Showing posts with label the sims 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the sims 3. Show all posts

3/15/2011

The Sims 3 Console Review

The Sims 3 Console
Average Reviews:

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I have played practically every incarnation of The Sims since its debut (and Maxis games before that), and EA has finally brought the full experience to console. It has been a long journey with plenty of trial and error, and it certainly helps that console hardware now comes close to the power of PC gaming. I played Sims 3 on PC, but due to hardware issues and my disdain for EA's DRM technology I haven't spent my usual mini-lifetime within my sim's universe; I am thrilled to now have the option to play on the PS3. The game even seems enhanced. The added trophies, karma points and powers, challenges, and more fit in nicely, and the controls are easy to pick up. Challenge points can even be used to unlock content that would cost actual money on PC (like the steampunk collections).
There are only a few things that don't seem to flow, the major point being build/buy mode. It is so easy to switch in and out of build and buy on PC - just a click - but now I must hit the select button and navigate over to build/buy mode. The town map is also accessed from the select button menu. These things take away from the larger feeling of The Sims 3 PC version, especially since that aspect was one of the few improvements over The Sims 2 (PC). The continuity could be improved with Build/Buy and the Town Map being on a menu that is quicker to access. The town also seems small after playing the previous games with expansions. (Though I imagine there will be plenty of add-on content to come.) I don't think the loading times are bad, but I have been playing New Vegas. Anyone who has played Sims with about six expansions installed will think the loading times are lightning-quick.
The slight annoyances do not take away from the full game experience. All the great aspects are still there; pretty much everything is customizable, the graphics are gorgeous, and the music and sound are fantastic. I missed being as engrossed in the lives of my sims as I was playing Sims 2 on PC, and I am once again delving that deeply into the world of The Sims.

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Product Description:

The Sims 3 for PlayStation 3 is a single player life simulation game that brings authentic gameplay elements, long enjoyed in PC versions of the game, to PlayStation 3 players. From character creation and customization tools, to persistent online access and the ability to share content with the larger The Sims community, The Sims 3 allows players to craft the lives of their Sims, like never before. Additional features include: a new Karma game element that can impact the lives of Sims for good or ill, and controls conveniently mapped to the standard game controller layout.



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1/31/2011

The Sims 3: Ambitions Review

The Sims 3: Ambitions
Average Reviews:

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I got my game delivered on Friday, May 28 and was very excited to get it installed and start playing. This really looked like it would be a ton of fun and it was at first. The new town that you get with this expansion, Twinbrook, is beautiful. The EA Sims team did a wonderful job creating this new town. There are lots of new things to see (I really like the "swampy" area, it's kinda creepy and spooky). They also added several new items with this expansion and I think the new laundry system adds some more realism to the game. I thought it was kind of dumb at first but it is kind of neat to see them do laundry now.

As for the careers, I started off with the new architect career since I love to build houses. It seems more like an interior designer career to me. All of the jobs were to redo some particular room so there was very little building to do. This may change after a while but it got boring doing the same types of rooms over and over so I moved on.

Next, I tried the ghost hunter. Again, this was a lot of fun in the beginning but I soon realized that I get the same types of jobs over and over. There are about 5 different types of jobs for your ghost hunter sim to perform. These range from collecting "casper" looking spirits to investigating paranormal activity inside the rabbit holes around town. This career got boring fast too. You do the same types of jobs over and over and you only get maybe 2 or three jobs each night. I had my sim do these and he was back home way before his job time was supposed to be over. Also, it didn't take me very long to reach the top of the career.

After I had been ghost hunting a while, I got my sim hitched to a sim lady who registered as a self employed sculptor. This is probably my favorite of the careers I have tried so far. She sculpts some pretty cool looking statues after her skill gets high enough. When she first started, she was sculpting chairs, toilets, and other household items and it was pretty humorous to see these. I like that she starts out with a big block of whichever material I choose for her to use (clay, topiary, wood, ice, etc.) and I get a nice surprise when she finishes. If you want a particular sculpture,you can have your sim sulpt it if he or she has already learned to make. After my sim's skill was high enough, the sculptures sell for a high simolean price too. So, between her sculptures and my ghost hunter's salary plus selling spirits to the Science Lab, they got pretty rich rather quickly.

My sculptor's lifetime wish is to maximiaze her painting, sculpting and inventing skills so I also have an inventor's table. Most of the stuff that she has invented is useless crap that you can sit around your house as nothing more than decoration (like a bobbing llama head that drinks). She has invented the digger thing but it woke up everyone in the house when I tried to use it and then the hole only had scrap in it. The digger may prove to be interesting though from what I've seen in videos online.

The only other career I have tried so far is the stylist and I hated it. I created a stylist to be married to my architect. Each time she offers to give a makeover to another sim, it opens a new CAS window where you style the sim however they request (new makeup, new hairstyle, new everyday wear, etc.). At the start of this career, no matter what I chose in CAS, the sim always came out looking horrible. It got on my nerves so I gave up on it very quickly. I don't see the point of doing anything to them if they are just going to come out looking bad.

I haven't tried any of the other careers yet. I did get a simbot and it annoys me. The sim couple had a baby and it would always go get it out of the crib, even if it was sleeping. The baby has been pretty cranky with this thing around. The sim babies have always kind of worked my nerves anyways but they are necessary if you want to play a family but they really are annoying with this thing around unless I watch him and make him leave the kid alone so it can get some sleep. It's handy to have it do the laundry and some cleaning but it keeps breaking stuff in the house when I try to have it do upgrades. It's handiness skill is high but it always breaks whatever it's working on so I hate the thing. It just kind of gets in the way.

