The Sims 3

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1235 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 841 out of 1235
  2. Mixed: 288 out of 1235
  3. Negative: 106 out of 1235
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  1. billp
    Jun 20, 2009
    7
    It feels a little rushed, but other then that its a nice upgrade to the sims2 just don't expect to see the same game, the openness is rather cool but it is also disappointing when you can only have one Famaly in the city that you own.
  2. TimJ
    Sep 6, 2009
    7
    Probably one of the only games that is fun without any kind of violence. But I must add that I am a bit disappointed by this game. I expected a lot more, they made the trailer look so much cooler than the actual game. Yeah, there are a lot more customizing options and new features but I dont see much difference from the Sims 2 apart from the slight improvement in graphics and the fact Probably one of the only games that is fun without any kind of violence. But I must add that I am a bit disappointed by this game. I expected a lot more, they made the trailer look so much cooler than the actual game. Yeah, there are a lot more customizing options and new features but I dont see much difference from the Sims 2 apart from the slight improvement in graphics and the fact that you can walk around the city without a loading screen. Verdict : Good game but could be better.… Expand
  3. JonB
    Dec 20, 2009
    7
    Not as good as Sims 2. But it's a great game. It's just that Sims 2 is a really, really great game.
  4. DANEger
    Mar 17, 2011
    7
    While I lost interest in this series a long time ago the game is most defiantly improved, as i played this I noticed far more complexity, customization, exploration and in general things to do. For a game that gives you a fake life all of these are good things.

    I was however upset that it had almost no free downloadable content i remember SCORES of free and high quality down lodes on 2    While I lost interest in this series a long time ago the game is most defiantly improved, as i played this I noticed far more complexity, customization, exploration and in general things to do. For a game that gives you a fake life all of these are good things.

    I was however upset that it had almost no free downloadable content i remember SCORES of free and high quality down lodes on 2 all made by the community I belive this game came out some time ago (Though I do not know i was not on my PC like i say i lost interest in the series long ago) but if it has i would think the community is eater unimaginative or the tools are no longer simple enough to use which is a shame because the astounding thing about 2 is you cold have anything you wanted from werewolves to charters from LoTR the only thing that i can find now is custom floor and wall tiles which while nice is just not the same.    … Expand
  5. gist95966
    Feb 21, 2012
    7
    First off let me state: I never played Sims 2. I've played sims 1 and all the expansions and that's it. I have heard from various people that Sims 2 was better - I can't comment to much on that, but I will state what I like about this game, and others can tell me (or if you already played sims 2 and know) if sims 2 had some of the features I liked or not. I will of course also express someFirst off let me state: I never played Sims 2. I've played sims 1 and all the expansions and that's it. I have heard from various people that Sims 2 was better - I can't comment to much on that, but I will state what I like about this game, and others can tell me (or if you already played sims 2 and know) if sims 2 had some of the features I liked or not. I will of course also express some of my dislikes.

    Sim Personalities: The whole neat, active,nice point system they had before is gone. To give your sims personality in this game you select traits and that drives them. you can select 1-5 traits, and some of them can't be combined because they contradict each other.
    I love this over the previous system. I really feel my sims are getting personality, and in the old system I didn't because I was spending to much time trying to fulfill needs. Which brings me to the second part.

    Sim Looks: Unfortunately there aren't as many choices here as I was hoping. There aren't many hairstyles in the vanilla game, and not many clothes or anything for that matter. HOWEVER the details can be customized to an extent that you have many options. While your limited by your hair style, it can be any color you like, and if you wanted, you could make your sim have steel hair or whatever other material you like. So your limited in your styles, but the materials and colors can be anything. Needs: Your sims aren't as needy in this game as they were previously, the values seem to be slower, and can be somewhat counteracted by your mood, which can have several bonuses, so that even if your hungry and stinky, your still in a good mood because your listening to music and received a promotion... etc. I find this realistic as well, since people in real life can be in a good mood even if they are hungry and need to go to the bathroom. It also allows you to focus on other goals such as skill building or making enough friends, or whatever. In the sims 1, I spent my entire time trying to put my sim in a good mood - even to the point of cheating for money to get better items, and I still didn't have enough time to make any friends to advance my career. Perhaps I was bad at the game... all I know is that the sims 3, allows me to have more fun and focus on several goals.

