The new addition to the Sims series adds some very important features that expand your Sims’ universe, or at least village, and the option of pursuing happiness points and upgrading your sim, which appeals to the more traditional gamer.
SimSeries
Most people are familiar with Will Wright’s game concept that has become one of the most successful and recognized franchises in the world, and not just in gaming. It’s the Seinfeld approach to gaming: a game about nothing. Though much like Seinfeld wasn’t really about nothing, it just gave the writers immense freedom, the Sims games aren’t really about nothing.
The story is the one you create, based on the generally mundane activities of your Sims. Many people, hard-core gamers in particular, questioned how much fun a simulation of going to work and remembering to bathe could be all that great, but The Sims found a massive audience by appealing to people who don’t generally play games.
First we will look at the most noticeable changes, those most hyped by EA and likely to whet the appetite of fans of the series. Then I will get a little more personal in regard to how the Sims 3 introduces a tried and true game mechanic that I believe dramatically enhances the appeal of the franchise to more traditional gamers.
| Village Wide Simming | Rating  |
No longer will you spend your entire game looking at a single house. Your Sims’ house is now located in a village with neighbors, parks, businesses, and so on. The village is seamless, and you can move around at map or sim level without stopping to load anything as you move about. Some of the areas are open, like parks, and you can walk around and meet other Sims or play on the swings. Others are closed: you can follow your Sim up to the door of the Arena, for instance, but all you know is that they went in and an icon tells you what they are doing.
Despite the closed areas being a bit disappointing, on the whole it makes the Sims 3 the most living and breathing simvironment yet. Other Sims go on about their business, and you run into your co-worker taking her family to the movies while you are on your way to the grocery store. The computer controlled Sims have their own jobs and relationships, and they age, die, and new ones are born. The addition of the village and fully detailed Sims therein tending to their own needs completely raises the bar.
| AI, Behaviour, and Traits | Rating |
The enhanced autonomous behaviour of the Sims extends to the ones you control directly. Your own Sims are also more independent and far less likely to wet themselves or let them selves starve. Left alone, hungry Sims will eat, dirty Sims will bathe, tired Sims will sleep, some even clean up after themselves, and with their critical needs met, they will usually do something they enjoy. You can now focus on the more interesting aspects of your Sim’s existence instead of constantly interrupting things for a bathroom break.
Their choice of activities is generally based around their personality traits. Sims now come with an assortment of five traits from a list of over sixty, that ranges (alphabetically) from Absent-Minded to Workaholic. A Bookworm Sim left to her own devices will find something to read, while a Couch Potato switches on the TV. Their personality also affects their Wishes - more on that later.