CheatCC writes: "As you may or may not know, some of these Sims games can be huge hogs on your system's resources, especially if you want to view the graphics at full resolution. That may be fine for some of the techno geeks that keep up with every micro-trend and seem to have unlimited funds to purchase the latest PC upgrades. But what about the rest of us schleps that have to spend money on things like rent, food, car payments, underarm deodorant, and autographed Conway Twitty posters? Also, what about the people that want to play these games on a laptop that is seriously under-powered? Well until recently, we were relegated to graphics that looked like third-generation VHS copies. Not to mention the slow processing. By the time a hot chick came out of the shower, she would be middle aged."
"The Sims: Castaway Stories addresses most of these issues, but in the process creates a few more. It's a good-looking game that can be played on systems such as laptops that barely meet the bare requirements. Just don't try it on a Pentium One-powered Thinkpad. Not only does the game look good (just don't select the highest resolution), but it sounds great and runs fairly smooth, although I ran into a few mechanical bugs that caused me to have to restart the game a few times. There are some framerate issues, and the load times can really get on your nerves, but overall this is a solid offering. As an added bonus, it does not require any previous version of a Sims game to run. This is a completely stand-alone game. But as I alluded to, these features come at a price. I'll discuss that in detail after an overview of the gameplay."
The Electronic Farmyard writes: A few amazing facts regarding our Virtual Neighbourhood A Decade later.
The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. announces the celebration of the ten year anniversary of The Sims, the groundbreaking game that allowed players to create and live a virtual, simulated life on a computer. Since the original The Sims debut on February 4, 2000, the unstoppable, award-winning franchise has produced three core games – The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3 – supported by dozens of expansion and stuff packs with lifetime unit sales eclipsing 125 million worldwide. As the best-selling PC game* in nearly every major video game market worldwide, The Sims has continuously reset the bar over the past decade delivering new content, gameplay elements, platform support, and partnerships that resonate with its global fan base in meaningful ways and take the play experience to new levels of fun and entertainment.
The Sims 3: World Adventures is the first expansion pack for The Sims 3. The game was announced on The Sims 3 website in August, 2009, with a North American release scheduled to November 17, 2009, to coincide with the release of Need for Speed: Nitro. The expansion pack focuses on traveling to 3 different areas as The Sims: Vacation and The Sims 2: Bon Voyage did previously, but in a new twist focuses on adventures over simple family vacations. At these new sim-inspired destinations found in China, Egypt, and France; Sims can meet Sims of different nationalities, hunt for treasure, and learn new skills.
Gamedaily writes: "Ultimate Sims 3 Add-Ons
Nearly a decade has passed since The Sims arrived -- control freaks and escapists know it as the game where you play god to virtual people as they go about their everyday lives. In that time, this simulation game broke records as the best-selling game in PC history and was followed by a sequel, The Sims 2, and dozens of add-ons that introduce new activities, furniture and other items to the basic game experience."
