The Sims 3 Guest Review

Everybody's favourite person drowning simulator gets a review! 

Enjoy.

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Reviewed By: A blog reader named Serena.

Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, OS X, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Android, iOs, Wii, Windows Phone, Mobile.

Release Date: June 2009.

Genre: Life Simulation.

Developer: The Sims Studio.

Publisher: Electronic Arts. (EA)

Intro:

The third installment to the Sims franchise. A life simulation that puts you in charge of the life of the Sims, fictional human beings. 

(Note: this review only covers the base game, not the expansions.)

Areas of Concern:

Violence: 

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Ban-worthy

General Violence:

–Sims can die from catching on fire. When on fire, they will jump up and down, screaming as the fire spreads. After a period of time, they will simply fall to the ground and die.

–Sims can die of electrocution. When fixing a TV or electronic device, they may get electrocuted and instantly crumble to the floor dead.

–If a Sim has no way of getting out of a pool and a few hours go by, they will struggle to stay afloat, sink to the bottom of the pool and drown.

–Sims can also die of old age. When that happens they dissolve into gold sparkles and turn into a ghost.

–Sims can die of starvation. When their hunger meter goes all the way down they will clutch their stomach, moan, and crumble to the ground.

–Sims can slap each other and fight. But when fighting its portrayed comically with dust everywhere, like in a cartoon.

Sex/Nudity: 

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Ban-worthy

– Sims can have homosexual relationships. 

–One of the premade Sims in the game named Gobias Koffi is implied to be homosexual, and also his father. (Note: You can delete the character or have him marry someone of the opposite gender. That way you won't have to worry about this.)

–Sims can ''WooHoo'' (Game's term) or ''Try for a Baby.'' Nothing explicit is shown. Sims go under the sheets, and you only see them moving around and hear giggling. 

-They can also WooHoo in a Theater, Military Base, Science Lab, and City Hall. Once again, nothing is shown. 

– A Sim is able to ask another Sim to leave their partner, and live with them instead.

–Immodest apparel can be worn, such as bikinis, night gowns, underwear, short dresses/skirts, and clothes with a plunging neckline. 

–Sims are shown nude when getting in a bath, using the bathroom, and changing clothes, but all body parts are heavily blurred out.

–Under romantic interactions Sims can stroke each other's cheek, give a massage, leap into arms, embrace, whisper in ear, use a pick up line, and hold hands.

–Sims can kiss and make out. (Heavy kissing.)

–Sims can flirt with each other and tell flirtatious jokes

–One of the goals you can choose for your Sim is heart breaker. The goal is to have ten different love interests.

Language:

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Ban-worthy

– Sims can imply another Sim's mother is a llama.

–Sims can tell inappropriate jokes, but since their language is gibberish, you don't hear anything profane or vulgar.

Spiritual Content: 

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Ban-worthy

God is not present in the game. Instead the Grim Reaper is the main factor in deciding the Sim's fate. Ghosts are also present and able to haunt Sims. Some strange symbols are seen on patterns and portraits.

–There is no heaven or hell. When a Sim dies the grim reaper will appear, take your Sim, and leave the Sim's ghostly being inside a tombstone. 

–When a Sim dies, another Sim can have the Grim Reaper resurrect them, by playing chess and winning against him. (This is optional.)

–Ghost are present in the game. When a Sim dies it becomes a ghost and is able to haunt others, and possess objects. (Note: If you delete all tombstones when a Sim dies and don't make visits to the graveyard, this shouldn't be a problem.)

– You're able to use patterns with ghosts, skulls, demonic looking beings, webs, and spiders.

–A picture can be purchased of the Grim Reaper and a unidentified woman in love. The picture shows strange chirography.

–Sims can have a Zodiac sign, and ask others what their sign is. This plays a minor factor in seeing if two Sims are compatible.

–One of the pre-made families last name is Goth. Their house reflects their name, with a grave yard right outside, and dark appearance to all furniture and wall coverings.

--Tattooing is also possible under customizing.

Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking:

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Ban-worthy

– You're able to buy a bar, and mix/drink alcoholic beverages.

Gross Stuff/Gore: 

– Sims emit flatulence and burp.

