I’m lucky that my girlfriend likes the Sims universe so much that she asked me to let her write this review, or else I’d feel unjustified about what I’m about to say about the much anticipated Maxis title. And now that she’s tied in another room (I don’t know exactly where, but I’ve heard a loud noise earlier so I’m assuming she reached past the wardrobe door) I must think fast about what I’m going to say before it’s too late.

 

Maybe you remember a wonderful monologue from the blockbuster film The Matrix, where Hugo Weaving (agent Smith) told Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus) about the implementation of the infamous Matrix and the beta version of itself, the false one, where everyone eventually committed suicide, denying the too perfect and beautiful utopia. While playing Sims 3, I’m given the impression that Maxis hired agent Smith for consulting (also note the weird resemblance between 'Maxis' and 'Matrix'). Keep in mind that in the first Sims game, your sims never died or got older, including the kids, living at the same age until you “unplugged” them yourself. The Sims 2 cleared the illusion that life is endless and for the first time your characters could actually die. But it wasn’t the most realistic game, because after you abused the puppet in any way you wanted and made their lives miserable, you could always give them the elixir of life. Is there a chance that you see a political message here? Anyway, I didn’t want to mention the first two titles from the series, other to create some suspense and contrast. The Sims 3 does reach a certain level of refinement though, leading me to believe that for the first time in this franchise a bond between the player and the game can be created. In other words, by analysing the game, interesting conclusions can come to surface about the player’s psychology.

 

 

So why this upgrade? I’d call the Sims 3 'innovation subversive' – at a first glance, it looks like a prettier Sims 2, with some new options at the character creation screen and a whole bunch of changed and more complicated gameplay mechanics. In my opinion the accent falls on complication, rather than complexity. A lot of titles that become series tend to be changed in terms of gameplay to be more complex, which means that the methods that you use to control your characters are always rethinked in a more logical way, overcomplicated correlations start to appear and new ideas and nuances are put in the game mechanics (for example the Heroes of Might and Magic series, to some degree). In these cases, even though the game becomes harder to control and master, the feeling that the player gets is not one of frustration, but enhanced satisfaction – that of a complicated puzzle that has been eventually solved.

That's not the same in The Sims 3 though. Here, everything becomes more complicated without giving the feeling of a better simulated reality. The reality in The Sims 3 is one where the player wouldn’t want to actually live. But let’s take it step by step.

 

Pussycat dollhouse

 

Sims is a 'dollhouse' type of game – it’s based on the fascination of being able to control the destiny of someone else who has an existence based on what the omniscient child wants. It’s with no doubt a Barbie and Ken game, but think a little what represents the doll game for the kid? The reality inside the plastic house is interesting and attracting because its limitations can be removed easily. As long as you play with Barbie, no matter how much you want to play, in that time she doesn’t need sleep, she doesn’t need to pee, eat, go to work and so on. The doll is the representation of ultimate liberty and lack of responsibility of the one that plays with it. And here is the problem – The Sims 3 does not respect this fundamental concept. Sure, a girl playing with her dolls can easily simulate reality in the smallest details, making her dolls do what the sims are doing, but she’s not obliged to do so. The Sims 3 shatters this perfect illusion, becoming a cynical guide of life and its cruel nature. The necessities are imperative, the obligation to work hard is inevitable and bitter, it’s hard to keep the balance between pleasures and duties, for the simple reason that it usually inclines to what it must be done (hygiene, work, study, food, sleep) rather than its more likeable aspects (socialising, creativity and fun time), thus making the leisure activities a must rather than and enjoyment, to avoid madness and acting like a robot. The fun must somehow be sneaked into the daily activities, which are nothing but a routine. In other words, I sometimes feel that if I manage to play The Sims 3 well, I should be able to organise my own life in a satisfying manner. That’s why I said earlier that it’s more like a guide and simulator rather than a game.

Killing the humor

 

The irony is that The Sims 3 seems to be aware of how depressing it is, so it tries to bring in some humouristic elements aimed at spicing up the monotony. The possibility to make kids with aliens, vampires, werewolves, robots and plants seems amusing and interesting, who knows what abilities the offspring might have, what career paths it might choose, what special needs it might have and how much money could it make …hello again! Got it? Back to the routine, back to the old boring mechanic. The escapade, the liberty of knowing your own limits and perks, all this lasts no more than five minutes. After all this, Maxis slaps us back to the cruel reality: back to reading the paper in search of a good job. Even being a slacker is a career choice, and so is being interlope – of course, you can do that, but you have to work eight hours a day, with food tickets and the ability to be promoted over three years. Of course, I’m exaggerating, but I can’t get over the feeling that the typical liberty of a game is nonexistent in The Sims 3, and not even the slight humour can save the day, considering that it’s subservient to the same set of limitations and rules.

Agent Smith and the viruses

 

Back to The Matrix analogy. When a man realises how he lives, his existence becomes a complicated equation that must be coldly balanced, then he transforms in what Smith referred to as a 'virus'. I’m trying to imagine what the real point is; the conclusion in The Sims 3.  It doesn’t bother me that there is no end line in this game, but rather that this concept is taken for granted, under the excuse that it’s supposed to be a dollhouse game, where there is no real end. I’m saying it’s an excuse because of the restraining characteristic of the game, which wants to convince you that you are limited and you have no other choice, you must live your monotone life and pretend that it’s a game, rather than take life as a game. The Sims 3 is tedious and addictive. Sort of like a malaria. It’s beautiful, complicated, it gets to you with promises of unlimited fun and many possibilities to control the characters, after which it hits you in the back of your head with the Tome of Conditions.  Or maybe I’m too much of an RPG player, and I like the idea of immersion so much that I experiment with it in The Sims 3, even though this is the last game on the earth where you would like to be 'included'. You must feel like God if you want to have fun with The Sims 3. You must be Smith. Meanwhile I’ll wait for the sims from which the Neo archetype will rise.

Gatacca

I’ll go free my girlfriend now, I’m done. In the hoping that you will hear from me again, I recommend you the Desperate Housewives game. Really, I liked it a lot more, although it went so much under the radar in the industry, that it started gardening and grave-robbing.