Box Art. Next month sees the newest release in the hugely popular The Sims series. The Sims, which played it's part in Will Wright's rise to Videogame fame as become a massively selling franchise with a large amount of Expansions and Stuff Packs avaliable for both the original Sims and it's newer sequel, The Sims 2. Part of the series success as come from the ability to tap into the female fanbase of gaming, it's been somewhat odd to see how this as developed over the years, with many bedroom based designers creating cloths exclusively for the game and it's even led to some of these designers getting some credit from the overall community. Search and there are many websites totally dedicated to items, clothing and hairstyles (not to mention many other odd wonders) purely based within the Sims 2 universe. This is nothing new though, as many such sites have been running since the original Sims was released, but it wasn't until The Sims 2 that the golden chest of creativity truly opened wide.
So reading this, you may wonder what interest does the average male blood thirsty gamer have in a virtual World such as The Sims. Well it is at it's heart a videogame, and it's a very good one at that. I almost like to describe it as an open World of possibilities and Evil doings, because like many of Will Wright's games there is the true ability to play God and it is a feeling that never seems to get old. Even after enjoying the Sims for so many years. You control the destiny of your Sims and see them grow old and eventually die. It's an odd concept to describe as I have come to realise that every Sim fan is different and apply themseleves differently to the game. For me, well it's often about the stories I create. I have a passion for good storytelling and for me to create my own stories that develop as time goes by is an absolute pleasure and one of the reasons I have become quite fond of the series over the years. But after what felt like thousands of Sims 2 Expansions and Stuff Packs, we are now only a month away from a new installment in this much loved franchise, The Sims 3.
The Sims 3 as had a quiet growth, though it had been rumoured for over two years after the The Sims 2 release. We have only really truly seen it in all it's glory for around 7-9 Months. I still recall the huge wait for The Sims 2 release, it felt like two years before we actually got to play it on our PC's. It's because of this that I did have my worries, though it's not being directly developed by Will Wright's Maxis team anymore, it is believed that the original creator's will still have a huge part to play with a number of the current staff based in the new EA studio having worked on The Sims 2. It's also pretty clear that The Sims 3 won't be making any huge changes to a concept that was almost made perfect in the second installment. So what exactly is there to look forward to, when The Sims 3 hits out PC's on February the 20th.
Well the most noticeable and welcomed difference comes in the shape of a seamless neighbourhood. For those that have played past Sims games, you'll probably know that loading times are often seen everywhere and it does have huge affect on the emmersion of your characters. So in the current age of seamlessness, EA felt that it was time the 'neighbourhood' to truly become the 'neighbourhood'. There is to be hardly any loading sceens and you'll be able to venture to the local shops as quick as you could say 'Will Wright created light'' and buy that desperately needed bottle of milk. The new seamless neighbourhood will indeed be a big hit with Sim fans but part of me wonders what type of affect it will have on PC's around the world as the average Sim gamer doesn't own a high end gaming PC. But from what I have seen already, signs seem to be pretty positive. Though with the extra amount of Sims in the neighbourhood, there will no doubt be issues with performance a long the way.Create a Sim.
There isn't a huge amount of change gameplay wise, although there are a number of Create a Sim changes that could have quite an affected on the way you play. For example you can now better define your Sim then in past games not to mention that wants and needs have been cut down to the basics that are only really needed. There is also the ability to have the Sims look after themselves rather then the gamer directing them to the toilet when they need to go potty, this feature won't suit everyone but for those looking to do less micro-managing then it'll no doubt be a much welcomed addition. Life stages are all still in place and there are a number of features appearing from past Sims 2 expansions such as the 'Young Adult' stage of life, other features include shops, restaurants and mobile phones. Of course this means that birth is still in place, but now mothers to be can go to the local hospital rather then just magically see a baby appear from nowhere. It will be interesting to see what affects some of these changes have on the way gamers play The Sims 3.
