The Sims 3 Review

It's not hard to understand the popularity of The Sims – the chance to play God, create characters and use them to tell stories has a certain appeal. While it's fair to say that it's a 'love it or be indifferent to it' kind of game, The Sims 3 builds on everything fans love about the franchise.

Creating your better self remains just as simple as it was in previous instalments, although fashion aficionados will be delighted by the range of fully-customisable clothes on offer. After creating my 'self' to the best of my ability without the aid of a mirror, I was surprised by how much more lifelike he looked decked out in my own togs.

The star-sign system has been scrapped, however; which may be welcomed by some fans of the series. No longer will your flighty Gemini Sim be denied a promotion at work because he or she couldn't make friends with a steady Taurus.

Instead there's a host of personality traits to choose, including absent-minded, workaholic, commitment issues, and generally the full gamut of human foibles. These not only affect how your Sim interacts with others, but also what lifetime achievements he or she will want to experience.


So off to the Sunset Valley neighbourhood, the pre-made town that comes with the game (although you can make your own from scratch). Again, you can buy a fully-furnished house or delve into the highly absorbing process of designing your own from the ground up. The freedom for the player to express their creative side has always been central to The Sims, and combined with an extremely friendly interface, this aspect is now stronger than ever.

Your choice of furniture and appliances not only affects your Sims' happiness, but also the activities available to them. If you want a cooking career, it's worth investing in a high-quality kitchen, while if your character is going to spend a lot of time indoors, you'll want a range of entertainment to keep them from getting bored.


New layers have been added to old activities; cooks can learn different recipes and buy the best ingredients from the grocery shop; anglers can seek out the town's best fishing spots and even choose which bait they use. The town also comes well-stocked with cinemas, parks and colleges where they can learn new skills and meet friends.

Your Sim doesn't just disappear to their job for six hours of the day either. Now you can choose what attitude he or she adopts while working, from sociable slacker to hard-working brown-noser. This will in turn open up new opportunities as your character makes friends or earns promotions.

Interacting with other Sims has also become more advanced and elaborate, with a host of conversation options available and the ability to see how other Sims react to them. This makes it more challenging to form friendships than in previous instalments; it isn't just a matter of spending a certain amount of time talking to somebody every day, you also need to make what you say to them count.


Along the way your Sim will decide what he or she wants out of life: whether relationships, a new job or learning a new skill. A new addition is the concept of 'opportunities,' which function like little bonus missions. Winning cooking competitions or writing biographies of your friends will now advance your Sim's progress through its virtual life.

Something which may disappoint fans of the series is that you can no longer control multiple households in the same game. Once you've made your character (or family), you're stuck with them. Although custom-made characters can be dropped into the town, they are controlled by the AI and will lead their lives independently of you.

At heart, The Sims franchise has always been a quirky twist on the theme of the management game and the latest expansion provides more variables than ever to add depth to the play experience.


If you've tried previous instalments and have decided the game isn't for you, there's little here that'll change your mind – it is essentially more of the same (albeit a good deal more). However, this chapter in The Sims series, combined with the inevitable plethora of expansion packs, is likely to get fans' mouths watering.

7.5/10

Sam McCall and Kate Garwood