As a recovering Sims addict, I have to be a bit wary when even thinking about Electronic Arts' incredibly successful people-simulator. Enter The Sims 3.
Players who never understood the allure of mimicking real life through virtual characters likely won't see any reason to check this version out, either. But for those of us who lost years of our lives controlling Sims its predecessors, this PC and Mac game could ruin us all over again when it launches June 2.
Sims 3 captures all the charm and allure of its previous incarnations, trims the annoying bits and delivers a familiar experience on a far grander scale. If you managed to kick the habit, or swore you've picked up your last expansion pack, the end times are near.
The Sims is all about crafting your ideal social experience. Transform your cramped apartment into a spacious villa, surround yourself with attractive friends. To that end, The Sims 3 provides a tool set guaranteed to overwhelm even the hardiest amateur designers.
Sliders and color wheels allow you to tweak almost every facet of your Sims' appearance, from the width of their jaws to the RGB color value of the highlights in their hair. Customize an outfit, and the patterns you create can be saved and applied to whatever you'd like: Finally, you can own that matching leopard-print television, wallpaper and pantsuit set.
Once you've created a particularly appealing design, you'll be able to upload it to the internet, where those of us who aren't artistically inclined can mooch off your creativity, or add a few touches of our own. How very Spore-like.
After creating a Sim, you'll be be tasked with choosing five traits that will determine its personality. Pick "Loves the Outdoors," for example, and your Sim will become happier while it's gadding about town. I picked the "Hates Children" trait, and became enraged while loitering near a playground.
The traits you pick will help determine your Lifetime Wish, which is the thing your Sim is working toward during the game. These can be as benign as learning a trade or as devious as ending someone else's romantic relationship. As you play, smaller goals will help keep you on track: My life goal was to crossbreed robots and animals, so I was promptly encouraged to get a science job.
While working toward a Lifetime Wish is entirely optional, completing the goals will earn happiness points that can be cashed in for rewards. In traditional Sims fashion, these are generally ridiculous contraptions: A Sim who earns a Steel Bladder won't need to use the bathroom as often, while a Teleportation Pad defies physics to help you get about town.
Once you've created a character and decided how you'd like to live its life, it'll be time to enter the game itself. The Sims 3 handles much like the other games in the series, with one important exception: the seamless world. No more loading screens, no more calling up virtual friends just to leave your house. Once you've picked a location you'd like to travel to, your Sim will call a cab or ride a car or bike if they own one. You can also choose to walk, and see what adventures or friends you might stumble into along the way.
The Sims 3 also does away with some of the duller parts of virtual life management. Keeping your Sims in good spirits is key to making friends and staying employed, but earlier games forced players to do a lot of babysitting. The Sims are now a bit more autonomous, and dramatic status changes will trigger "moodlets" that alert a player when a Sim's needs have become dire.
That means less time spent shepherding your digital self to the bathroom. And if you're plagued by a particularly lazy or messy Sim, you'll be able to interact directly with the environment, tossing out the trash or fetching the newspaper off the front porch.
There are many more new features — vehicles your Sims can buy, objects to collect, even the ability to (finally) arrange your furniture diagonally. Your Sims can go to the gym, rob their neighbors, go fishing or just spend their lives couch-surfing and living off the generosity of their friends. Unfortunately, there's still no multiplayer option. While you'll be able to upload characters and share them with your friends, I still wouldn't mind being able to visit a friend's town, Animal Crossing-style.