But potentially the most interesting concept on offer, is the flow of the neighbourhood. It looks as if the neighbourrhood itself will now have a life of it's own, with protests, parties and fights taking place all the time. It's seems as if there will always be something to see and it's one area which excites me the most. It will bring life to the game that as been missing despite Maxis's best efforts with recent Expansion Packs. Graphically The Sims 3 is taking somewhat of a different route to past games, though it as kept the style of sorts. It's hard to really pinpoint the overall look to the game from my time seeing coverage of it. It almost as a Pixar graphical style to it and I'm personally still yet to be won over by the new look. Though it still looks as if the new style will still allow the Sims to show their emotions better then they ever have and that as become a key part of the Sims games. As I said previously, what affect the new look will have on gamer's PC's as yet to be seen but heres hopeing it isn't to tough on the Graphics Card, though I'm pretty confident my system should handle the game without to much issue.
It seems to me that most of the changes are to be small but welcomed by The Sims Community. The seamless Neighbourhood is a big change and I'm sure will be welcomed by most Sims fans. But it could still turn out that the smaller less noticeable changes could have a bigger affect on how the game performs compared to past Sim titles. Though the signs are good, and it's clear it still as it's Maxis humour. It is yet to be seen if this is the game that will be the perfect example of the Sims concept when it was first thought up by WIll Wright many years ago. I guess we will have to wait and see when the game get's released for PC late February. I know I'll be there to review it and have my say.
Written by Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent) ex-S.A.S!
Box Art. Next month sees the newest release in the hugely popular The Sims series. The Sims, which played it's part in Will Wright's rise to Videogame fame as become a massively selling franchise with a large amount of Expansions and Stuff Packs avaliable for both the original Sims and it's newer sequel, The Sims 2. Part of the series success as come from the ability to tap into the female fanbase of gaming, it's been somewhat odd to see how this as developed over the years, with many bedroom based designers creating cloths exclusively for the game and it's even led to some of these designers getting some credit from the overall community. Search and there are many websites totally dedicated to items, clothing and hairstyles (not to mention many other odd wonders) purely based within the Sims 2 universe. This is nothing new though, as many such sites have been running since the original Sims was released, but it wasn't until The Sims 2 that the golden chest of creativity truly opened wide.
So reading this, you may wonder what interest does the average male blood thirsty gamer have in a virtual World such as The Sims. Well it is at it's heart a videogame, and it's a very good one at that. I almost like to describe it as an open World of possibilities and Evil doings, because like many of Will Wright's games there is the true ability to play God and it is a feeling that never seems to get old. Even after enjoying the Sims for so many years. You control the destiny of your Sims and see them grow old and eventually die. It's an odd concept to describe as I have come to realise that every Sim fan is different and apply themseleves differently to the game. For me, well it's often about the stories I create. I have a passion for good storytelling and for me to create my own stories that develop as time goes by is an absolute pleasure and one of the reasons I have become quite fond of the series over the years. But after what felt like thousands of Sims 2 Expansions and Stuff Packs, we are now only a month away from a new installment in this much loved franchise, The Sims 3.
The Sims 3 as had a quiet growth, though it had been rumoured for over two years after the The Sims 2 release. We have only really truly seen it in all it's glory for around 7-9 Months. I still recall the huge wait for The Sims 2 release, it felt like two years before we actually got to play it on our PC's. It's because of this that I did have my worries, though it's not being directly developed by Will Wright's Maxis team anymore, it is believed that the original creator's will still have a huge part to play with a number of the current staff based in the new EA studio having worked on The Sims 2. It's also pretty clear that The Sims 3 won't be making any huge changes to a concept that was almost made perfect in the second installment. So what exactly is there to look forward to, when The Sims 3 hits out PC's on February the 20th.