One thing that did surprise me and I thought was a nice touch is that as your sims progress in their careers, they will get a notification that the mayor is honoring them at city hall. If they make it there in time, they get medals, commemorative plaques or even keys to the city. My ghost hunter even received something that looks like a small graveyard. It's really kind of cool looking. I forget what it's called though. I do think that the recogonition for outstanding work is pretty cool and it was totally unexpected for me.

All in all, this EP is kind of fun but it is VERY repetitive and I can see it getting old fast. There were not very many new items which adds to the sims everyday lives. There is the laundry system, trampoline and a couple of other things though. Oh, and the "Curly" hair that you get when you register the game is horrid!

If you like the new task oriented sims that it seems we have to live with now, you'll like this. As for me, I really wish they would give us an EP that gives the sims more open activities like some of the EP's of the past (Nightlife, please!). I don't care for this new style of play that the EA Sims team keeps coming up with. I miss the days of the open ended gameplay. Sure, it got repetitive too but I at least controlled more of the sims lives than I do now and that was what I liked about it. I mean the game is called The SIMS, it should focus on SIMS and not a pretty new town or repetitive tasks that are far too easy and get way too boring way too fast. For the way the Sims has now progressed (whether I like it or not) this is a decent expansion. I can have my sims do the painting, sculpting, writing, etc. and register them as self employed and still get some fun out of it though so it's not completely horrible for me either.

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Product Description:
Your hand is steady as you fill in the deep red heart and start defining the clear letters. Your work is outstanding, a real art, but will it be enough for success? You notice the man flinch away as you start in on the arrow and finish up quickly without spoiling the overall effect. You're building a name for yourself while being paid to do what you love. Your tattoo parlor may not have been welcome at first, but it sure is making an impression on this small town. Explore the possibilities and take the path less traveled with new careers in The Sims 3: Ambitions.


New fun and wacky jobs. View larger.

Your decisions will affect other Sims. View larger.

Experience all new control over your Sim. View larger.
Synopsis
The Sims 3: Ambitions expansion pack offers plenty of new ways to make Simoleons while exploring your passion. Become a firefighter, private investigator, doctor, ghost hunter and more as you explore all of the opportunities for your Sim. Delve into every detail of your Sim's lives as you control their actions and interactions with exciting new results. Just remember, every action has a consequence and your decisions will determine whether your Sims turns out to be successful entrepreneurs or huge failures. Watch as your career choices change the town and other Sims. Direct your Sim to save the day as a brave firefighter, change the town as a billionaire high-tech inventor or barely make a living as a mad scientist. Whatever you choose, just remember - their future is entirely in your hands.
Features:


    Choose between new fun and wacky jobs as a firefighter, private investigator, doctor, ghost hunter and more



    Experience all-new control over your Sims actions and choices while they are working



    Make important career decisions that affect your Sims' future and determine whether they will be good or evil, successful or a flop



    Your decisions will affect other Sims and your town as a whole, experience the power of your actions



    Earn Simoleans in all-new creative ways by inventing, sculpting, tattooing and more





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1/13/2011

The Sims 3 Late Night Review

The Sims 3 Late Night
Average Reviews:

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This EP is pretty cool.Got it today and played it all afternoon and late into the evening.It offers quite a bit of interesting stuff.There are a couple of new career paths (i.e. Mixologist, Celebrity Actor, and Movie Director).LOTS of new objects, hair styles, young adult clothes.Hot tubs are back in this one.Indoor swimming pools.The ability for Sims to skinny dip.CAS has some new stuff too, including tattoos, and the ability to give more muscle definition as well as make women's chests bigger...not quite Dolly Pardon size but pretty big nonetheless..lol.There is also sexy nightwear for the ladies, sexy shoes, and sexy casual and formal outfits for nights out in the city.The new world included in the EP is a city full of skyscrapers with condos, apartments, and penthouse style suites to buy.There are also houses on the outskirts of town and plenty of space to place lots.The venues are combined in the high rises with plenty of places for Sims to find dancing and dining out.Vampires are in this EP also.Celebrity Sims are everywhere, too, but to get noticed by them beyond an autograph takes some effort.Your own Sims can gain celebrity status as well by pursuing the actor career.Celebrity status gives them stars over their name and makes other Sims oooh and ahhh over them wherever they go.There are also new additional traits to give Sims in CAS, new skills for them to learn and master, and new lifetime goals for them to achieve.

No crashes whatsoever this time...woohoo!Game play has been smooth, fluid, with many corrections of EA's past mistakes.Very pleased regarding that.

Overall I think this EP was worth it.More so than Ambitions.This one has a lot of neat stuff in it, new interactions, living environments, lifestyles....and it even includes the ability to hire an Executive Butler to wait on your Sim hand and foot :)I love the butler!The nightclubs are fun with lots of special effects type objects to add interest, as well as Sims dancing on top of the bar..I thought that was a cute feature.Some nightclubs are difficult to get into unless your Sim either 'knows someone' or has celebrity status or has certain traits.The bouncer that guards the door won't let just anybody in.Some don't have bouncers at the door, but might have a dress code, be it formal, casual, or beachwear.Sims will also get invites to parties hosted by other, computer controlled Sims.Invites can either be accepted or rejected but accepting them and attending has benefits.There are also more musical instruments to learn and master, and Sims can jam together...piano, bass, cello.

I'm really liking this one and glad I got it.

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