quick review: The Sims 3

* The Sims 3 (new)
I buy a lot of games. If its on the shelf and it looks even marginally
interesting, there are good odds that I will purchase it. Hell, even
if I have had an unsatisifying experience with a particular franchise,
I still may buy the sequel on the hopes that they have improved the
concept behind the gameplay. Take, for example, The Sims; on the face
of it, it sounds rather intriguing -a virtual-people simulator- but
the actual gameplay was extremely tedious. Despite the hype about its
improved AI, all The Sims 2 did was to gussie up the graphics a bit -
but I bought the game based on my hopes for that original concept.

And now we have The Sims 3. I bought it and what a surprise, it's just
more of the sa- Holy ***! It's 3 AM and I'm still playing? What the
hell is going on here? I'm a Real Gamer (tm); I don't *play* The Sims!
Yet here I am, not only playing with virtual dollhouse but actually
enjoying it?

The Sims 3 is the first game that, for me, has truly realized the
potential of the original game concept. This is all largely due to a
revamped AI; no longer is it necessary to micromanage your avatars. If
you leave them alone, they manage to wake up, clean and feed
themselves, get to work, come home and have fun all on their lonesome.
No longer will you find them dead in a pool of urine if you walk away
from the game for an hour (assuming, of course, you haven't done
something malicious like take away their toilets). This lets the
player focus on actually developing the avatars' lives and
personalities. The AI will maintain the status quo, but if you want a
better house or job, or to meet new Simmish-friends, its up to the
player to actually do something about it. This is the game I was
waiting for since Maxis first announced it in '99.

In all honesty, I don't find the game so entrancing that I see myself
coming back to it again and again; achieving virtual suburban bliss
once is interesting, but my taste in games tends more towards shotguns
and explosions. Still, I am having fun guiding a little virtual-me
through his life; trying different careers, finding a partner, getting
a kid. But once that avatar's journey through simlife ends, so, I
expect, will my interest in this game. Still, with previous Sim games,
if I played them for three days it was an impressive achievment, and
even then I was forcing myself to play rather than doing so from
natural enjoyment. With The Sims 3, I *want* to see this game to its
conclusion.

Its very obvious that EA intends to monetize this property; the
original Sims came with a plethora of things to decorate your house
with; a huge variety of furniture, electronics, and decor to spice up
your living quarters. In The Sims 3, the selection is noticably
smaller; obviously EA is creating a demand for the inevitable slew of
add-on packs. And don't think that the seamless virtual town they
boast means they've prevented the sale of expansions like Sims 2's
"Nightlife" or "University" add-ons; sure you can watch your Sim go to
work or a party at the mall without a loading screen, but if you
actually zoom in all you see is the Sim standing in an empty building.
EA is shameless in how obvious they are leaving the holes for the
add-ons.

Still, I have to give EA credit for finally making a Sims game that
doesn't bore me to tears; finally, a game with real gameplay rather
than pointless micro-management. Now, if they were to release a "Left
4 Dead" or "Fallout 3" add-on to add some excitement, we'd actually
have a real winner.





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