Which is Better? Sims 2 or Sim 3?

When the Sims 2 was released gamers were ecstatic about the newest version of the top selling PC game by EA Games. Gamers all over the world also waited with anticipation for the release of the Sims 3 in hopes of ways to have more customization, better game interactions, and hours of fun with their sims. Many gamers were expecting the Sims 3 to be much more of a thrill then the Sims 2, and yet some doubted if that was even possible.

After the release of the Sims 3 some gamers were disappointed that their computers could not support the new graphics that were needed in order to plays the Sims 3 and if they didn't have at least a 2.0 GHz processor then they had to get a better system or upgrade to even be able to enjoy the game. Those that were able to buy the game immediately fell into two categories: those who loved the game and thought it was better than the Sims 2 or those who were disappointed that the game was not better than they expected.

Gamers that did not feel that the Sims 3 was better than the Sims 2 believed that they were let down because they had high expectations for the better game features and the overall game design. Despite this there were still many Sims gamers who were absolutely ecstatic about the improvements that were in the new Sims 3 game. So what can be concluded? Is the Sims 3 better than the Sims 2? This is a questions that continues been debated in many online gaming forums. To examine that question let's look at some of the game features.

The sims that live in the Sims 3 are definitely not the same sims that were in the Sims 2. No longer do these sims spend their entire life fulfilling their needs of going to the bathroom, eating meals, or sleeping. These sims actually live similarly to regular humans. They spend their days and nights fulfilling their wants and desires and trying to achieve lifetime goals. When you create a sim you get to choose from a variety of traits that create a uniquely different sim. No longer are the sims just family oriented or just romance sims, as in the Sims 2, but they have different personality traits that work together within that particular sim. So for example, your sim can be family oriented, a vegetarian, have commitment issues, absent-minded, and ambitious. So these sims are really more like real humans because they have more complex personalities.

Another feature of the Sims 3 is that there is a ton more customization. In the Sims 3 you can customize clothing, furniture, hair, and virtually anything else that you can think of and EA has provided the platform for you do the customizing on within the game. In the Sims 2 gamers could use the Body Shop to create items or they could MS Paint or Photoshop, but in the Sims 3 there is a Create-A-Style feature that allows you to customize items that you purchase for your sims. This feature is available during the game and it is also available when you are creating a sim. This feature of the game really makes customization possible for users who were not so savvy in using MS Paint or Photoshop to experience more customization options in the Sims 2. The Create-A-Style menu is very easy to use.

The Sims 3 is more realistic than the Sims 2 because time moves slower. It takes only 20 minutes to eat meals rather than the full hour that it took for sims to eat in the Sims 2. This feature makes the game more realistic because skills can be learned faster and time moves slower, allowing more time to do fun activities with your sims during their day. Another feature that was updated in the aspect of time in the Sims 3 is that the whole neighborhood ages together. So if you leave a household on Tuesday (in sim time) and start to play another household until Sunday (in sim time), when you return back to that first household it will be Sunday and no longer Tuesday. Your sims will have continued living without you. Some sims might have gotten pregnant, babies might have become toddlers, and they sims will have different wants and desires. This feature is better because you don't have to stick around and wait pregnancies to complete or if you get bored you will be challenged when you come back and things have changed.

The Sims 3 has an open game feature, which means that you can go anywhere with your sim. Your sims can walk over to their neighbor's house for dinner. They also have bikes and cars that they can ride around town or take a cab if they so desire. When your sim goes to work you can actually go to work with them. You can't see inside of the building where they work but you can go to that building and you can control how hard they work by choosing from working hard, taking it easy, hang with coworkers, etc. You can even make them leave work early if you feel they should go do something else, or if some emergency arises at home (like someone going into labor).

Another feature that makes game play better is that the sims now have natural abilities, just like in real life. For example, if a sim has the ability to be a natural cook then they learn that skill faster than someone who is not. The same goes with a sim who is a bookworm; they love books and can learn skills quickly by reading about them. This makes the game more lifelike because people have different skills and abilities and learn some things easier than others.

If you have been debating whether or not to get the Sims 3 because of mixed feelings on the web, I hope that you will see that the new features are different and will make your game play experience different than it was with the Sims 2, but overall the Sims 3 is a better game. The features really add to the game experience and if you a Sims' lover then you will be pleased. Happy Simming!