Happy 10th Anniversary Sims [The Sims]

On Jan. 31 2000 Electronic Arts open the floodgates to another one of Will Wright’s off-kilter, but strangely addictive games. Over the next ten years the Sims franchise sold more than 100 million copies and became the best selling PC franchise of all time. You may not have been around when the first game hit, or maybe you haven’t stuck around through to The Sims 3 and expansion packs due for the title later this month, but chances are you’ve at least tried one of the games in the franchise. Here are a few fun facts for you Sim addicts and those new to the franchise. While creating Simlish , the fictional language spoken by Sims, the development team played around with using bits of Ukrainian and Tagalog. Wright suggested using Navajo. The currency of the Sims, Simoleans , were named after the slang term for the Sixpence (Simon) and a French gold coin called a Napolean. The Sims 3 official community site hosts 300 content downloads every minute on average. The most popular download over the years has been hair. The first object created for The Sims was the toilet. Satisfying one of Maslow’s most basic needs. In 2004, a Dutch family was selected by EA to live in a glass house for four days to promote The Sims 2. Will Wright, not content to sit back and let the Simoleans roll in, once introduced a nasty virus to the world of the Sims. The plague quickly spread throughout the virtual world before players finally tracked it back to pet guinea pigs. The French love The Sims almost as much as they love Jerry Lewis. They even created a postage stamp honoring the game. Make sure to swing by our podcast later today if you’d like to chat with some of the people behind the game live.

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Happy 10th Anniversary Sims [The Sims]

THE SIMS 3 WORLD ADVENTURES GOES GOLD

Grab Your Chopsticks, Jump on Your Scooter and Adventure Your Way Through Ancient Tombs in The Sims 3 World Adventures on November 17, 2009

EA’s The Sims Studio is pleased to announce that The Sims™ 3 World Adventures*, the first expansion pack to the #1 best-selling PC game of calendar 2009**, The Sims 3, has gone gold for the PC and Mac and will be available on November 17, 2009 in North America and will be in stores worldwide in 60 countries and in 22 languages the same week.

Sims can now go on the journey of a lifetime in The Sims 3 World Adventures. They can run from mummies in Al Simhara, Egypt, fill the sky with fireworks purchased from locals in Shang Simla, China and master the art of nectar-making in France. Along the way, they can capture the funny, scary and exciting moments while using the brand new photography skill. Once they have completed their quests players can bring their treasures home with them to reminisce and share. When players register their copy of the PC/Mac version of the game online, they will receive exclusive extra game content with the Explorer’s Loot Set and 1,000 SimPoints*** to be used in The Sims 3 Store to customize their game with additional in-game items.

The Sims fans around the world will be rockin’ out to new Simlish music in The Sims 3 World Adventures Expansion Pack. Over a dozen artists will lend their Simlish voice stylings to the game including GRAMMY Award-winners Nelly Furtado and LeAnn Rimes plus hot rising stars Matt + Kim, Fefe Dobson, Pixie Lott, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, Katie Melua, Esmee Denters, Young Punx!, Evan Taubenfeld, Madina Lake, and more.

The Sims 3 World Adventures will be available for purchase on November 17 at retail and online through digital distribution at http://eastore.ea.com/. To pre-order the game visit www.thesims3.com/game/ep1/order.

The Sims 3 World Adventures is rated T for Teen by the ESRB. For assets and artwork, visit: http://info.ea.com/product.asp?s=2623.

For those who haven’t already purchased The Sims 3 or need a good gift idea for friends or family, a special limited Holiday Collector’s Edition will also be available on November 17, 2009. The special edition will feature content from the original The Sims 3 Collector’s Edition along with new holiday content. For more information on The Sims 3, go to www.thesims3.com.

*Requires The Sims 3 or The Sims 3 Collector’s Edition for PC/Mac to play.
**According to NPD data.
***INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED, see product pack or digital distribution rules for details

Sims 3 World Adventures: Chopsticks, Mummies & the French – Oh My! [Preview]