    The neighborhood: Compared to the sims 1, a definite improvement. There are a lot more pre-made sims to either play as or interact with your creations in the neighborhood and they were very creative with the houses that they all live in. You can also do things like seduce a rich wife, then kill them and their family so that your sim can have a much nicer place to live without having to earn money the "hard way" also better is that you don't feel trapped inside your house with your sim, People are constantly passing by and certain characters that you couldn't interact with in the sims 1, you can in the sims 3, such as the mailman, or repairman. Some of them might even turn out to live right next door! Very fun.
    if you let your sim do so, they will wander around the town as well, which gives a much more lively game than before.

    Aging: This is new, but fortunately customizable. They can't quite live forever, but you could slow down the aging process to a degree that would probably take you a year or two of solid playing to kill them from old age. You can also speed it up to the point where one day your a baby, and the next your young kid. If this weren't customizable I would have hated it. As is, I love it.

    Steam: It requires Steam-play. This a negative to me, because steam requires internet which of course means if your traveling, or have no internet for whatever reason you can't play. The Sims 3 shouldn't NEED internet to play. However... this might be more or a problem with Steam than with The Sims itself. Just mentioning for the sake of those who may have thought it can be played offline.

    another negative is that the graphics from the sims 2 haven't improved much. Personally though I think of it as a positive, since I don't play The Sims for the graphics, and it means comps with lower specs can handle it.

    Camera angles can be horrid at times, and can take quite a while to transfer from one sim to the other - even the sims 1 had better camera angles in my opinion!    … Expand
  6. ChoicestGames
    Mar 3, 2012
    7
    The Sims 3 is a brave attempt at trying to make the series head in a new direction and appeal more to actual gamers but by doing so might end up not satisfying either camp.
  7. Antfred
    Jul 22, 2013
    7
    Sims 3 improved so much from Sims 2. The graphics are cartoony and uplifting, the new open neighborhood and lifetime wishes and how it affects your sim. However, EA purposely handicapped the game so they could make more money from expansions! There isn't even weather in the base game! Overall, a good game but lacks features just for the sake for making extra money via expansions.
  8. Watersson
    Jan 1, 2014
    7
    I've always been a fan of The Sims I bought all the Sims 1 & 2 accessories and expansions Once I got Sims 3 immediately be installed and turned on I was disappointed Already during the construction mode, I saw a very truncated options Ok building has been done very well but taking many models wallpapers, carpets floors, stairs roofs, and so on for the expansions was somethingI've always been a fan of The Sims I bought all the Sims 1 & 2 accessories and expansions Once I got Sims 3 immediately be installed and turned on I was disappointed Already during the construction mode, I saw a very truncated options Ok building has been done very well but taking many models wallpapers, carpets floors, stairs roofs, and so on for the expansions was something terrible The creators made ​​it so that they can then spend a lot of expansions and accesories To me it's not fair and a lot of things that were in the expansions should be in the base game Lifestyle done flawlessly The same goes for exploring the city WITHOUT CHARGE SCREEN According to me this is the greatest revolution Create a family gained only minor changes compared to The Sims 2 Of course, there also has been taken away a lot of clothes for expansions Many people say that the developers are doing so because they want to expansions player had to choose from. All Ok but why EA took so many things from the base game If it were not I'd give the game 10 Too bad EA … Expand
  9. PreWarp
    Apr 27, 2013
    7
    Loved the game the first play through then it kinda dropped off for me. The expansions add a little spice and make me pick it up for another 2 to 3 hours but then it drops off again. Still love the idea this game presents and it has always brought the personal feeling of living one's life through a game to me. Great game and has always been a great concept. The pay for content was kindaLoved the game the first play through then it kinda dropped off for me. The expansions add a little spice and make me pick it up for another 2 to 3 hours but then it drops off again. Still love the idea this game presents and it has always brought the personal feeling of living one's life through a game to me. Great game and has always been a great concept. The pay for content was kinda iffy for me, I understand the reasoning but it kinda made me mad that after spending on the game i now have to spend on a certain lamp or chair I want. Silly but sometimes could be the deciding factor of if someone buys the game or not. Solid 7/10… Expand
  10. Carlsdil000
    Feb 22, 2014
    7
    The Sims series has been known for it's addictive, and fun gameplay. Many, many hours have been spent by people creating the perfect house and perfect sim family. With all the expansions and stuff packs released now...it's surprising that there are still so many bugs in this game! I have a high end PC so I don't have graphics issues or anything, but I am shocked sims still have pathThe Sims series has been known for it's addictive, and fun gameplay. Many, many hours have been spent by people creating the perfect house and perfect sim family. With all the expansions and stuff packs released now...it's surprising that there are still so many bugs in this game! I have a high end PC so I don't have graphics issues or anything, but I am shocked sims still have path finding issues and that some items simply do not work. For a series that is now 14 years old you'd think those things would have been cleared up quite some time ago. That being said, the game is a load of fun, and the online community is great. Hopefully sims 4 fixes issues that have been persistent since the the first entry in the series.… Expand
  11. Brit
    Jul 21, 2013
    7
    The Sims 3 seem like a pretty cool game if it ever loads. The more content you download to it the slower it will go. Other than that it's a pretty good game to play.
  12. King_Angusii
    Feb 25, 2014
    7
    This game would deserve a 10/10 if it wasn't so ridiculously buggy. About 75% of the bugs you come across can be fixed with console cheats if you know how. Such as, Sims getting stuck places they shouldn't be, Sims disappearing, etc. However some aren't as easily fixed such as miscalculations of the Sims in your household meaning you can't adopt, graphics glitches, stopping your Sims fromThis game would deserve a 10/10 if it wasn't so ridiculously buggy. About 75% of the bugs you come across can be fixed with console cheats if you know how. Such as, Sims getting stuck places they shouldn't be, Sims disappearing, etc. However some aren't as easily fixed such as miscalculations of the Sims in your household meaning you can't adopt, graphics glitches, stopping your Sims from finding a job, sound loops etc. It seems the longer you play one saved game the more likely you are to come across bugs.

