June 2009 saw the release of one of the most anticipated sequels ever. Sims 3 is the third in the best selling Sims franchise, and for the first time ever gamers were offered the opportunity to take their Sims out of their houses, and into a persistent world. The system specs are fairly high so check before you buy. On a dual core system with a decent PCI-Express graphics card you shouldn’t have any problems.
So what is meant by a persistent world? This term has been used for a while, mostly in online games where the game continues even when you have logged out. For Sims 3 this basically means that instead of having to save your lot when you went to the shops or another lot, the game will continue to run and continue to change where ever you take your Sim family. This potentially means that other families will get married, have children, lose their jobs, all whilst you are playing with your chosen household (the family you are currently playing with) though there is an option to turn this off.
Another new improvement is the new create-a-style. In the two previous games, gamers could create a Sim and then clothe them in some pre-made clothes and buy them some pre-made furniture. This is still the case with Sims 3, but with the create-a-style the user can now completely customise the design of all clothes and objects in the game. There a loads of pre-made styles which you can add to any object (Bathroom tile trousers anyone?) but there are also endless styles you can make yourself, which in itself is almost worth the £35 to buy the game.
There are a few disappointments. Firstly there are a few community lots you cannot go in, your Sims disappear and you give them orders. This is fine for work and school but a shame you can’t go in to the shops or the cinema. You also have to change active household in the edit town menu to change to a new family, it would have been nice to just do this in game, since save games now save the whole town and not just one family. Edit town is limited and at the moment you cannot create a new town. No weather or pets but these were not promised anyway, would have just been nice.
The many good things include the fact that the cheat to turn the ageing on and off is now a proper option, for all those who still want to play the game retro style. You also have a slider for free will and lifespan so this can be as high or low as you want. Sims can now knock on their neighbour’s doors without having to know them first, and can go to any lot when they like, by foot or car or bike. Happiness is now gauged by mood and the new “wishes” replace “aspirations”. Wishes change more often and seem more achievable than a lot of the aspirations from Sims 2.
All in all this is the same old Sims. If you didn’t like the Sims before that this may not change your mind, but if you’ve always wanted your Sims to feel even more lifelike then you’ll love this game, just make sure you have the system to play it.
