Today, I am going to get The Sims 3 for PC.

I have never played a sims game (on PC) before in my life.

Which would be the best expansion to buy?

I haven't played all of them but have played most of the bigs ones.

I'd recommend Generations. On paper it doesn't look so great, but it leads to the most new interactions between sims and makes them in general more dynamic. Like they do midlife crisis stuff and as teens might fall in love at the drop of a hat. That's the kind of stuff that I like the most in the Sims (dynamic interactions and a feeling that it's a real person you're just guiding along but can't totally control) and it plays that up.

Seasons is actually pretty solid too, with more weather and seasons occurring over time with new related activities, so I do recommend that as well though not as much as Generations. It is nice seeing seasons and weather change on over time, even if that should have been in the real game proper. Just makes the world feel more dynamic.

The other ones have more new stuff but most of that is stuff you use once or twice and it's shallow, to me. Or the new features just didn't fit with my playstyle.

Supernatural if you're really into the idea of vampires and werewolves and all that jive but I never liked that stuff in the Sims. Ambitions has more work related stuff which is not bad but I didn't get much out of it. Pets adds pets but I find the pets to be like really lame sims you can't do much with. Just kind of annoying and busy work to deal with (the pathfinding is always an issue in the Sims and the pets really make it even worse). World Adventures adds new places to go but I never wanted to go on a vacation and mess with that stuff.

Since a lot of these should be cheap now, not so hard to recommend at least the first two I mention. I had more of an issue with them when they came out because of price reasons but now I'd recommend grabbing at least Seasons and Generations if you're starting out. They really liven things up.

Now back to shamefully hiding my Sims fandom.

Well the sims 3 has many expansions with some that go overboard with things you don't really need. Theres 11 expansions and out of those I would have to say there are 3 or 4 that are not necessary. The must buy expansions are Late night and Ambitions. There is so much content added with late night. It focuses on socializing and partying and adds things such as: celebrities, zodiac signs,penthouses, vampires, and the new world of bridgeport. Ambitions focuses on careers and includes the new town of twinbrook, and the opportunity to be a sculptor, inventor, firefighter, ghosthunter and other professions. I really feel these expansions add the most to the game and have plenty of stuff to spend your time on.

Of course there are other expansions like World adventures, if you want to take your sims on a vacation. You can go to places based on Egypt, France, or China. The Generations expansion focuses on the different life states of the sims. So sims can have a midlife crisis, young sims can go on dates, you can send kids to a boarding school. In my various playthroughs of the sims 3 I found that these expansions were more than enough and really added great things to the game. Some people have different gaming tastes and find other expansions that they like. There's the Pets expansion that for me felt like it distracted me from my sims because you have to actually control the cats or dogs just like the people. It kinda stressed me out because if you already have a big family and then add pets it slightly overwhelms you.

Other expansions

Seasons: This one adds a very minuscule but much needed addition to the game, which is weather and season. Once you play with this it really makes the game feel different and realistic.

Showtime: I dont think this really adds much. It added some more showbiz careers, a new town, and focuses on social features between you and another friend that also plays sims.

Supernatural: Im gonna say that this is definitely not needed unless you want to really make your sims world into a fairy tale like experience. It adds witches, werewolves, zombies. I honestly think this should have been a standalone game in the way the sims medieval was.

University Life, Island Paradise, and Into the Future

I have not played any of these, only seen footage of them. If you want to experience the college life as a sim then university life is for you. Island Paradise is similar to world adventures, you go on vacation to an island and can live on a houseboat. There is also the addition of the mermaid npc and the best part is that you can build and manage your very own beach resort. The final expansion for me seems interesting but it breaks the realism that supernatural also broke. As the name describes, you can travel into the future where you can use future technology. This also adds a futuristic moon city that is called Oasis Landing.

I highly recommend lazy game reviews on YouTube he does a video on about each expansion and add ons.

It's under his the sims 3 on lgr playlist