The Sims 3 was released, finally, on June 2nd (state-side--I think the UK got an early release). I got it, and I've been playing it for a few days now.
I'm in a weird place with it.
It's fun, and it's a time-suck. I don't think they could possibly fuck up that aspect of it.
But it's like The Sims 2.5.
I'll run through some notes I've taken of it.
Old Mechanics from Sims 2
You still create families and houses and crap like that.
The sims age. They start as infants and die as elders (unless you intervene somewhere inbetween
).A lot of the old objects from Sims 2 are here (with updated textures etc).
Interactions with said objects are disappointingly similar to the predecessor.
You still get different-color ghosts depending on death.
Grim Reaper still comes to claim them.
You still have maids and repairmen.
Lifted from Sims 2 Seasons expansion, you can plant seeds and garden them.
You still have needs, but there are less and they deplete a little slower.
There are still community lots like parks and libraries to visit, though like in the Sims 2 Base Game, they are largely uninteresting outside of being sociable.
Sims still gain skill points from the shit they do, but it's much more interactive and interesting.
Like in one of the expansions (nightlife?), you can have cars and garages.
New Mechanics to Sims 3
Open world -- after the initial game boot-up, there are no loading screens. This is the biggest reason to get the game. It's pretty fun to just walk across the street, visit a neighbor, or jog across town, with no waiting.
You can collect shit. Like seeds, bugs, fruits, minerals, gems, fish, shit like that. It all does various things. You can sell some of it, refine some of it, use it to cook, keep the fish/insects as pets, plant the seeds, etc. etc.
There are "chance cards" that happen constantly. They give you opportunities to do shit and stay active. The reward is "lifetime happiness", which equates to longer lives and happier sims.
You can prolong aging, quicken it, or stop it altogether, if you prefer.
Mood is affected by "moodlets". If you have dirty shit all over the place, the sim will get a moodlet that pisses them off around it. If you just had a baby, you'll be elated about it for a few days. Etc. There are ...thousands of them.
Create-a-Style allows you to recolor/repattern almost anything. It's pretty badass.
Pros to Gameplay
The game is designed to be easy on slower/crappier hardware. I have heard of a lot of graphical bugs and loading problems on crappier machines, but as mine isn't, I haven't experienced any hanging or graphics issues.
The graphics are improved. Probably not as much as I'd like, it's no masterpiece, but it looks better overall and the vistas can be rather beautiful to stare at sometimes.
You can jog anywhere, run anywhere, bike anywhere. You can find neat things and meet new sims on the way. It's rather cool.
There are community events, like BBQ contests and olympics. Most of them are rabbit holes but they're neat to send your sim off to sometimes.
Interactions, job promotions, and skill-ups have become more forgiving and immersive. You can choose the "style" of a lot of the interactions.
Some people are pissed about the "roundish" or "chubby" features of the sims themselves, but I prefer it. I think a lot of these people were those used to custom content, because base game sims in the sims 2 were horrid looking.
The townies, in general, look better. Pre-made houses are nicer, and are designed better.
Scenery, like farmland, lighthouses, waterfalls, etc. are really quite awesome. And your sim will react to it.
You can have triplets.
When a sim is evil, he'll get evil interactions, like taking candy from a baby, or enjoying others' suffering. When they're extreme, they'll love extreme shit like being lit on fire. When they're handy, they'll love repairing shit. When they are flirty, they'll love woohoo'ing all over the place.
Interactions with other sims are deeper. Gone are the days of constant repeated actions and simple methods of building relationships or point-based prerequisites. You don't need to be in love to woohoo, you just need the right compatibility and interactions.
Mysterious lawn gnomes are amazing. You'll see. It's freaky. Best thing in the game.
Dead folks go to the graveyard now. So you don't have to worry over burying granny in the backyard.
The water effects are really gorgeous.
You can own investments in businesses to make a decent chunk of change on the side.
You can vend your fruits at the grocery store.
You can buy books and take classes to quickly improve skills.
You no longer have friend requirements to get promotions.
It's easier to make friends and keep them.
Certain lifetime bonuses, like the ability to shut off needs, or to change moods on a whim, or make yourself more attractive to other sims, is pretty great.
A lot complain about the UI but I have no problem with it at all.
Cons to Gameplay
Rabbit holes (i.e. your sim goes in and disappears for a while) are frequent. The only community lots you can actually go INTO and interact with are parks, beaches, libraries, and (some) museums.
Memories and family photo albums are gone. You can still take pictures but it doesn't do anything for you in-game. I didn't think I'd miss this but it turns out that trying to create your own stories and shit is real disappointing without a way to log it!
If you like to play multiple households, you're going to get really pissed. When you're playing another family, the other families, even ones you create, will age, have babies, get married, move away, or even die. This wouldn't be so bad except the game is a real bitch about it. If you have a female sim that's not in the active household, she probably WILL have a baby, within like 5 minutes. And you won't even be able to tell who the father is without searching the family tree :x
You still can't build walls next to foundations, and split-levels have been eliminated. WTF?
Cars and bikes are retarded. They just clip straight through shit. There are no "backing out" or "parking" animations. When you have a car or bike and want to go, the thing will disappear and reappear with your sim on/in it on the street. Feels sloppy.
You can't recolor fences or stairs. This wouldn't be so bad but your choices are pretty limited there.
There is a Sims 3 Store, in which you can pay REAL MONEY to buy downloaded content. WTF, that's rather gay. And you'll end up spending way more money on less shit than in Stuff Packs. (but there are always torrents ... Oh shit I didn't say that :x)
No boob/ass sliders. All women are stuck with B-cups and tiny asses. Gay
Elder womens' bodies look HORRIBLE. I mean old people are never hugely attractive IRL but I don't see why even fit bombshells have to turn into saggy man-looking hags in their 60's o_O
You can only woohoo in bed. Which is disappointing because the Sims 2's public woohoo's were hilarious to me
No aliens or UFO's or werewolves or vampires or plant-sims or servos. The "supernatural" creature in the game is the ghost. Which can possibly become playable, and spawn ghost-babies. But they don't really do anything special outside of be transparent and float around.
The TV channels are lame as hell. They only feature like 1 show each on a 30-second loop, with no fake commercials. I'm sure it would have been simple to just jack some machinima from the creators' communities. so the TV gets real lame real fast :/
No more hot tubs
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There's a lot more but I need to get back to work.
Anyway, it's a fun game. And it's still just as addictive.
The large pro's outweigh the nitpicks.
But the game still feels like it could have gone through more polish.
I'll wait and see what the expansions bring, however.
Do you have the game? What're your thoughts
Any questions? I could answer them
