Sign of the times or just another

User Rating: 8 | The Sims 3 PC
The much ballyhooed improvements of the new Sims 3 game are the ability to make fat and skinny sims and a neighborhood you can (mostly) visit without loading another lot. Unfortunately I dont find these additions anything groundbreaking, moreso what should be standard and expected from a franchise that has been around quite awhile now. The best inclusion is the ability to recolor (most) objects from within the game now. Now you can change that red shirt into a yellow one, or include new patterns to make it striped or whatnot.

The drawback? There is a cash shop that will lure you into buying everything from a lamp to a skirt, and since the game comes with very limited selection of items/models/etc, you will end up going to the Sims Store to buy these with sim points. Developers long ago realized how much profit they can generate by these micro transactions and the trend is highly disturbing. Although it is still early to say for sure, I feel this is also the end of the huge Sims modding community.

There are many other smaller annoyances such as even less control over your neighborhood design now. Also the Sims themselves now have that generic character look you find in many pc games. In a way, its actually harder now to make a unique looking sim than before. Sure you can make a obese sim, but you cant alter their height and there is still the same old Teen/Young Adult/Adult/Elder etc etc age groups.

All in all, the drawbacks would be balanced out by the new features, except the Sims Store. The country might be struggling thru a recession but you would never know it from playing the Sims. Capitalism run amok again and break out your wallets/purses/allowances for this one, you can rest assured they will milk this one to the very end.