should i buy the sims 3? «123456...Next Go

idkemily

im a newer player to the sims franchise, i played it a bit growing up but never really got into it until a year ago and got addicted super quick and now i have all the packs available for the sims 4. i still find the game lacking, and i know they're coming out with more stuff over the years, but i just need more gameplay NOW. should i spend money on the sims 3 and its packs or is it not worth it?

Chazzzy

Personally, I wasn’t able to successfully go backwards and play TS3 after playing TS4. My biggest problem was the graphics, everything looks like pudding compared to TS4 in my opinion.

Corenren

I wouldn't recommend it. I have the sims 3 and I never go back and play it. The graphics are severely lacking. Also, I have a very powerful laptop that runs all the sims 4 packs without any lag or even loading screens, but if I try to play TS3 it lags, and even freezes sometimes.

elanorbreton

I'd agree with the others. Although I very much loved the sims 3 before, I can't go back and play it any more.

Have you watched any game play videos of it? Maybe you could make a judgement from those. Or, if you do decide to go for it, I would recommend only trying out the base game before spending loads of money and finding you didn't like it.

Dianesims

Same here ! The graphics look terrible now !!
Also I'll add that TS3 is more demanding performance wise so if you want to enjoy it you'll need to make sure your computer can support it.

Chazzzy wrote: »

Personally, I wasn’t able to successfully go backwards and play TS3 after playing TS4. My biggest problem was the graphics, everything looks like pudding compared to TS4 in my opinion.

Atreya33

I think it depends on your playstyle and preferences. I played sims 3 less than the other versions. I never got used to the open world. Most people love it but I found it too difficult keep track of all the sims in my household.

But as mentioned in a previous post, it's not always easy to go back. There are things from 4 that I missed when tried to get back to 2.

cheescaeks

i recently went to go play the sims 3 after playing the sims 4 (it was my first game) i found CAS to be very annoying despite the highly touted create a style cause the sliders were so limiting (they don't have ANY sliders below the neck besides a very limited body fat one). gameplay was a bit irritating as well cause the camera was different. and i USE the sims 3 camera in sims 4 and i still could not get the camera to just work with me.

and while my friend had all packs installed i ran just the base game and it was still pretty laggy on my gaming computer.

it was frustrating, i dont think besides review purposes to know more about the other sims games that i'll probably ever pick it back up again. i wanted to play with the mermaids and werewolves and witches that sims 4 still doesn't have but yeah, like everyone else said. the pudding faces are extremely distracting.

fruitsbasket101

I think you should. It's just my opinion but I think it's better than the sims 4. I tried to get in to playing this one but always wind up going back to the sims 3 (or even sims medieval). Sims 3 is still the main game I play in the series. It does depend on your play style though. Just because I like it more than the sims 4 doesn't mean you will.

FairyGodMother

I am one who loves sims3, I would recommend you trying it out if you need some kind of gameplay now. I wouldn't go all out and invest in a lot of packs if you just want to try it.

It took me 2 years to get into sims4 (seasons got me back) so maybe something will come out later for you, that draws you back to it!

NorthDakotaGamer

You can try it. I did and was frustrated after playing it for about 10 minutes. The camera controls were the major turn off for me.

angelicsamurai

I paid for origin access, and i get to play sims 3 and sims 4 for free ... went and played sims 3, and immediately switched it off and put sims 4 back on...

LindsaySeddon1

In terms of gameplay I actually preferred TS3 but once you get a few expansion packs the performance suffers, it takes ages to load, there are glitches and crashes. I switched from TS3 to TS4 very reluctantly but I had to admit that saving the game every few "sim hours" just in case was ridiculous.

Puddinroy

I agree that @idkemily to try the Sims3 base game to see if you like it. There are mods that help with performances. Here's a link https://www.nraas.net/community/home

JACKIEJOY

If you like lots of gameplay options yes you should. If appearance is your priority then maybe not.

Simpkin

if you want gameplay go to sims 2. Skip s3 entirely.

Sharonia

The Sims 3 was my least favourite version of the sims games that I have played. Horrible graphics and my computer didn't like it, not even the new one that I bought specifically for playing the Sims 3 on worked well with that game.

ladybreid

I have TS3 and have no problem playing with every pack installed EXCEPT into the future and island paradise. It's ok, game runs smoothly and it has open world but to be honest I much prefer the gameplay in TS2 over TS3 hands down.

