The Sims 3
I have been a fan of the Sims games since it was first released in 2002 and spent much of my hard earned money on a good number of the expansion packs. When Sims 2 was released I wasn’t able to get it right away because my computer graphics card was still in the Stone Age, but eventually I upgraded just for this one game. I’m a not afraid to say that I am a Sims addict.
When I bought my Macbook last year I was saddened a bit that I would be unable to play my copy of Sims 2 and I really didn’t want to re-buy it all again for the Mac platform. I was going to wait patiently for the Sims 3 to be released so I could enjoy playing God once more. I would love to say that I bought it on Tuesday when it was released because that would make me really sound totally fanatical, but I actually didn’t realize it had been released until I saw a Twitter post about it on Wednesday. I did get it on Thursday though. (At the same time I also put in my pre-order for Batman: Arkham Asylum – surprise surprise)
Things I like about the new edition of the game:
Personality Traits
In Sims 2 you could customize your characters with turn-ons & offs, but the 3rd editions pushes that even further and allows you to choose up to 5 personality traits. My current character is a flirty kleptomaniac & music afficianato who is absent-minded but also a great kisser. Take my advice though, don’t choose absent-minded, you’re just going to end up frustrated and pissed off at your Sim when it forgets an action or just stops doing stuff all together.
Custom Goals
Depending on your personality you get a number of options to choose as life time goals. If you reach this goal you get a large reward of life points to buy cool stuff for your Sim.
Town Interaction Improvements
In previous Sims games you could interact fully with your house and if you had some of the expansions you got limited interaction with the town your Sims inhabited. In this version the town is fully open to run around in and you can even go to your neighbors house instead of them always having to come to yours.
Cellphone
One of the pains in the previous game was never being fast enough to get the damn phone. My houses always ended up having a phone around every corner so it was easily accessible. The Sims have now been catapulted into the 21st century and carry cellphones with them. You can now make and receive calls anywhere you want which is kinda nice.
Things that bug me:
Fast Forward not so Fast
I don’t know if this is an issue only in the Mac version, but when I click the fast forward button to speed through actions, like working or sleeping, it really isn’t fast at all. Honestly I can’t even see a difference between the different time modes. This has been my biggest frustration because I’ll have to sit for 10 – 15 mins while my Sim goes to work or rests for the night. Last night I ended up reading a comic book during these periods of time which is pretty lame when you’re playing a game.
I’ve actually checked to see if other people are experiencing this issue and I know its not just me. Unfortunately there hasn’t been any solid response from EA as to why it isn’t working.
Stuck Outside
Even though you now have a capacity of running around the streets of your town unfortunately for most buildings you are stuck waiting outside. Only certain types of buildings – houses & the gym – allow the user to view the interior. Mostly you have to sit and stare at the exterior of the building while your Sim finishes their action. Again, without the fast forward working properly it can be up to 15 mins of starting at the same building.
Taking Too Long: Cooking, Eating, Shitting & Showering
This is been a peeve of mine since the first game where it takes your Sim hours to do day to day activities. I still have to wake my Sim up 3 hours early for work if I hope to get them fed & bathed before the car comes to get them. And still half the time my Sim is still late for work. I’m actually convinced it takes even longer in this new version to do this stuff.
Serious Lag
This is partly my issue since I’m trying to run this awesome full 3D game on my little Macbook, but still the lag in the game even when my graphic settings are as low as possible is crazy bad. Trying to customize your character or add furniture takes forever since my computer chokes when its trying to render the 3D objects. This feels like a Sims 3 issue more than a “my computer is lame” issue because I can run Spore at full 3D capability without as much as a hiccup. A bit odd, no?
Overall I like the game, but I really hope some patches come out soon to fix the glaring Time Speed & lagging issues. If this doesn’t happen soon then I may have to storm the EA Vancouver office and demand a refund.
Tags: review, Sims, video games
Hey, I was browsing the web to see if any other unfortunate players had the same “speed problem” and I have yet to find anyone but you. Find yetthe solution ? Because it’s terrible annoying…