– Sims can be seen using the toilet. (But again, it's blurred out.)

– Sims can have accidents.

– Sims can vomit when feeling under the weather.

Scary Stuff:

–The Grim Reaper has a very eerie appearance. He's portrayed wearing all black and with a scythe.

–Strange music plays when the Grim Reaper appears.

–The graveyard in the game can be creepy to some.

Positive Content:

Sims can have traits such as good, brave, family oriented, ambitious, and friendly. Sims can also give to charity. 

Morality:

Abysmal Bad So-so Okay Good Very Good 

Not very good. Sims can cheat on spouses, have homosexual relationships, divorce, steal, gossip, have affairs, fight, be rude to one another, tease each other, and insult each other.

They can also have traits such as mean spirited, evil, couch potato, kleptomaniac, flirty, inappropriate and snob. Sims can also be selfish and materialistic, always wanting and never being satisfied.

Thoughts & Impressions:

Gameplay: Gameplay was amazing, but with some flaws. When you create your Sims there are many options and they are highly customizable. Unlike Sims 1 and 2, you can now choose more unique eye colors, skin tones, and hair colors. 

Some didn't like the new Sims' chinless overly round headed appearance, especially if you played Sims 1 or 2. But after playing it long enough you get accustomed to the new look. 

Also a new feature when creating your Sims is that you can choose personality traits. This makes the Sims more unique and the game more amusing. Building is also more detailed with color combinations and patterns. 

Interaction between Sims is fun to watch, especially with their traits, although they seem a bit more distant toward each other than the last game. The most annoying thing about gameplay that most people hated, was the fact that you can no longer jump between families. 

You can still play multiple families, but they will now age along with the Sims your using as your active household. So now you tend to miss a lot if you go between families like, birthdays, births, Sims falling in love, making friends, etc. 

The enjoyable 'I'm in control feeling' is now replaced with a 'along for the ride' sort of feeling. So if you liked complete control, you may not like this, Sims tend to have a mind of their own in this game. But you still have control to stop them from actions you don't approve of, which is nice. 

Audiovisual: The audiovisuals in the game are very nice and detailed. Everything in the game has texture and impressive animations from the Sims themselves to the food they eat. The scenery is excellent. 

I love the simple things like the way mirrors reflect and how the water and ocean are so detailed and look very life like. The only downside to all this beautiful quality is that it needs a fairly new computer and good graphics card. 

It also can have glitches, like the screen blacking out randomly (very annoying) and other things. Glitches aren’t as bad though, because the games updated with fixes to glitches often.

Replayability: Since this game never ends, it's very fun to play over and over, and with all the new features it's easy to play a long period of time without getting bored. The only downside is this game really makes time fly by fast, and can become very addicting.

Quality Verdict: Amazing (A+)

Overall this game is very entertaining and easy to play for hours upon hours. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys simulation games.

Conclusion:

Since everything is pretty much up to the player, this game can range from being pretty clean to highly inappropriate. It does have amazing graphics and is highly addictive. 

I've played for hours just creating characters. I haven't run into any ghosts (because I delete tombstones and don’t visit the graveyard), but I find the presence of the Grim reaper unsettling. 

Besides the Grim Reaper (Wow, I must of mentioned his name like 10 times by now.), I found the game enjoyable. I just play with caution and with total control over the Sims, I don't have to worry about them doing something I don't want. 

And if they do try to do something, I can simply delete the action. Poof, just like that. With that said I still advise strong caution. It's easy for the Sims to do something wicked, and just as easy for the player to let it slide.

Verdict: 16+ 

Mature Gamers Only (MA)

Outro: 

Kyle: Thanks Serena! Remember to share, comment, and send your thanks! 

Now, what about my personal verdict?

I advise strong caution with the presence of ghosts and the Grim Reaper in the game. I personally have trouble deciding whether or not I want to get the game, or rather leave it on the shelf after taking the aforementioned into consideration.

I will repeat the most important thing to do after reading my reviews: PRAY. And then decide.

But in any case, I'm glad to have another Guest Review after quite some time. Tune in next week for more reviews, here on KGR!