    Aside from the bugs the gameplay is awesome. You can customise your Sims pretty much however you want, you can extend their life to ages and ages or move through generations quickly, build awesome houses. Sims 3 gives you a lot more control over the game than previous Sims games. However, the exception to this is the building which doesn't offer anything new and can be very clunky at times. If your the main thing you do in the Sims is build homes I'd suggest you play TS2 and skip all the bugs.    … Expand
  13. f3l1p3
    Sep 7, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pra mim foi um The Sims inferior aos outros. E não apenas por causa dos bugs não. Mas porque os sims não têm vida, são robóticos, o jogo é muito mal otimizado. As cidades são mortas, não há ninguém na rua. Mas não significa que ele é um jogo ruim, ele adicionou coisas legais como "Criar Um Estilo". Enfim, um jogo não tão bom,mas jogável.… Expand
  14. Jpelda_CrazyCat
    Sep 8, 2014
    7
    Aaaaah, I remember hours and hours and hours(!!!) of playing this game. Sometimes I was the happiest person on the world, sometimes the saddest one when my sim died. I highly recommend buying TS3 in sales with some expansion packs which will cost a lot because they are as expensive as the game by itself, but still. Yes, the game has bugs... LOTS of bugs, but they usually show when yourAaaaah, I remember hours and hours and hours(!!!) of playing this game. Sometimes I was the happiest person on the world, sometimes the saddest one when my sim died. I highly recommend buying TS3 in sales with some expansion packs which will cost a lot because they are as expensive as the game by itself, but still. Yes, the game has bugs... LOTS of bugs, but they usually show when your computer is weaker or you have like ten generations of one family. Anyway, enjoy playing, it's great!… Expand
  15. KeyboredMonkey
    Nov 2, 2014
    7
    If you like controlling people and picking their every action, this game is your game.
    However if you get bored with the Vanilla/Base, many expansion packs are there to rescue the day! Or waste your money...
    But overall, the game is very enjoyable.
  16. DustyRB
    Feb 17, 2016
    7
    The Sims 3 only appeals to a small audience and is a very slow paced and boring game to endure. In theory this this game sounds like it would pretty fun but when you get into it you dont have many things to do and i often find myself skipping through a big chunk of the day so i can do something later. I realize i am not exactly the right kind of gamer to enjoy this but it seems like onlyThe Sims 3 only appeals to a small audience and is a very slow paced and boring game to endure. In theory this this game sounds like it would pretty fun but when you get into it you dont have many things to do and i often find myself skipping through a big chunk of the day so i can do something later. I realize i am not exactly the right kind of gamer to enjoy this but it seems like only a child could enjoy. But this game does have some redeeming features such as the deep character customization and it was also kind of fun(and sometimes annoying) trying to multitask and fulfil my character's needs. Besides that this game is painfully boring and definitly worth a skip unless you a fan of this genre a games.… Expand
  17. Porng44
    Mar 18, 2016
    7
    Consider this game is the best Life-Simulation to date. You start a life by get a job and receive those payment for upgrade house, buy new stuffs and pay bills, of course. This maybe my best Experience in the Sims 3, You find a partner and she get pregnant. then your new child born. the baby become a toddler. to me, children is not my best interest. but in the Sims 3, it a littleConsider this game is the best Life-Simulation to date. You start a life by get a job and receive those payment for upgrade house, buy new stuffs and pay bills, of course. This maybe my best Experience in the Sims 3, You find a partner and she get pregnant. then your new child born. the baby become a toddler. to me, children is not my best interest. but in the Sims 3, it a little different. when they grew up, they also retain the look from their parent, like hair color and face shape. However, the game has bad AI. Sims simply don't run, like when they late at work. they simply just walk and that can take more than 30 minutes in game, consider your house has long enough walkway. some of the AI is bad enough to make you became annoyed and may want to kill them on purpose. the game will start to get boring, especially without new contents soon.… Expand
  18. FilemonBR
    Aug 23, 2016
    7
    Fraco, como sucessor do grandioso the sims 2, ele deveria vir com mais coisas, esta chato, nao esta engraçado, e o pior the sims de todos , simples assim
  19. YukineUchimaki
    Nov 8, 2019
    7
    Juego de crear vida ect el juego esta bueno me gusta mucho la saga pero los dlc's de esto es infumable pero son peor que paradox.
  20. SrCre
    Mar 10, 2020
    7
    [ ] Perfect
    [ ] Awesome
    [x] Good
    [ ] Good Bad
    [ ] Fail

