gaming Putting sims 3 expansion packs into perspective

[Grand_Finale 529]

So I think we can all agree that the sims series is unrealistically expensive. unfortunately, I love the series, so I end up forking over 100s of dollars for expansion packs that have no reason to not be in the game. These are my opinions on all the expanson packs.

 

World Adventures: This one I dont mind paying full price for because it adds a huge chunk of gameplay to the game, however its horribly incorporated. theres no way you can play a normal game, AND incorporate the major parts of this pack into one game.

 

Ambitions: I dont have it, so I cant give you my opinion on it, but the idea behund it seems pretty solid, but not for full price

 

Late night: another horribly incorporated pack. the celebrity ranks are annoying if you arent actually trying to be a celebrity, and the city layout is so impractical. WHY DOES MY SIM TAKE A TAXI TO THE SUBWAY? WHY DOES IT TAKE 4 SIM HOURS TO USE AN ELEVATOR? Bridgeport is by far the worst city for me. Good idea, bad delivery

 

Generations: why on earth is this an expansion pack? This game adds a bunch of minor parts to the gameply that should have been ther already. Why do I have to pay full price for my teens to go to prom? good ideas, horrible price

 

Pets and Seasons: I am putting these two together because THEY HAVE BEEN IN EVERY SIM GENERATION THUS FAR. why are we still paying for it? Why is this not a part of the vanilla game? Its not difficult. I dont own either game, so I cant say for certain how worth the money they are, but really EA.

 

Showtime: One of the few I dont mind paying for. It adds a cool new element, but once again, not a full price game. Its probably one of the better expansion packs, but SO overpriced.

 

Supernatural: as annoying as the supernaturals are, its my favorite expansion thus far. Its the one that incorporates its main new feature the best. except the moon cycles, thats pretty stupid. Moonlight falls is my favorite added city.

 

University: I dont have this one, but it was in sims 2, and I cant remember if it was in the original. It adds a pretty big addition to the game, so I can understand paying for it.

 

Island Paradise: I havent experimented too much, but from what I have learned, its not worth it. The new things are so limited and horribly incorporated, and Isla Paridiso is one of my least favorite towns.

 

Stuff Packs: A sin, really. Thats all I have to say about them.

 

So share your opinion on the sims expansion packs. You can disagree with anything ive said, this is just my personal opinion

[Pony_Swag 18]

I’ve been playing The Sims since I was in fifth grade, though haven’t been playing it much recently. Though I do have to say that it was one of my most favorite game franchises growing up.

 

World Adventures: I like that sims are able to travel to three different locations that have their own cultures and I find tomb exploration to be a fun variation romt he tradition Sims style of playing.

 

Ambitions: Your sims are able to join a variety of new professions such as Firefighting, stylist, ghost hunter, architect, etc. The benefit is that you actually get to go to work with your sims and tell them what to do. There’s also a variety of other nifty things included, such as the inventing table (with which your sims can make things such as miners and time machines among other things), sculpting table, etc.

 

Late Night: I personally like Late Night, but I felt that it was lacking. It can get a little annoying to see so many random sims becoming celebrities and vampires (which I think as fixed in Supernatural or another expansion by having settings for it in the options menu).

 

Pets: It’s quite similar to the TS2 version, though almost everything about pets are customizable (their facial features, head and body sizes, tails, what kinds of coats and patterns they have, etc.). Cats and dogs are reintroduced with the new pet being horses. You can train your horses at the Equestrian Center, ride them whever you want (I think), and breed them just like you can with cats and dogs. Unicorns are also the new creatue in this expansion, which can bless your sims or ignite things on fire but otherwise function like regular horses. Unless you love the idea of your sims having pets and plan to make it a regular part of your game there isn’t much else this expansion offers (though sims woohooing in the haystack is ammsuing).

 

Seasons: I don’t own this one so I can’t give you my opinion. Besides the four seasons it also adds festivals for all of them (two resembling Valentine’s Day and Halloween). Aliens are also reintroduced, though it would’ve been nice if they were in the base game like in TS2. Also, it was first introduced in TS2 and was not in TS1. Maxis originally planned to have rain and lighting be part of the base game, but there were complications and had to incorporate it later.

Generations: I agree with you that most if not all of the Generations content should have been included in the base game and that it seems to be lacking compared to other expansions. Though I do enjoy much of its content, like having formal wedding ceremonies, sending sims to prom and graduation, etc.

