sims2vs sims3

 

The Sims has evolved allot since It’s debut in 2000, there’s no debate about that. There’s also next to no debate that The Sims 2 was a better game then the original. The question we’re here to answer today is, is The Sims 3 better then The Sims 2? I’ve got questions and answers on the subject. Let’s get started.

  • What makes The Sims 2 a good game?
    • It’s solid mechanics and goofy take on reality. It was just fanciful enough that anything seemed possible.
  • What about The Sims 3?
    • It dominates in the atmosphere and world arenas with it’s fully open world that you can wander through at any time.
  • How are they stacking up as far as expansion packs go?
    • Three packs in, I’d have to give The Sims 2 a strong advantage. It’s first expansion, University is, in my mind, much better then World Adventures. The the second Sims 2 expansion, Nightlife matches up with The Sims 3’s third pack, Late Night, so let’s compare them.  I’d give Late Night a small edge, if only for reintroducing the star level gimmick from The Sims 1’s Superstar expansion. That leaves The Sims 2’s Open for Business and The Sims 3’s Ambitions. I like some of Ambitions features, like ghost hunting, the investigator profession and being an architect but I have a serious soft spot for Open for Business. It is, to date, my favorite The Sims expansion pack ever, bar none. That’s 2 to 1 in favor of The Sims 2.
  • Why is The Sims 2 coming off so well versus The Sims 3? Is The Sims 3 a worse game?
    • I think it’s part rose-colored nostalgia, but for the most part I just think that The Sims 2 had a lower grasp on reality. Take Grand Theft Auto IV, for instance. Great game, amazing world, but a little too realistic for what people wanted out of it. The previous three GTAs on the PlayStation 2 got their popularity partially because you cold do amazing things that couldn’t exactly be cone in reality. It was that almost pseudo-realism that drew players in. In GTA 4, you were constrained by a very solid physics engine that tried very hard to emulated the real world and that made the over-the-top action of it’s predecessors nigh impossible. The same can almost be pointed out in The Sims 3. It does a very good job as a life sim and virtual doll house, but the free-form chaos just seems more constrained. In The Sims 2, you could get your sim to talk to a broom. That sort of goofy behavior is just not an option in The Sims 3.
  • So is The Sims 3 a worse game or not?
    • No, in fact The Sims 3 is all together a better game, if only because some of the mechanics it has introduced I can’t live without now. The open world and the personality traits in particular are so indispensible now that I would be hamstrung in The Sims 2 without them. This is similar to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind versus it’s successor, Oblivion. I prefer many things in Morrowind like the setting and the storyline, but without some of the improvements made in Oblivion I can’t enjoy the game like I used to – I’m spoiled to better now. You can find this in Grand Theft Auto as well, because once I played GTA: San Andreas I couldn’t go back to Vice City, which I really enjoyed because I was handcuffed not being able to swim and climb over objects. This is a common phenomena, obviously.
  • Is there a way to bring The Sims 3’s content closer to The Sims 2?
    • Not really, as far as setting. I think that’s kind of stuck, no matter how much they try to bend reality, the game is what it is. However, their expansion packs could be better. I, for one, would like the to see the contents of The Sims 2: Seasons and Open for Business brought back. Late Night and World Adventures didn’t really impress me so I think that they could give the game a shot in the arm with a good new expansion pack.

That’s my take on The Sims 2 vs. The Sims 3. I hope this can get people talking and maybe inspire Electronic Arts to put out more quality content for The Sims 3, so we don’t have to wait for the inevitable The Sim 4 to enjoy the series again. Alphasim out.