that you can rotate items so they are diagonally placed which makes it much easier to get a room looking how you want it.
The Sims 3's main feature is the fact that the neighborhood is now seamless. Your Sims can go off for a wonder, visit neighbors, go shopping, etc etc. This does add a whole new realm of gameplay to it, though it takes some getting used to. You can't actually see inside all of the community lots, however with some such as the library or the gym you can. You are also able to buy more specific things now - for example, there is a book shop so you can buy a specific book, or you can buy specific ingrediants to make different meals. It's easy to move from one Sim to the next, although having Sims in various places around the neighborhood obviously makes it harder to keep track of them than if they were all sitting around the house. There is no lag whatsoever however. You can literally follow your Sim as they run to the grocery store or the beach, with no loading screens or anything like that. Oddly, Sims 3 actually runs much faster on my laptop than Sims 2 did!
The actual gameplay has been improved as well. When a Sim is working, you can choose what they are getting up to. For example, my policeman Sim will spend a lot of time interacting with his team mate, whilst my Journalist Sim is much more likely to be chatting about books. You are also given various tasks outside of work which makes the game much more interesting. For example, they might be asked to attend an event, or read a specific book. Some of you will be pleased to hear that the awful "make X amount of friends" requirements have gone - although some careers do require you to befriend a certain person, such as your boss. The traits also add a new level to the game. One of my Sims is a bookworm and therefore reads books quicker than other Sims. SHe also has specific interactions to do with this, such as chatting about books. Another Sim is a daredevil, and therefore has options to do stranger things with objects and other Sims. He is also a workaholic, and beacuse of this actually enjoys being at work, whilst another Sim will be stressed and fed up by the end of the day.
My biggest complaint about the game is the speed. The fastest speed is actually very slow, and sitting there watching your Sims sleeping gets tedious very quickly.
Overall this is an enjoyable game. The seamless world and the traits system are very welcome and give the game much more variety and possibilities, and I love the option to design my own clothes to be exactly how I want them to be.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
The game that first opened up the world of video games to a wider audience is back, going ... more
beyond being just a virtual dollhouse to a complete interactive neighbourhood. The basic concept is still the same though, as you create your own computerised ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.94 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The game that first opened up the world of video games to a wider audience is back, going ... more
beyond being just a virtual dollhouse to a complete interactive neighbourhood. The basic concept is still the same though, as you create your own computerised ...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The freedom of The Sims 3 will inspire you with endless creative possibilities and amuse ... more
you with unexpected moments of surprise and mischief! Create millions of unique Sims and control their lives. Customize their appearances and personalities. Build ...
Advantages: Very entertaining with its charming functions.Tools are easier to use than ever.Bags of Content Disadvantages: Poor with add-ons. Be prepared to pay for additional content. Minor pathfinding issues
bethanamax1 08.06.2009 (08.06.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Sims 3 (PC)
Advantages: fun gameplay, lets you control to the very last detail, more features then sims 2 Disadvantages: neighbourhoods are lacking, could have more content
kathcake 11.11.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Sims 3 (PC)
Advantages: Still very addicting, and a great seamless neighbourhood. Goodbye loading screens! Disadvantages: Still quite 'basic' whilst we wait for all those inevitable expansion packs.
GemmaC25 28.08.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Sims 3 (PC)
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