The Sims 3
Review
Get ready to explore your neighborhood
by Blackened Beans
reviewed on PC
The best game in the series
The Sims is in a pretty good position at this point. Being one of the best-selling computer games, as well as one of the best rated, means EA could simply release the same game over and over again with smoother edges and call it a new game. Fortunately, EA has taken it upon themselves to make The Sims 3 much more than just a polished version of The Sims 2. In fact, they have added a lot of cool new features, like the ability to choose traits for your Sim, explore the town without load screens, and change the texture of just about anything. That is not all, though. There are tons of small improvements over previous games, as well as a new interface that is extremely easy to use, but highly informative. It all comes together to make The Sims 3 the best game in the series so far.
Walk about town
Whether the wait was worth it or not depends on what exactly it is you like about the franchise. If it is the character customization, then you will be glad to know it offers a lot more customization than The Sims 2, at the price of the content. There aren't nearly as many items as there are in previous games, though you still get a lot of options in terms of facial appearance and physique. Males don't get a whole lot of hair options, however, and there aren't too many clothing options. Though to be fair, they are all better than The Sims 2's options. If the actual gameplay is your thing, then The Sims 3 delivers on all fronts. It eliminates all the frustrating, boring and mundane everyday tasks by making you have to perform them far less. But if you liked all that, it is still here, it is just a lot less annoying.
The Sims 3's biggest feature is the ability to walk about town freely without any load times. You can make friends with other Sims, go see a movie, eat at a restaurant, visit the ghosts at the cemetery, and work out at the gym without encountering a single load screen. This is an excellent new feature, which adds variety to the gameplay and makes your town feel like a living, breathing place rather than a bunch of broken up sections. It makes you look forward to going out, rather than fearing it. It comes at a price, though. The frame rate stutters a lot when you zoom out too far and when there is a lot going on it takes over 20 seconds just to save your game, no matter how few the changes you have made since you last did.
Customization
Character customization is mostly the same as before, but you have a lot more control over your character's muscles and weight, as well as their clothes. You can now customize colors for your Sim's hair and clothes, and even add textures, then edit them as well. It adds a lot of freedom and room for creativity, and it is really easy and fun to use. The main new feature with The Sims 3's character creator is the aforementioned trait system, which allows you to choose five unique traits for your Sim, then choose a lifetime want. For example, you can make them a natural born cook, or a bookworm, or a great kisser. But because The Sims isn't about winning, but rather about writing an interesting story, you can also give your Sim negative traits, like clumsy, or unlucky. The trait system allows you to create completely unique Sims, and because of the endless possibilities, it is what will keep you coming back again and again.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
