The Sims 3 initially due for release on the 20th February had its release date put back to June 2009. Its seems the game was not completely ready for release which has brought mixed views from the gaming community. Some have pre-ordered the game and are upset at the delay, some however are towing the line of they would rather the game be truly ready before release as we have had loads of games released that have contained bugs and glitches which required constant patching.

The game has gone through a lot of tinkering and trials, not least the controversial addition of in game advertising which was going to be displayed while you played. Realism was certainly added as advertising is everywhere in your life but there were issues of privacy and how these adverts were going to be downloaded to your computer. In the end the decision from EA was not to include this "feature" and the majority of the public I think are feeling happier for it. *Edit - This now once again seems up in the air, we will keep you posted as the release date comes closer.

 So onto the The Sims 3 game itself and what we expect to see from it on its release.

I'm sure what the Sims lovers will want to know is what is changing and improving in the Sims series with the release of the Sims 3. The main focus it seems is to improve the interaction with the surrounding neighbourhood. The Sims 3 will take place in this single interactive neighbourhood, before you controlled what your Sims did in the home now you will control them in their own little town. Even the people you meet around the town will have their own agendas controlled by an enhanced AI which has been written to allow the characters to live out their own lives and interact with each other as well as your Sims.

The decision to make the game played in a single neighbourhood looks like the game is being limited but we are assured that the town will be full of everything you would want and is an expansion on anything that the Sims 2 had to offer. There is an added advantage that with the game being in one town and not split into sections, there are no load times to worry about. You will get your Sims to walk round a complete town from end to end. This gives a nice sense of familiarity to your town and will immerse you in the game to a new level.

Creating your Sims is nothing new, but in The Sims 3 there are plenty of ways to make the Sims the way you want them to be. One of the ways to do this is by the "traits". The traits are used to change the personality of your Sims. The traits are descriptive of your Sim, pick a friend and describe them in 5 words. These are the type of things that the traits will be used for. You can make your Sims, Friendly, passive, mad, happy, mean or whatever you decide. There are over 70 traits to choose from.

Of course the ability to customise the appearance of Sims is ever present and this probably represents the most fun in the designing stage of the game. In the Sims 3 though you can now create Sims for the rest of the neighbourhood. Virtually everything in Sims 3 is customizable giving you unprecedented control over your Sims and their environment. Even the clothes can be designed to your liking, and once you have made patterns you like you can have them on other items of clothing to make matching wardrobes.

As with all the other Sims games, the main aim of the game is to achieve your Sims main dream. This could be anything from simply being very wealthy and owning a massive house, to becoming an Astronaut. The way to achieve the dream of your Sims is entirely up to you, there will be career and moral choices to make during the life of your Sims and how you play will decide the path your Sims will take.

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Features of The Sims 3

• New Seamless, Open Neighbourhood - Explore the Neighbourhood Freely: See the sights with your Sims! The new seamless neighbourhood architecture allows your Sims to roam freely around the neighbourhood and visit their loved one and friends or foes. Discovering other Sims homes and families, travelling around to new locations like City Hall or the local park will create a whole new way of life for your Sims.
• New Create A Sim - Create Any Sim You Can Imagine: In addition to the open, living neighbourhood, the all-new Create-a-Sim interface will feature easy-to-use design tools that allow you to make truly detailed Sims that are more realistic than ever. Create-a-Sim gives you the incredible freedom to customise just about any Sim you can imagine.
• New Realistic Personalities - Every Sim Is A Unique Person, With A Distinct Personality: With the innovative and proprietary Realistic Personality System in The Sims 3, you can attribute each character with five distinct personality traits, helping shape your Sims behaviour and how they interact with others and their surroundings. This new system will empower you to create extremely complex and diverse in-game personalities.
• New Unlimited Customisation - Everyone Can Customise Everything! New and accessible creativity tools in The Sims 3 make it simple for anyone to customise anything, anywhere! From floors to flowers, fashions to sofas, wallpaper to window shades and more, The Sims 3 gives you all the flexibility and options you need to be the architect of your dream house or explore your interior design skills to outfit your ultimate home.

• Instant expansion: The game includes many feature from the The Sims 2 expansions from the off, including personal inventories, pets, private cars, restaurants and gardening.
• Sims in the mood: Monitor your sim's six moodlets - hunger, bladder, energy, social, hygiene and fun - to see how they're feeling and what they want to do.
• Life goals: Every sim has their own wishes and opportunities, including a main lifetime wish - it's up to you whether you help them towards it or purposefully confound them.
• Wide world: The giant game world not only looks better than ever but means that your sim is no longer just tied to their house, but is able to interact with the whole town.
• Virtual makeover: The Create-A-Sims tool is more flexible than ever, with the ability to alter weight, fitness, hair and clothing down to the tiniest detail - including freckles and birthmarks!

PC/Mac System Requirements

PC Desktop

*XP (Service Pack 2)
Processor Pentium IV 2.0 GHz / Athlon XP 2000+
Memory 1 GB
Graphics Geforce FX 5900 / Radeon 9500
Graphics Ram 128 MB

*Vista (Service Pack 1)
Processor: Pentium IV 2.4 GHz / Athlon XP 2400+
Memory: 1.5 GB
Graphics: Geforce FX 5900 / Radeon 9500
Graphics Ram: 128 MB

Laptop

* XP (Service Pack 2)
Processor: Pentium IV 2.4 GHz / Athlon XP 2400+
Memory: 1.5 GB
Graphics Geforce: Go 6200 / Radeon mobile 9600
Graphics Ram: 128 MB

*Vista (Service Pack 1)
Processor Pentium: IV 2.4 GHz / Athlon XP 2400+
Memory: 2.0 GB
Graphics: Geforce Go 6200 / Radeon mobile 9600
Graphics: 128 MB

The Sims 3 Resources
Cheats - PC Patches - PC Demo - PC demo Screenshots - PC

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