The Sims, a god-like management title that has made EA Games pots of lovely cash over the years, has been overhauled, fixed, polished and waxed into a shiny new Lamborghini of a game that EA claims will not only appeal to its core fan base but also to the serious gamer. It's a bold statement – self-proclaimed 'hardcore' gamers would barely even touch the packaging much less install the game on their precious PC - so the question is, have they succeeded? The Sims 2 suffered from excessive micro-management and keeping a Sim happy was more irritating than entertaining. However, Sims 2 did broaden the original's formula, expanding the franchise's potential significantly - and managed to swell the series' already massive fan base in the process. Sims 3 has that second game's improvements, cut out much of the detritus and introduced new features like Traits, Lifetime Wishes, Lifetime Rewards, Opportunities, Skills, Moodlets and Wishes.
Sims 3's open town brings a whole new level of freedom.
These new additions come close to providing something resembling traditional goal-focussed game mechanics to the series, offering a more focussed, rewarding structure for your Sim experience. They're constantly customisable throughout the game and form a cohesive whole that adapts and changes as you progress. Needs (hunger, fun, tiredness etc) no longer plummet ridiculously but rather drop measurably and are easily remedied if you push them too far. Gone are the days of clicking frantically from one banal activity to the next as you try to stop your stupid Sim from dying of starvation or wetting its pants - unless that's what you want, obviously. Now, your goals take the form of Wishes, Skills, Career, Lifetime Wish, Opportunities and the collection of objects scattered about the Map. Wishes and Moodlets are easily fulfilled and add points to a Lifetime Happiness meter that, in turn, gives you Lifetime Rewards like Steel Bladder (rarely needs the toilet) to Teleportation Pad. Using these tools you can structure the game to suit your personal preferences and control those elements you don't enjoy. It is a marked improvement and means you're able to relax into the game rather than needing a lie down and a nice cup of tea every half an hour. 
You don't get this kind of thing in Halo.
Before you can worry about that though, EA funnels you through its brilliant Sim Creator. Its latest incarnation enables massive customisation opportunities through an unbelievably accessible interface. In terms of physical appearance, there's scope for massive variety - you can have a red-skinned, yellow-eyed, purple haired babe or a boring brown-haired, brown-skinned, brown-eyed accountant using the palette tool. It's one of Sims 3's most talked about features and comes from a development team that clearly understands its audience. Sims fans love sharing their creations on YouTube and websites and, here, massively flexible tools are plonked straight into your hands. It doesn't end there though and, alongside physical attributes, you can customise your Sim's personality too. When you create your Sim, you get to choose five Traits from a long and often amusing list including Insane, Evil, Neurotic and Unlucky – each trait determining your Sim's Lifetime Wish. Traits are designed to reflect how people describe themselves in the real world and are so eerily portrayed in their behaviour that the Sims 3 feels like an anthropology study with teeth.
Of course, your Sim is no longer restricted to hanging about at home like a terrified agoraphobe. With a fully open town at your disposal, insane loading times and restrictive Sim management issues plaguing the game's predecessors are a thing of the past. Sims can walk about their neighbourhoods, knock on doors, go into town and catch a movie and even collect objects lying around the various parks and beaches. Admittedly, there's only one town to explore so your options are ultimately limited – that said, it's a seismic shift for the series and brings a whole new level of freedom to the experience. This open gameplay means compromises however, so if you're expecting a shiny bump-mapped wonder-world that puts Far Cry 2 to shame, then you're going to be disappointed. That said, while The Sims 3 isn't designed to make you weep at its visual splendour, there's enough detail in the game world – from glorious beach sunsets to lively, massively improved Sim animations – to give some context to the expanded game mechanics.
The Sims Creator is remarkably flexible.
Home improvement's been overhauled. Place furniture diagonally for AMAZEMENT!
Closing Comments Overall, the Sims 3 is superb evolution for the franchise and an impressive, enjoyable game in its own right. EA has obviously listened to criticism and worked hard to create a title that prioritises goal- based gameplay over micro-management to deliver an experience that's constantly engaging and thoroughly immersive. Occasional AI quirks cause starving Sims to wander off and play guitar, for instance, instead of eating their food but, mostly, it’s a polished title that's packed full of the humour and dry wit we’ve come to expect from the series. Will it steal some hardcore gamers off their perch? Perhaps, but we doubt they’ll admit to it...
