I’m not going to fool anyone: The Sims has always occupied a place in my house since I can remember. Starting with its first installment and going through each of its expansions, all of them have fallen like flies without exception, so my objectivity here is null: I will always be a prey to nostalgia. However, I have to say that everything changed with the arrival of The Sims 3.
To begin with, EA had a very difficult task ahead of them: to live up to The Sims 2, a title that had broken records and was a revolution in the electronic world. And given the great success it achieved, it was a foregone conclusion that we would have a third installment. Although for many it was a game that did not mark as much as its predecessors, for others it became the best of the saga.
The Sims 3 anticipation
Only a year after the release of The Sims 2, rumors began to pick up more and more strength. Everyone was talking about EA having already started working on The Sims 3, although not everyone welcomed the news in the same way (many thought it was unnecessary with the release of The Sims 2 so recently). Although the company confirmed that development was already underway, it also assured that The Sims 2 had plenty of life left in it. And said and done: its 8 expansions finished rounding off what many consider to be the best Sims of the franchise.
The developers already started to show some hints and included a little wink in The Sims 2 and His Hobbies. Here Rod Humble (former producer of the saga) makes an appearance to give our Sims a computer with The Sims 3 already installed. Lucky them, they could try the game first before us.
The open world finally arrives
The Sims 3 promised to be a more complex game and brought with it a novelty much celebrated by players: the open world. Finally we had the freedom to take our Sims anywhere on the map, without having to endure tedious loading screens. But woe betide you if you didn’t have a powerful computer: you ran the risk of your PC turning into a fireball at any moment.
Now, the neighborhood came to life and we had city hall, restaurants, a sports stadium… Little by little the neighborhoods seemed more like miniature cities. And no Sim stopped with their life: while you played with your family, the rest also grew and aged, formed their own relationships, etc. I must admit that this functionality made me nervous more than once, as the Sims were totally out of my control. However, I never disabled the option, as it made for some very funny and wacky stories.
The most complete CAS to date
If something has become clear is that The Sims 3 is governed by the mantra of freedom. Within CAS we could create very complete Sims, with unique personality traits, modify their weight, customize all the colors of their clothes, hair, makeup, and so on. Our Sims were more unique than ever.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that the level of detail was absurd: you could even change the print and material of the clothes. For me, CAS has always been one of the most fun parts of The Sims and here was no exception. I don’t even want to know the amount of hours I invested in recreating videogame characters, people close to me, family, friends, etc. Some with more success than others, but there they were.
You wanted expansions? Here are 11
The expansions have always been a fundamental part of The Sims and here it was not going to be less. After the release of The Sims 3, we had more expansions than ever and we also received the novelty of the accessory packs. Little by little, the game was becoming more complete and you could do practically everything: practice martial arts, go on trips to exotic places, explore pyramids, build robots, adopt horses, etc.
And along with the expansions, there were also new supernatural creatures. In The Sims 3 there was a great variety: mummies, mermaids, fairies, zombies, werewolves, witches, vampires, simbots, Sims Planta, ghosts… Creating a house of horrors had never been so easy.
Is The Sims 3 the best installment?
The Sims 3 was a good base for its fourth installment, which has been with us for almost 10 years now. Although comparisons are odious, there are many who still feel that the fourth installment would not live up to its predecessor. And you, what do you think about it?
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