My addiction to the Sims series gives me a lot of tolerance for endless expansions and stuff packs that add new dimensions and new furniture to gameplay. However, I do have high standards. The Sims: Superstar was a revelation in college that nearly cost me my grade point average. Ever since, I’ve been consuming Sims expansions at a steady rate – always looking for that same sense of wonder and entertainment that makes me forget to eat. Here’s how World Adventures measures up. What Is It? The Sims 3 : World Adventures is an expansion that gives your Sim the ability to visit three exotic locations on a travel visa: China, France and Egypt. Rather than just being a new place to shop and seduce the locals, each country features “tombs” – that is, dungeon-like locations your sim can explore, plunder and suffer odd and painful misfortunes within. The better you do at this, the higher your can raise your visa level – which lets you stay in the foreign locations longer, and also nets you the right to buy vacation homes. What We Saw I got to play through a dungeon in Egypt and was treated to a look at one of China’s Zen gardens/karate dojos. How Far Along Is It? The expansion is out November 17. What Needs Improvement? Point-And-Click Adventure Much? I supposed when you break it down, the Sims games all play out like point and click adventures – except, it never feels that way normally because there’s no “right” thing to click. World Adventures changes gameplay fundamentally by requiring gamers to jump through the typical point-and-click adventure hoops to disarm traps or find hidden doors. Some hardcore Sims fans may not like it. But I Want To Move To France! I’m a little bummed you can’t relocate to the exotic locations. You can, of course, bring pieces of it home with you. Artifacts you find in tombs can either be traded for special items or hung up in your boring old sim house. Also, there are special artifacts that you find in pieces and assemble over time back at your permanent pad. And, you could always marry a native and bring him or her home so you’ll always have a bit of the country with you. Still not as good as actually moving to France, though. Advocating Child Labor: Children (but not toddlers or infants) can go into tombs and do adventuring of their own. But, for obvious reasons (*cough* ESRB rating *cough*), they can’t suffer the same dangers as the adults. This seems to me like the perfect set-up for some child exploitation. Yes, send the small child into the tomb for the expensive treasure – the mummy won’t attack him What Should Stay The Same? Now You Can Go Inside Stores: Finally! I hated sending my Sims off to shop and having to stare at the outsides of buildings for forever like I was playing a real-time strategy game and waiting for the battle to end. Naturally, the game also lets you build your own stores and fill it with whatever kind of junk you want to sell. Now You Can Be a Real Hobo! The game introduces tents that you can pitch in tombs – or in public parks – and actually gain Energy from sleeping in. Oh, the possibilities . Your Own Private Island Dungeon: Via a code entered in buy mode, World Adventures opens up the editing tools to include pretty much everything the developer can build in a tomb or a ruin site. You can build an entire deathtrap from the ground up just the same as you would a house (only, you know, filled with mummies and fire traps and stuff) and then upload it to the Sims 3 community site to inflict on others. Yay, Karate! The game adds several new skills and traits to mix up your sims’ personality. My favorite is probably the Discipline skill which helps with karate (called Martial Arts). The higher you level this skill, the more badass your sparring animation looks – at the highest level, you even get little speed lines along your arms and legs while punching and kicking. There’s also the Adventurous trait which helps with tomb exploration, and the Photographer’s Eye which builds out the new picture-taking activity. Oh, and if you do marry a foreigner and bring him or her home to have kids with, your children will have cultural traits from their foreign parent’s country (like eating with chopsticks). Tons Of New Things: World Adventures adds a ton of new furniture, ingredients, collectables, recipes and other things to the usual inventory of stuff you can get in buy mode or find in the world. It gives the diehard Sims fans something more to do now that they’ve discovered the Ambrosia recipe. In particular, photography will eat up the collection freaks because the game can recognize what you’re taking pictures of and classify the photos in sets. For example, there’s a nature set that gives you a special bonus for taking a picture of a Death Fish and a Life Fish in the same tank. A Step Toward Multiculturalism: I think some people might claim the portrayals of France, China and Egypt are shallow and therefore insulting. However, based on what I’ve seen of the Sims from its earliest origins, World Adventures is a huge step toward a multiculturalism-aware game. That sounded horribly Californian of me, I know. But I’ve got two little cousins who are half Chinese – they are going to love that their Sims get to eat with chopsticks. Final Thoughts I’ve got to get a new graphics card. How can I properly appreciate my sim turning into a mummy if I can’t make out his face in the mirror when he looks at himself?

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Sims 3 World Adventures: Chopsticks, Mummies & the French – Oh My! [Preview]

The Sims 3 offers a mixed bag of new and old

There are many different Sims players out there buying this game from years of playing The Sims 2, and I think some of them will be impressed with The Sims 3, while others disappointed.

Create-A-Sim Players: 4/5
If you have an juiced up computer, the graphics are amazing. The customization you can give a sim is also very rewarding; you can now color customize the different parts of a sim’s outfit with virtually any color, and the pattern system they’ve created only increases the amount of customization you can give a sim’s clothing. A sim’s hair coloration is now broken up into four parts, all of which can be set to any color you wish. The only disadvantage I found is that there doesn’t seem to be as many ways to customize the face as there had been in Sims 2; there are some new, different ways though.

Want to know what other people think about The Sims 3? Read More Sims 3 Reviews

House Building Players: 5/5
Because of the new pattern system in the game, building houses now has a new level of customization, making it easier to customize a house’s color and texture to your liking. Another nice thing is that furniture can now be placed at angles, so you no longer have to worry about awkward placement of objects near angled walls. Just keep in mind that since this is the first game, with no expansions made yet, there is a limited amount of furniture you can use. Also, if you’re only interested in building houses, its not as easy as simply clicking on the lot you wish to build, once the game starts; you actually need to be playing your saved household and then exit your household for “Edit Town,” where you can then select a lot to build on.

Neighborhood Building Players: 1/5
If you were big on building neighborhoods in Sims 2, you’re going to very, very disappointed. You can no longer make your own neighborhoods; you are stuck with customizing Sunset Valley (the only neighborhood that comes with the game) or downloading another neighborhood from The Sims 3 website. There are no pre-made empty neighborhoods you can create and then customize and populate. Needless to say, there is no compatibility with SimCity 4 neighborhoods either. You’re stuck with Sunset Valley, and that’s that.