    Não vejo necessidade em escrever um longo texto analisando uma arte, a nota é apenas um conselho para saber o quanto ela vale para sua vida.

    I see no need to write a long text analyzing an art, the note is just a piece of advice to know how much it is worth in your life.
  21. MrPajamas
    Apr 19, 2021
    7
    The Sims 3. The simulator I spent the most of all. Right from the beginning, I was enchanted by the graphics, which again missed some of the piece compared to previous parts and the game looks much better. Not only does it look, but it is. You have even more options for creating a Sim, and this time you can really create it in the form of you, if you want. Luxury house construction. LotsThe Sims 3. The simulator I spent the most of all. Right from the beginning, I was enchanted by the graphics, which again missed some of the piece compared to previous parts and the game looks much better. Not only does it look, but it is. You have even more options for creating a Sim, and this time you can really create it in the form of you, if you want. Luxury house construction. Lots of options, which are again part of DLC. What's great is the opportunity to go to town and overall the fact that you don't have to spend the whole game in your house is great. It's a shame that you don't explore that much, because as I mentioned, a lot of it should already be in the game, but it's not and you're forced to pay the DLC developers. For me, a good game that still improves the second, but repeats the same mistake and that is paid content. Once you have all the DLCs, hundreds of hours of content await you. But as soon as you play a classic game without any DLC, you will play up to a hundred and then you will find that you no longer have much to do in the game. For me, a good game that could have been great, but paid DLC knocks it all down. Nevertheless, I recommend The Sims 3.… Expand
  22. kolarz3
    May 19, 2023
    7
    Pretty good game about building your own house and family. I spend some time on building my home and enjoyed that :)
  23. Wondux
    Jan 3, 2022
    7
    Very fun game. I liked either cheating and getting a very easy life, or trying to kill characters in a pool, or actually simulating real life.
  24. l1lj4
    Jun 5, 2022
    7
    sims 3 never miss. much better than the others, best sims game so far. sim creating could be little more wider tho.
  25. PenetratorGod
    Sep 1, 2023
    7
    I've always liked it more than the fourth game, and I've played it more. Despite EA's horrible DLC policy, it still makes more sense to play this than the fourth game.
  26. Blackshine
    Nov 17, 2022
    7
    на уровне симсов
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  27. Lloyd
    Jun 8, 2009
    6
    While its a fairly solid release with little bugs to annoy me, I can't help but feel the new direction EA has taken TS3 - which is 'take out the majority of contents useable in TS2 and make everything available on the EA Store'. Is it just me or does TS3 seem less in content then TS2 included in it's vanilla base game? Eg, the Tiki set costs a lot more than i couldWhile its a fairly solid release with little bugs to annoy me, I can't help but feel the new direction EA has taken TS3 - which is 'take out the majority of contents useable in TS2 and make everything available on the EA Store'. Is it just me or does TS3 seem less in content then TS2 included in it's vanilla base game? Eg, the Tiki set costs a lot more than i could afford on the EA store.… Expand
  28. mrcritic
    Sep 25, 2010
    6
    The Sims 3 is great, however the disability to have pets really takes it down a notch. The expansion packs are also not the best. Much better than most of the other Sims games, however.
  29. GhettoGarden1
    Aug 23, 2011
    6
    Okay, so I am huge fan of the sims series, but this version, has pros and cons. More cons than pros.
    Pros:
    Seamless neighborhoods -This was a very nice touch, adding realism. More skills -The skills give you more stuff to do when your not working--very rare occasion. Now onto the cons: Unrealistic: the first two were meant to simulate a real family, and they did, very nicely. But this    Okay, so I am huge fan of the sims series, but this version, has pros and cons. More cons than pros.