BradyGalaxy

It's up to you. I have TS3, and personally, it's okay, but it's lacking in many areas mainly in performance. As you can see in my signature, I have a really powerful over the top gaming PC. When I play the game, it lags and freezes too much, while on the other hand TS4 runs perfectly even with all the packs installed. The graphics are really hard to get used to if you are coming from TS4. It's really pixelated and looks pretty bad compared to TS4. And the camera controls are really funky, unless you've been using TS3 game camera in TS4. It's slow, choppy, and hard to use in my personal opinion. If you don't mind all that, then sure go ahead. It has more content compared to TS4, and you get a pretty good deal when you buy The Sims 3 Starter Pack, as you get Late Night EP and High End Loft Stuff. All the expansion packs are pretty good, but some of the stuff packs are pretty trash. I would play the game for a while before buying any DLC though.

BlkBarbiegal

Do you want to play in one big world or a lot of little ones. I say give it a try. Graphics are nice in a "different way". But I know I am completely done with sims3.

AriaMad2

I mean, it’s certainly worth a go! I’ve been considering doing so as well to see what it’s like and to look at features The Sims 4 doesn’t have.

SimKeats

IMHO, Sims 3 still looks... more real. Gameplay graphics comparison is like Sims 4 is akin to Team Fortress 2, cartoony with waiting in between all the game play. Sims 3, like a Grand Theft Auto game, where realism was the art style, and you can go anywhere in the world without loading, even switch between areas in the game where different sims are doing different things.
Sims 4 has almost been out as long as Sims 3 was when they stopped putting out content for it. Yet Sims 3 has WAY more content I like.
In sims 4, your sims that are not the active household are more used as props, or extras, that can be on any and every set or scene, just to make it seem busy, with traits that are shallow and have little to make different sims actually behave differently. In comparison Sims in 3, have more traits, that have a bigger behavioral impact, that effect where they go when they are actually not busy, because yes, they live their own little lives just like your sim.
I could be wrong, but I feel like Sims 4 at this point, has the least content still of any sim game.

TLDR, My opnion is an unpopular one, but yes, you should certainly give Sims 3 a shot. If you want more enticing posts from people who play it, check out the Sims 3 area of the forums, where I'm surprised this post didn't already get moved to, that used to be the thing.

Hermitgirl

Why not? You can buy a starter pack and see if you like it, it's not very expensive to get a feel for it. If you do like it go on from there..
I would suggest if you like the game go into the Sims 3 section and ask advice about what to get next based on your game play style.

3KNPen

I feel that you should. It's a decent game not my favorite in the franchise but has a lot of good stuff going for it. I'd play it more often if it didn't completely hate me so much. (I have a pretty strong Love/Hate relationship with Sims 3)

However since you're just trying it out I'd say wait for a sale to get it. The game goes on sale quite often on Steam for like $5 a pack so you can pick up a few packs for not that much to get a better feel of the game though it is decently playable with only the Base Game installed. You can use the code you get in Steam to import it into Origin (but not the other way around) if you prefer to play on Origin.

I also second the notion put forth to play Sims 2. It's a great game though it can be a bit finicky to get it to run on newer computers.

Starfree

@3KNPen: I got sims 3 from steam last year. Bought all packs, except Katy Perry, for about $99. But entering all those codes in to Origin was a pain lol.

VentusMatt

No one can really tell you if it's worth it since only you'll actually know if it was worth it once you try. For me ts3 has it pros. Being able to control multiple sims at once and have them all spread out across the world is very nice and allows you to get more done. Con the world feels dead as in not enough ppl at least in areas you may like. Parks and gyms seem to always have sims but bars, clubs, beaches, and some others usually only have a handful sima so they end up feeling dead. Personally for me ts3 sims themselves only look good if you use cc to make them look realistic othetwise they usually look like pudding. One thing I now hate about ts3 is how difficult it was to edit the sims themselves. In ts4 you can go to manage households and edit them easily and can manipulate most of their features but in ts3 i believe you had to go one by one and you needed to cheat if you wanted to edit their face and body.

Overall I would just wait for a sale but if you can't the starter set isn't that much like mentioned before. Also if you end up buying EPs go one by one. Don't want to overwhelm yourself with content and not know where to start. That's what happened with me. I ended up buying several packs at the start and ended up not knowing where to start that I felt lost.

izecson

I wouldnt recommend it, even on a gaming rig, with only a basegame and a world fix, game still lags.