Fun, but load times completely kill the experience.
From a graphics and sound standpoint, this game stands with the rest of the Sims 2 style entries, I didn't notice any massive innovation in anything.
The biggest problem stems from the obnoxiously long load times. The story involves quite a bit of travel from one location on the island to the next; sometimes spending only a minute in one section. The load time seems to last forever in between screens... a minute or so may pass before you reach the next location. This is rather minimal in previous games where you rarely left the house, but leaving your 'lot' is vital to progressing the storyline in this one.
While still enjoyable, this was a rather mediocre entry and you won't find much of anything new other than one storyline that took around 8-12 hours to finish.