    Pros:
    Seamless neighborhoods
    -This was a very nice touch, adding realism.
    More skills
    -The skills give you more stuff to do when your not working--very rare occasion.
    Now onto the cons:
    Unrealistic: the first two were meant to simulate a real family, and they did, very nicely. But this version, personalities seem, just, off.
    Very slow: not just loading screens, which are terrible, but also game time, it takes forever to do remidial tasks, such as eating sleeping cleaning.
    Jobs: your working all day everyday, and your out of energy by the time you get home, and when you wake up, your late for work.
    Strange personalities: something just doesn't seem right about their personalities, they all seem really dull and sad alot of the time.
    Horrid AI: set the Free Will to max, and they will die of starvation. It seems that the AI system in this version was downgraded.
    So thats about it. EA seems to be becoming the next Activisio, caring about money more than quality.    … Expand
  30. l0rdm0rd
    Aug 3, 2012
    6
    The Sims 3 is a fine game, which offers fun for a long time. You can customize your character a lot and most settings have a great influence on your charcter's behaviour during gameplay. If you liked sims 1 and 2, you might like this one. The only problem is:
    The game is very buggy. The developers seem to focus mostly on adding new objects that you can buy ingame and then tell everyone on    The Sims 3 is a fine game, which offers fun for a long time. You can customize your character a lot and most settings have a great influence on your charcter's behaviour during gameplay. If you liked sims 1 and 2, you might like this one. The only problem is:
    The game is very buggy. The developers seem to focus mostly on adding new objects that you can buy ingame and then tell everyone on facebook about instead of fixing bugs. Especially since the animal update sims get stuck, become invisible, can't be selected, can't enter or leave areas.... any bug you can think of will probably at one point happen to you. The forums online are full with people complaining about bugs, that exist for a long time with no fix. Also the performance of the game is quite bad, considered its graphics that look only little better than sims 2. On my machine battlefield 3 runs smoothly at high settings and sims 2 on the same machine feels laggy when zooming in an out, the fps drop to about 8 when scrolling and often textures are loaded badly. I already had to delete to families because of unfixable bugs. Another gameplay issue: you can do lots of cool thinks, like exploring caves or going to the movies, but each time your sim just is gone for 2 game hours and the reappears with a pop up bubble saying "that was so much fun!" while you could only stare at your screen and wait for your character to come back. You can not influence anything during this time outs and the get old quickly.
    If you can live with bugs and bad performance and just like to create your sim and then build a fancy house, you will be fine with the game. But if you want both fun and stability, sims 3 isn't the game to go for.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PC Game of 2009
13
#13 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
7
#7 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 75
  3. Negative: 0 out of 75
  1. Thunderbolt
    90
    A gallant return to form and takes a direction that breathes new life into a formula that is fast reaching a decade old.
    Read full review
  2. CPUGamer
    75
    The Sims 3 has immense potential as upcoming expansions start rolling into high gear. And that’s what you’re really buying: A game of potential.
    Read full review
  3. ZTGD
    78
    The Sims 3 isn't a bad game, not in slightest, and too a different group of gamers this might be all they wanted, but for me this feels like a sequel that Will Wright had nothing to do with. There is no new magic, or amazing new idea that is going to re-imagine the whole series, it's just more and better stuff that we got in Sims 1.
    Read full review
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