 

 

Showtime: Besides the new show business occupations it doesn’t seem to add much to the game. A lot of people claimed about it when it was announced sand felt that it was an element that was deliberately left out of Late Night so that EA could milk more money. It does seem like it would’ve been a good addition to Late Night to make it feel more solid, though it would’ve also been nifty if Showtime  incorporated more elements from TS1 Superstar.

 

Supernatural: I find all of the new creatures and features to be nifty (including talking to a magic mirror and going into another world through a wardrobe a la Chronicles of Narnia). One thing I noticed though is that it can make gameplay very easy. For example, if you regularly buy potions from the Alchemy Shop (such as Midas Touch, Potent Jar of Friendship, etc.) then you can have your sim become quite wealthy and have lots of friends in no time. The same things goes for if they have Level 10 alchemy and are well-stocked on items. I don’t mind the lunar phase that much, though it seems like it can make my game lag. I also like how they crossed over the potions well with past expansion packs by enabling them if you have the expansion pack with that specific creature (like mummies, simbots, imaginary friends, genies, etc.).

 

University: I haven’t fully played through the actual university aspect of the game yet so I can’t tell you my opinion on that. I do however think that they’ve added some nifty new objects, such as a genetic engineering machine that allows you to clone things (like produce, bugs, minerals, and sims), gene splice seeds together,  etc. Your sims can also join three social groups: Jock, Geek, and Rebel. I personally find rebel to be the most fun, being that your sims can hold protests complete with yelling through megaphones. Other nifty things are that sims can make graffiti, eat herbs (either by themselves or in food) or throw them in the fireplace, and can blog on their smart phones (which you give a title to and write the blog posts yourself).  The new creature is the PlantSim, which first debuted in TS2 Seasons.

Island Paradise: I don’t own this one so I can’t give you my opinion. I find the idea of running resorts and sims being able to become mermaids to be appealing though.

Stuff packs: I agree with you to an extent. I think the prices are too expensive for the content provided, though some of the items can be pretty nifty (like the vibrating heart bed being reintroduced in High End Loft Stuff).

While expansion and stuff pack prices can be pretty expensive, try looking at the prices on The Sims Store. They’re outrageous. For example, a typical town costs over $20. Premium content items can also be pretty expensive and exceed $5 each.

Edited August 23, 2013 by Pony_Swag

[Jammo 986]

A good franchise horribly treated by it's publisher. Sims 1, 7 expansions each sold at 30 bucks. A fair price. Not overdoing it.

Sims 2, expansions were the same reasonable price but there were more of them but okay whatever. Stuff packs were also introduced to nickel and dime it.

 

Sims 3 is a great game. While Sims 2 essentially perfected Sims 1, the third felt like a leap to another level entirely. The open world adds so much. But since it's EA.. 11 expansions, each 40 dollars, the base game, all the DLC (30 dollars just for new towns on the store!?). I don't care how good or not good the content 500 dollars for all the additional content that they could bundle together is ridiculous. Not to mention stuff packs which feel like content cut out of bigger expansions so they can get more money.

 

People like to rip on games with annual release schedules but honestly that's not as big a sin as how EA has treated the sims. This milking at it's most shameless. Late Night and Superstar are both expansions about fame and party living. Why not make them one expansion? Because there's more money making them fast instead of packing each with content. Charging more money, for less content.

Edited August 23, 2013 by Jammo

[LittleRawr 679]

I've played Sims 3 for a while now, even dabbled in some Sims 2. I'll just comment on the stuff that I have.

 

Generations: This should really be in the base game, I agree with you on that one. It's just basically more interactions for kid/teens/elders.

 

Late Night: I was really excited for this one. Your sims can go to bars? Heck yeah! Turns out to be a massive let down. All the bars are empty, even the so called hot spots! At least the stuff was nice. The celebrity system could've been much better too.

 

Seasons: Needs to be in base game, that's all I can say.

 

Ambitions: Not bad. I liked this one, it gave new jobs where you can actually do something. I haven't tried out all the new careers though.

 

Pets: I liked this one, it was nice as well. I don't have much to say other than it's... Nice.

 

Island Paradise: Meh. This could've been included with Seasons, actually.

 

Showtime: Basically same thing as Late Night, but more focus on performing.