Well the most noticeable and welcomed difference comes in the shape of a seamless neighbourhood. For those that have played past Sims games, you'll probably know that loading times are often seen everywhere and it does have huge affect on the emmersion of your characters. So in the current age of seamlessness, EA felt that it was time the 'neighbourhood' to truly become the 'neighbourhood'. There is to be hardly any loading sceens and you'll be able to venture to the local shops as quick as you could say 'Will Wright created light'' and buy that desperately needed bottle of milk. The new seamless neighbourhood will indeed be a big hit with Sim fans but part of me wonders what type of affect it will have on PC's around the world as the average Sim gamer doesn't own a high end gaming PC. But from what I have seen already, signs seem to be pretty positive. Though with the extra amount of Sims in the neighbourhood, there will no doubt be issues with performance a long the way.Create a Sim.
There isn't a huge amount of change gameplay wise, although there are a number of Create a Sim changes that could have quite an affected on the way you play. For example you can now better define your Sim then in past games not to mention that wants and needs have been cut down to the basics that are only really needed. There is also the ability to have the Sims look after themselves rather then the gamer directing them to the toilet when they need to go potty, this feature won't suit everyone but for those looking to do less micro-managing then it'll no doubt be a much welcomed addition. Life stages are all still in place and there are a number of features appearing from past Sims 2 expansions such as the 'Young Adult' stage of life, other features include shops, restaurants and mobile phones. Of course this means that birth is still in place, but now mothers to be can go to the local hospital rather then just magically see a baby appear from nowhere. It will be interesting to see what affects some of these changes have on the way gamers play The Sims 3.
But potentially the most interesting concept on offer, is the flow of the neighbourhood. It looks as if the neighbourrhood itself will now have a life of it's own, with protests, parties and fights taking place all the time. It's seems as if there will always be something to see and it's one area which excites me the most. It will bring life to the game that as been missing despite Maxis's best efforts with recent Expansion Packs. Graphically The Sims 3 is taking somewhat of a different route to past games, though it as kept the style of sorts. It's hard to really pinpoint the overall look to the game from my time seeing coverage of it. It almost as a Pixar graphical style to it and I'm personally still yet to be won over by the new look. Though it still looks as if the new style will still allow the Sims to show their emotions better then they ever have and that as become a key part of the Sims games. As I said previously, what affect the new look will have on gamer's PC's as yet to be seen but heres hopeing it isn't to tough on the Graphics Card, though I'm pretty confident my system should handle the game without to much issue.
It seems to me that most of the changes are to be small but welcomed by The Sims Community. The seamless Neighbourhood is a big change and I'm sure will be welcomed by most Sims fans. But it could still turn out that the smaller less noticeable changes could have a bigger affect on how the game performs compared to past Sim titles. Though the signs are good, and it's clear it still as it's Maxis humour. It is yet to be seen if this is the game that will be the perfect example of the Sims concept when it was first thought up by WIll Wright many years ago. I guess we will have to wait and see when the game get's released for PC late February. I know I'll be there to review it and have my say.
Written by Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent) ex-S.A.S!
I'm looking forward to The SIms 3. I read in an article that instead of with classic pregnancy wherein the Sims 1 or 2 where the pregnant sim would spin around and have a baby, now parents have to head to the hospital for delivery. I wonder how car driving mechanics and such functions, or jobs and the like.
ah, the sims, the game that got me into videogames... I used to play it all the time, now I enjoy it in short bursts, I will probably pick up the sims 3, but I don't think I'll be into it as much as previous games. I like the new design features, as I like building houses for my sims. Great Preview
I would like more information on how the ingame advertising that has been planned for this game will affect the game play also, given that the ads will be in English and not in Simlish. Also, I would like to know how the software that the game installs that collects data necessary for the ingame advertising is supposed to work. All I know is what I have read on the IGA website, which lists The Sims 3 as one of its clients, and also gives some pretty aggressive marketing suggestions regarding product placement within the game itself.
In game ads and the data collecting sofware are two of the reasons why I will not be buying The Sims 3, as much as I would like to. But until I can figure out if I can have some sort of option not to have the ads in my game at all, there is no point in allowing myself to be used as a marketing tool for Electronic Arts.
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