The Sims 3 Console First Look

How does it compare to the original?

The Sims franchise has made its way to home consoles several times, but The Sims 3 is the closest it's come to matching the PC version yet. With a fully featured Create a Character, the inclusion of life cycles and Lifetime Wishes, and the ability to be constantly online with the Sims store, EA's doing everything they can to make Sims 3 for consoles the experience fans expect.

Jumping right into character creation, you'd have little idea that you weren't playing the PC version. While some of the interface has been tuned to work with a controller, you still have all the options for customization, as well as seamless integration of both items from the online store as well as community creations. If you like the shirt you're looking at, but hate the color, you can easily look and see what the community (the community that will hopefully be there, at least) has made as far as color and patterns go. Persistent online is a huge component for Sims 3 on 360/PS3 in general. (I only saw the 360 version at this point.) When you drop your newly created Sim into the world, you can build them a house to live in and, just like the Create a Character, purchase items from the store from within the game if you're not satisfied with what the game offers by default.

The whole point of creating and controlling the life of a Sim is the same as it was for PC players. After you create your Sims and give them their traits, you get to choose a Lifetime Wish for them -- a goal that they want to achieve such as Leader of the Free World. During the course of their life you'll then be given smaller goals that will help push you in the right direction to make your Sim happier, but ultimately what matters is whether or not you manage to fulfill your Sims' Wish before they eventually grow old and die.

Character lives are carried out in largely the same fashion as the PC version -- with your Sims' Lifetime Wish being the main goal -- but some big additions make sure it's not just a port. You now are given Challenges, essentially another series of tasks for your Sim like making a first BFF or getting a kiss, that net you Challenge Points. Once you accrue enough points you can spend them in a challenge store and purchase new clothes, items for your town, and Karmic abilities to cast on your Sims. That's right, the Sims are about to be affected by Karma.

Karma is gained every night, but alternatively you can gain Karma Points through completing Opportunities (essentially mini-quests for your Sims). Once you have points to cast a Karmic Power, you can then decide how to punish or reward your Sims. In the demo I watched, this resulted in a family of Sims having fire rain down on their house in retribution from the angry demo-giver and requisite god of all he saw. However, just as quickly as he punished the family for their insolence, he quickly cast another power that immediately made everyone happy, and another that fixed all the damaged property.

Most players won't really have the option to so freely spend Karma (the demo had cheats turned on), but the whole reason they are included was clear. Karma exists not only so the player can have yet another way to toy with their Sims, but also so they can spur on actions that normally happen only by chance. Players that want to watch their Sims freak out from a fire normally have to have them cook and hope bad things happen, while with the Karma Power for fire they can bring down the wrath of, well, themselves. But mean players should be wary, as while they wouldn't explain it in detail yet, the Sims team alluded that every night will have an "Hour of Reckoning" where you'll face the consequences for the way you've been treating your Sims. Ominous.

In the past people would argue that the PC version of The Sims was the "proper" one, and in the past I would have agreed without question. However, after seeing the array of console experiences being developed for The Sims 3, it's obvious that EA has worked hard this time around to make games that are trying to be both true to the original game they draw their name from, and also unique enough to stand on their own merits. I can't render any final judgment on the game until I get a chance to play it, but so far I'd say that EA's Sims team is in for a positive Hour of Reckoning.