(no subject)
So, as you probably know if you've followed me on fb or here, that I've gotten the Sims 3. Initially, I did not like the game. At first. Then that all changed.
Probably what led me into not liking it are the other reviews where they complain about saved sims getting turned into NPCs. I did not understand this at first. But when I came to play the game, I realized that it basically forces you into having only one family. If you create another family, even in a different save slot (there's four), your sims from the other family are turned into NPCs and can actually die while you're playing the other family *eek*.
Since I did not want this, I decided to create one family and just keep playing them. I began to like the game after the lagginess wore off. You get this category called "moodlets" which go to improving or decreasing your mood. Stuff like taking a nap, taking a shower, having a baby, or even going to work with some sims, will increase your mood. However, stuff like not taking out the trash, dirty plates, muscle fatigue, and general hunger can lead to bad moodlets that decrease your mood. Sims will get stressed out and not do hardly anything you tell them if their mood meter is down low enough.
Another thing that is new is the cellphone. Now you don't even need a phone in the house because all sims are supplied with a cellphone where they can call anyone. They do not put down the cellphone anywhere, and it remains in your inventory throughout the game.
Another thing that is new is opportunities. These pop up when at work especially and also at random when sims are sleeping and doing other chores around the house. You can choose to not accept these, also. It will ask your sim to do a specific thing, such as working out until they're fatigued, buying a certain book and reading it, or making friends with another sim.
There's also a section called "Wishes". These change and you can lock up to 4 wishes for your sim to complete. Actions like going fishing will cause wishes like "catch 15 salmon". If your house is dirty and you have a neat sim, "take out trash" will probably come up. Having children, your sims will wish for them to grow up well, and get an A on their report card. When you fulfill (you can also decline wishes) a wish, you earn aspiration points. Which leads me into:
Aspiration rewards, you earn these by getting aspiration points by fulfilling wishes & opportunities. This system is radically improved from the previous sims installments. You can buy a steel bladder, so you never have to pee again, and 'never dull' which means other sims will not care when you repeat actions on them. There are over 20 aspiration rewards I believe, and the highest is a transportation pad, which costs over 60,000 points.
Anothing thing I thought was cool is the brand new "traits" system, overhauling the zodiac signs and turn-ons, turn-offs of the Sims 2. There's more than 20, from "hydrophobic" to "evil" and "insane, "couch potato" and I even think there's a pyro one. These highly influence how your sims make friends, what their wishes are, and how they take to romance. You select five (none can impede each other, can't have workaholic and couch potato on the same sim) of these. Watch an insane sim argue with himself, a family-oriented sim overjoyed at the new baby. Your life aspiration will be chosen based on these traits, so choose wisely. Also, you can choose their favorite color, music, and food. Pretty cool.
Something else that's improved is the skills your sim can gain. For example, if your sim gains a skill point in athletics, you get a new function of working out, like "push self" or "quick burst" that go to how long a session of working out can be. Quick burst will have you tiring out quicker, but the skill meter going up faster. There's also new skills, such as gardening and fishing. When you get a skill in gardening, you may get the option to "fertilize" your plants, making them grow faster and stay healthier.
Another big plus of the game is going into town. In the Sims 2, you were always confined to your house because the loading screens were too long, and bugs like the taxi disappearing and leaving you on an empty lot came up. This game has no loading screens, and it's actually fun to travel to the beach and fish or compete in chess tournament, or traveling to your work place to set up a prank on your co-workers.
And, there's now an option to 'collect' things that you may find on the ground. A beetle, butterflies, space rocks and gems are things your sim can collect and sell, or send gems to get cut into beautiful stones that you can put on display on a pillow.
One more thing I need to say is the brand spankin' new (THANK YOU) Create-A-Sim, and Create-A-Style. Everything article of clothing, jewelry, and hair is customizable. You can create hair that's startling yellow, with light purple streaks. You can take a shirt and transform it from plain white to zebra or leopard print, or black leather. The new body slider allows you to create muscular and skinny sims and everything in between, breaking away from the only two body types in the Sims 2. However, EA/Maxis have failed in making the bodies realistic. The ribs on the males are way too far apart, and the shoulders on the females are too skinny, making them look like barbies and not actual people. All of the sims (no matter what part of the slider) are anatomically incorrect. They've failed again.
Overall, the game keeps you going by implementing new things everytime you succeed, making it addictive. Time flies away when you play this. Fun things like going for a jog, or watching the sun rise/set over the water, will have you gasping. I highly recommend.