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What Are Your Favorite and Least Favorite Sims 3 Expansions Packs?
Ethroptur
Posts: 53 Member
As the title states. A question that has been asked before, but one that is always fun. The Sims 3 EPs introduce a plethora of new features, we all obviously have our favorites. What are yours?
My personal favorite has to be Ambitions. As somebody whose rather career-oriented IRL, I loved that we finally had the opportunity to follow our sims to work and directly engage with their workspaces and colleagues. Every new profession introduced in Ambitions was fun and engaging IMO, and I loved the skills, especially inventing. Not to mention that Twinbrook is one of my favorite towns in the entirety of The Sims, and the Simbot is my favorite life state.
My least favorite pack has to be Showtime, for a myriad of different reasons. Firstly, the entire premise is simply a re-do of Late Night with a stronger focus on stage performances. That automatically makes many of its features redundant. Secondly, SimPort is simply a bad idea. The Sims, at least for me, has always been a single player experience. I do not want any built-in online features. But a substantial portion of Showtime's features are semi-reliant on it, which of course means that the pack has a bit of a shelf life when EA inevitably shuts down online features for The Sims 3. Thirdly, I didn't really enjoy the careers the EP provided at all. I played with them once, and haven't touched them since. The only reason it remains on my hard drive is due to me occasionally making use of the genie and me finding use for some of the buy mode items. I've played every other EP extensively, most of them since their day of release. Showtime was the only exception as it was the only one I had zero interest in whatsoever, though I obviously did buy it about a year later when it was on sale.
Sadly, polls in The Sims Forums only allow a total of 10 options, so one of the EPs had to be excluded. I selected Into The Future, simply because it was the final EP. Please comment below if that is your favorite EP, however!
My personal favorite has to be Ambitions. As somebody whose rather career-oriented IRL, I loved that we finally had the opportunity to follow our sims to work and directly engage with their workspaces and colleagues. Every new profession introduced in Ambitions was fun and engaging IMO, and I loved the skills, especially inventing. Not to mention that Twinbrook is one of my favorite towns in the entirety of The Sims, and the Simbot is my favorite life state.
My least favorite pack has to be Showtime, for a myriad of different reasons. Firstly, the entire premise is simply a re-do of Late Night with a stronger focus on stage performances. That automatically makes many of its features redundant. Secondly, SimPort is simply a bad idea. The Sims, at least for me, has always been a single player experience. I do not want any built-in online features. But a substantial portion of Showtime's features are semi-reliant on it, which of course means that the pack has a bit of a shelf life when EA inevitably shuts down online features for The Sims 3. Thirdly, I didn't really enjoy the careers the EP provided at all. I played with them once, and haven't touched them since. The only reason it remains on my hard drive is due to me occasionally making use of the genie and me finding use for some of the buy mode items. I've played every other EP extensively, most of them since their day of release. Showtime was the only exception as it was the only one I had zero interest in whatsoever, though I obviously did buy it about a year later when it was on sale.
Sadly, polls in The Sims Forums only allow a total of 10 options, so one of the EPs had to be excluded. I selected Into The Future, simply because it was the final EP. Please comment below if that is your favorite EP, however!
Post edited by Ethroptur on
What Are Your Favorite and Least Favorite Sims 3 Expansions Packs? 46 votes
World Adventures
10%
5 votes
Ambitions
17%
8 votes
Late Night
13%
6 votes
Generations
10%
5 votes
Pets
0%
0 votes
Showtime
6%
3 votes
Supernatural
17%
8 votes
Seasons
13%
6 votes
University Life
2%
1 vote
Island Paradise
8%
4 votes
1
Comments
Detpacks & Meteors - or how to have my Sims in fits of paranoia.
mainly because their Watcher is a sadist.
Just remember it’s not a real Nikkei_Simmer game unless there’s an explosion…
…or five or six…
…or a photoshop nuclear weapon involved.
The only reason I got Showtime for was the banana tree. I like bananas. I can do without the rest of it. I don't play the Showtime careers. It was just the sole plantable that made me cough up $19.99CDN.
So there you have it:
My favorite EP was: Ambitions
My least favorite EP was: Showtime.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
My go to EPs are Ambitions, Generations, University life and Late Night.
My least favourite - probably Pets (don't have the patience in real life too, sorry) and Supernatural (prefer a more realistic game style).
My least favorite would be Into The Future. I simply don't play with it's features at all. Even with some of my least essential packs, I still use build/buy mode objects and CAS items. Not at all with Into The Future.
The Wilde Legacy
- 100 Day CAS Challenge - My Wishlist - Top 5
I like the supernatural, and to have them altogether was fun, and I love the world that comes with it.
I would play Sims 3 more, but my current computer can't handle it.
It's interesting how many people's perspectives of Generations has changed. I remember when the pack was first announced and released, and the lukewarm reception it received. Many people thought that whilst the new features were great, most of it should have come with the base game to begin with, and could have in the form of free patches. Maybe it's the fact that memory of the price tag has faded. To see so many people love it now is interesting.
Seasons is great. Weather changes moods, plans and has a significant impact on day-to-day life. I quite enjoyed the festivals. Aliens are one of my favorite TS3 life states.
