- A Game Monkeys Review!

Game Reviews for PC, PS2, X-Box, Playstation, CCGs, Pen and Paper Role Playing and Table Top Games, plus Movies, DVDs, and Anime!

Though called The Sims 3, in reality this is something like the 47th Sim game...which means that, by now, you already know the hype. But is there enough new here to make you want to get your virtual freak on again? Read on, my monkeys, to find out.

      EA is fond of touting two pieces of information when talking about The Sims. First, that they both created and have monopolized the Life Sims genre. Second, that it is arguably the most successful franchise of all time. Both of which are true.
     Unfortunately, they are true for two equally important reasons. First, that nobody else has ever entered the genre to try and challenge them for control of it. Second, that almost all of those sales are on the PC.
     Now, that first is a problem for gamers because competition breeds innovation, and no competition means...that's right!...no innovation. This is still the same game you likely played on a PC ten years ago--admittedly with a few small improvements (but more on that in a second).
     And the problem with all the sales being on a PC? Well, that's not because there haven't been other console versions. Instead it's because, like every RTS ever made, the complex controls and intricate point-and-click interfaces just don't lend themselves to console play.
     Oh, they try, and with decent enough results, I guess. But they succeed by utilizing the left analog stick like a mouse and an elaborate context-relevant menu system. Which, again to draw parallels to any number of RTS, isn't horrible--but is a helluva long way from natural. Far enough that you will never get the "thought free" control feel that the PC version gives you.
     And speaking of things the PC version gives you, in order to (rightfully) cater to their huge PC fan-base, EA clearly designed the game around computer optimizations and ported the game to the 360...and so you won't have nearly the breadth of scope that the PC version does.
     Certainly, they give you some of the perks. There is an elaborate city to run around in and options to swap created goodies on-line, but not nearly what the PC offers. And the console version is peppered with extra load screens to boot.
     Certainly, they give you some of the perks. There is an elaborate city to run around in and options to swap created goodies on-line, but not nearly what the PC offers. And the console version is peppered with extra load screens to boot.
     Which is not to say that, in the end, The Sims 3 is a bad game for the Xbox...it's just that the PC version is better in every single way.
     And about a third the price.
     And since you almost certainly have a PC that'll run it, I'd really recommend you get it for that instead.

Buy it for the Xbox 360 from Amazon.com

Buy it for the PC from Amazon.com