Movie/Story Players: 5/5
If you’re into making movies or stories there doesn’t seem to be big difference between Sims 2. Photo capture now seems to be similar to what the “Print Screen” button does on your keyboard. The quality is exactly what you see on the screen, and the size of the image is as big as your resolution for the game. Video capture options seem almost identical to Sims 2. And like Sims 2, the controls are still difficult to deal with if you’re trying to make smooth transitions. Also, there is no in-game Storytelling option anymore, storytelling is mostly focused online at The Sims 3 website, where there are some neat tools you can use for editing.

Single Family Players: 4/5
If you liked only playing one household in Sims 2 (like if you were into the Legacy Challenge) Sims 3 makes it even more interesting and more realistic with the fact that the entire neighborhood ages around your sim; no more childhood friends always being children, even when your sims have become adults; no more grandchildren out-aging their grandparents because they happen to be on different lots. And not only that, but you can now explore the rest of the world, expanding the possibilities for your sims.

Multi-Family/God Players: 2/5
If you liked jumping between many different houses and creating a complex story between many different households, you may be in for a big disappointment with Sims 3. You’ve ultimately been demoted from being god. You can no longer save individual households for later. Once you leave a household the sims there become NPCs (characters for the computer to control) and continue on their own lives and own story without your help. This may sound odd but Sims 3 is more of a game, and less of a device to tell a huge complex story.

The Sims 2 Console Players: 5/5
For people who loved The Sims 2 for PlayStation 2, X-Box, and GameCube, The Sims 3 plays very similar to those. In fact, The Sims 3 seems like a souped up version of the console Sims 2. For people who hated The Sims 2 console games, well . . . you may not like how The Sims 3 plays.

You’re liking of The Sims 3 is really going to depend on what you did and enjoyed in The Sims 2. And sadly, I have to say this game isn’t for everyone who loved The Sims 2.

More: The Sims 3
Buy: The Sims 3

The Sims – All You Need to Know (Prima’s Official Stategy Guide) (Paperback)

Prima’s Official Strategy Guide:

All new section on downloadable skins, objects, houses, and families.

Requires The Sims or The Sims Deluxe Edition to play.

Step-by step info on creating families and homes, and dealing with disasters.

Advanced methods for keeping your Sims healthy and happy.

Cheat codes exposed.

Complete tables for every Sims career.

All new Political career diary: tells you how to shake the right hands on your way to the Mayor’s mansion.

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Sims 2 Bon Voyage: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides) (Prima Official Game Guides) (Paperback)

The Perfect Guide for the Perfect Vacation! Detailed lists of all new vacation objects and socials. Get a complete tour of all three vacation neighborhoods. Supercharge your Sim’s life with vacation collectables. Learn the way to every secret lot and discover how to solve their challenges. Strategies for building your own vacation neighborhoods, hotels, and campgrounds.

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My Sims: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides) (Prima Official Game Guides) (Prima Official Game Guides) (Paperback)

Harvest every building block with our Essence gathering walkthrough. Develop a town from a run-down train stop into a thriving community of town residents. Unlock every town resident, including exclusive Uber characters. View tasks in advance and be prepared for the wants and demands of town residents. Obtain every design blueprint by becoming Best Friends with every character.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Task Guide: This chapter focuses on the tasks requested by Commercial Sims that may appear in your town. Meet them, move them in and build them a business, go inside, and speak to them. Commercial Sims may request up to four Workshop tasks to strengthen their businesses. Star Level points are gained by completing these tasks. Commercial Sims will in turn reward you with additional blueprints and decorative items for your house as you progress.

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The Sims 2 Apartment Life: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides) (Paperback)

•Find the perfect roommate and learn how to keep them happy.•Details on all new objects, socials, and NPCs.•The roadmap for new objects and socials for kids and toddlers.•Master the magical arts with our guide to Sim witchcraft.•Social classes, groups, rewards turn neighborhoods into “communities”.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1. When your Sim is first transformed into a witch by the NPC Witch (Good or Evil), buy as many of each kind of reagentas your Sim can afford. Nothing’s more frustrating than having all this new power and no way to use it.

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The Sims 3: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides) (Paperback)

Poster: Pullout map poster identifying all shops, parks, services, and key Sim locations. Personalities: Learn the in’s and out’s of Sim personalities with detailed trait breakdowns and mood templates. Design: Our new design section will supply tips and tricks from the pro’s to build the most elaborate homes and yards.Customization: Learn how to update your décor with tutorials to help you customize your own chairs, walls, and floors. Wishes: Detailed walkthroughs and tutorials will help you learn how to achieve your short term and long term wishes.

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Sims 2 Box Set: Prima Official Game Guide (Paperback)

Titles: This box set will include Sims 2, Sims 2 University, Sims 2 Nightlife, Sims 2 Open for Business, Sims 2 Pets, Sims 2 Seasons, and Sims 2 Bon Voyage.Objects & Socials: Detailed stats for every object, social, and build mode upgrade. Careers: Stats and tutorials for every career path in the Sims universe. Packaging: With the new stylized box art and mass-market trim size, this box set is dressed to impress.

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