The Sims 3 Review

You’ve seen the commercials, ads and even some videos or screenshots of The Sims 3 by now, right? It isn’t an unknown or obscure video game franchise by any means. Why should you play it though, or perhaps give it to someone as a present?

I’ve been playing The Sims since it first came out and then all of the expansion packs to add to it. I hopped on board for The Sims 2 games too. It is one of my favorite video games to play and I can get lost in my own Sim-world for hours on end. It never really gets boring and you can’t really run out of new ideas to play around with either. The Sims 3 though brings the gaming experience to another level.

The graphics are so much better than The Sims and The Sims 2! That is to be expected, but it is amazing!

Character customization is fantastic! You can create a Sim that you want to look like, a funny looking one, or even one of yourself. Check me out as a Sim. You can even give them favorites and character traits. I gave mine: Bookworm, Artistic, Charismatic, Computer Whiz and Lucky.

I also downloaded the Toyota Prius (free download) from The Sims 3 Store online. It looks sort of like the Toyota Celica I have, so I had to get it for her too!



The lessons at the beginning really help in explaining how to play The Sims 3. It is different from The Sims and The Sims 2 as it goes into much more detail and allows you to fully move around your town as your Sim.

After you moved your Sim into a house or lot you wish to build a house on, you can get started playing as your selected Sim. The biggest thing to watch for is the “needs” tab which monitors how your Sim is feeling. You have to make sure your Sim eats, uses the bathroom, goes to sleep, is social, bathes and is having a fun time. If you don’t want to monitor your Sim at all times, you can go into the Game Options and give your Sims “high free will” and even extend their lifetime so they don’t age or age slowly.

Your Sim also needs a job to make money and fulfill career wishes and goals. I started my Sim out as a part-time worker at the bookstore. She started writing novels on the side and started earning so much money in royalties each week that she quit the job at the bookstore.



I would have had her delivering pizza in there too, but I couldn’t find that as a part-time career option. Maybe they’ll offer that in future expansions. You can however order pizza still.



I love how they setup the novel writing feature because you can learn new styles of writing and even name the novels you write. Same goes for paintings your Sim creates. I also really like how the “Skills” tab which keeps track of all of your Sim’s learned skills also shows your statistics of each skill and further challenges to master that skill even further.

Your Sim’s social interactions are much more advanced than previous versions of The Sims too. You can interact with other Sims (depending on your Sim’s characteristics) in an amusing, funny, flirty, charismatic and romantic ways.

I didn’t focus on too many relationships right away. I played in the anti-aging mode (too bad that mode isn’t available in real life) and focused on my writing, painting, gardening and cooking skills. I did however find a perfect Sim to interact with from the Sims Exchange, a Robert Pattinson Sim!

Needless to say, it was love at first sight!

Your Sim has immediate wishes and lifetime wishes too. When fulfilling these wishes, you get “lifetime happiness” which gives you points to purchase rewards like being “extra creative.”

Some other big changes that I really enjoy include: being able to garden and harvest food, the bookshelves contain books and fill up as you buy more, the refrigerator is able to store food and meals you already prepared, your Sim has an inventory including a cell phone and you can put items into your inventory, being able to jog around town, I also love the Sims exchange and store which has great items available for easy download to your game (some do have a fee though).

I highly encourage any gamer to check out this video game. If you’ve played The Sims in the past, or are new to The Sims, you don’t want to miss out on The Sims 3. This is also a perfect gift for a gamer on your list for the holidays, their birthday or just as a fun present in-between.

You all know how much I love the Twilight Saga, so check out a funny parody of New Moon made with The Sims 3.



Before playing The Sims 3, make sure your computer is up to par with the system requirements or it may not work or run poorly. System Requirements can be viewed at http://www.thesims3.com/game/systemreq

Thank you to the publisher of The Sims 3, Electronic Arts and Gamers Gate for providing me a digital copy of The Sims 3 and allowing me to review one of my favorite games of all time.