Game review: The Sims 3 

Source: GamefreaksThe Sims 3

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch

A virtual world where the sky is truly the limit - the Sims 3 offers an even more expansive and immersive gaming experience than its predecessors. And you know what that means: Yep, say goodbye to your real life and hello to the virtual world of Sims 3.

I'll be straight up and say that I was never a fan of any of the previous Sims games. So you may find it odd to hear that I am now what you could call a "Sims convert". After spending almost an entire day playing Sims 3 as in 24 hours (I literally had to drag myself away from the PC to stop), I am 100% convinced that anyone with an addictive personality type should seriously stay away from this game. You will lose all sense of time playing it - the Sims 3 will eventually take over!

The path to addiction really begins with the creation of your Sim. I'm not sure how much customisation was available in previous games but in Sims 3 you can literally spend hours modelling your Sim to look and behave exactly how you want, right down to the highlights in your hair! You can change the colour and shade of practically everything including, clothes, eyes, skin pigment and accessories. There are so many options available; you'll be spoiled for choice.

Once you've managed to spend several hours on your appearance, you can then choose personality traits for your Sim from a list and again, the possibilities are endless. And depending on what traits you choose for your Sim, you can then embark on acquiring the necessities of life such as a house, a job, a career, friends, relationships and so on.

The focus in the Sims 3 is definitely on having more choices to customise your Sim's virtual 'life' by allowing it to do more and to be more interactive with the Sims world. Of course, as in real life, there are things that just can't be avoided (and will eventually make your Sim very unhappy if they are) such as cooking, cleaning, personal hygiene and even keeping your mood rating high so your Sim doesn't get grumpy!

I found one of the easiest ways to play the Sims is to look at your virtual life as a series of 'layers'. For instance, when creating your Sim, you will need to lay the 'foundations' for everything before you can move to the next stage. To be able to cook, you need to learn how, to be able to work; you will need to acquire knowledge (usually from books) which is very much how it is in our real, everyday lives. 'Life experience' is a very real concept in the Sims 3. Without it, your Sim is nothing more than an empty avatar.

All interaction with your Sim is done via the main interface called the 'Sim Panel'. This is where you control everything you Sim does from eating to cleaning, to interacting with other Sims. The navigation is very simplistic; by clicking on your Sim 'avatar' (which is the head of your Sim) you can then choose your next action. You can also control the speed in which your Sim completes each action (for example, a day at work for your Sim can be 'sped up' so that you jump forward). Each day in the life of your Sim is represented in hours just as it is in real life.

The world of the Sims is also just as complex and expansive as everything else in the game. Your Sim will be required to make many choices, some extremely fundamental in the development of your Sim. When you finally decide which path you wish to follow as a career (you can even choose to become a criminal if you want), you will then need to 'build' upon this choice by queuing up 'events' to complete that will complement your chosen career path.

Currently, my Sim personality traits include 'Ambitious' and 'Genius' because I want my Sim to eventually become a computer hacker. To improve on my logic skills (so I can then afford enough to buy a computer which costs around $4,000) I have a career in the field of science and I ensure my Sim reads a lot of books about logic. I am also working my way up the rankings in the local chess competitions by challenging other Sims to chess games.

This is how the concept of 'layers' works in Sims 3. Everything you do is set up in a sequence of events and actions for your Sim and by building on your base skills, you Sim grows and improves.

Interacting with other Sims is one of the highlights of the Sims franchise and is evermore appealing in Sims 3. You can create as many relationships in the Sims as you wish (or choose to become a socially inept hobo if that's your true Sims calling) and even have other Sims over to party with you.

The interactive environment of Sims 3 allows you to do a lot with your Sim, including putting out the rubbish (and even recycling), renovating your house (upgrading and selling objects to make money) and even tutoring other Sims to supplement your income. The daily tasks such as eating, sleeping, cooking, and working are all staple requirements of every Sim but are sometimes a bit of a drag when you want to do things that are more fun.

Sims 3 is heavy on the micro-management and multi-tasking and you'll always need to be aware of the current state of your Sim (whether it's hungry, smelly, moody, etc). With so much more to do, it seems your level of involvement is doubled in Sims 3 but that's why the game is so appealing and addictive at the same time.

Watching your Sim grow through various stages of improvement can be extremely satisfying (and if you're a goal-orientated person such as I am, you'll love this aspect of the game).

As the code I played was preview code and not the final product, I did notice a few graphical glitches (such as cars driving into each other and disappearing) which are sure to be ironed out with the retail release in June. Apart from this, the Sims 3 looks ready to take the world of virtual reality to an entirely new level. I'm now swapping Swords in Warhammer for a lab tech's coat and loving it!

Synopsis: Sims 3 looks to have expanded in every way possible on the previous games and offers so much more in the way of Sim development and interaction. There isn't a game out there that can rival it in the genre. Sims 3 reigns supreme.

This review bought to you by Gamefreaks