Into The Future is a strange one due to the farfetched nature of its premise. It's a fun gimmick, IMO, and I've returned to it on occasion, but I've never used most of its features or objects in normal gameplay.
Seasons is next in line because it adds a simple but integral aspect of life which is the changing of the seasons and weather. I also find looking at the weather, particularly rainstorms and snow in the Sims oddly soothing.
I don't have a least favorite but if I had to pick I say Pets since that's the one I engage with the least. I like pets irl but after playing with them in the game I just lost interest. I only keep Pets installed for the build/buy items.
I have a save file where I placed all build/buy items from all expansions and stuff packs on lots, not including wallpapers (and clothes, of course). It's just that every single expansion beats every single stuff pack hands down in the "stuff" department, even if you account for the price difference. And let's not start with the store in that regard. Generations doesn't come with a world, but at least several nice buildings. So yeah, I can see how it pales, compared to some other expansions, in the value department, but it's still pretty good. For me, it doesn't matter that much, as I bought much of the stuff not that long ago and got some decent prices for the expansions and packs I wanted.
My least favorite is Showtime but I can also say that I don't really care too much for Ambitions either since its centered around professions. I prefer careers that don't require micromanagement.
@Ethroptur Yeah, I wasn't around when Generations came out, so I didn't know what people thought about it when it was announced. I guess I can see how people might have considered it non-essential, what with it not even coming with it's own town. And I do agree that it's features probably should have been included in the base game, it really would have made it a real life simulator.
I agree with you on Into the Future. That's just what it is, a fun gimmick. You play around with it once to experience it, but it doesn't really factor into everyday play, at least for me. I don't use any of it's features/objects and have never felt the need or want to time travel after I had already done it. That only things I miss from Into the Future is the dip kiss interaction and buying lottery tickets, lol.
The Wilde Legacy
- 100 Day CAS Challenge - My Wishlist - Top 5
I think people's newfound love for Generations is due to their disgruntlement with The Sims 4. It was a prime example of devs responding to criticism in a productive manner, which is exactly what the Sims 4 team seemingly aren't doing as of late, thus causing people to re-evaluate Generations' quality. It's a great pack, and an essential one due to how much it contributes, IMO.
Honorable mention is seasons, I mean come on that's not favorite, that's essential
> Most favorite I'd say University Life. This pack is very well made and offers so many things for your sim to do and clothing with hair are nice too. Least favorite I'd say Late Night. Don't get me wrong, I love the apartments, the town, vampires, clothing etc. It's just the fact that every community lot is empty. When my sim goes in a club or lounge or bar, there are always at most 2 sims in the lot which makes it so boring. Annoying paparazzi is the cherry on top.
>
> Honorable mention is seasons, I mean come on that's not favorite, that's essential :D .
You gotta delete some of those lots. I usually make sure there are only 1 or 2 bars/clubs in town, and that ensures a full house. Otherwise I use Master Controller to invite people over.
I feel like Showtime and Island Life is just okay. They are interesting for a bit when you first get them, but the novelty wears off quickly and there's not much to do with them once you've completed the careers that go with them or did the resort ownership thing.
Probably sticker shock 😁 at the expansion, game and stuff packs packs of the following game assisted in realizing just how good we had it has upped the appreciation for Generations. I missed all that brouhaha since I only came into playing Sims 3 in 2017, long after the release of all the Sims 3 packs.
I play a story-driven legacy narrative so Generations falls right into my alley as far as expansion packs go even though I don’t count it as one of my favorites, it’s a necessary game pack but the way I play (terrorizing my sims), Ambitions is more my cup of tea.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
As for my favorite expansion... that's a tie between World Adventures and University. Why? Because I'm basing the choice on how often I use the content. While I use Moonlight Falls from Supernatural most often when starting a new save, I'm always going to one of the WA worlds. In every game. And while I don't always send a sim to university, I always use the bowling alley, comic book store and coffee house in my worlds.
Edit to add: Lease favorite is Into the Future. I just don't use it.
But definitely, the one I use the most is World Adventures. Love going on those quests and I still haven't completed them all.
Next would be Seasons. I just love the thunderstorms and snow. And the festivals!
Last fav - Island Paradise. We finally got to use watercraft! From the rowboats to the houseboats, it was the most awesome new thing my sim got to experience. And the diving is beautiful. If you don't like (or more like can't play) the world due to lag, then just put dive lots and watercraft in other worlds. Still very enjoyable.
The one I use the least - got to say Into the Future. Haven't been in a while. But still, I'm glad I got it.
I've spent so much on this game but I just don't regret it. It's been the most fun I've had since I discovered Sims 1. Not to say 2 and 4 are not fun. I play them too. But 3 just has a special place in my heart.
Generations made kids and teens finally fun again (which was hard to do after the excellent kids and teens in the sims 2). In fact, this expansion made every life stage feel truly unique and fun. There were either new objects and interactions for practically every life stage in the game, new parties, improved weddings, and much more. While the content doesn't stand out at first sight, it integrates so well into the game that it is basically impossible not to use many of the features in daily sim life.
Seasons also is a pack that effects the whole game. Weather and seasonal activities shake up the game making days, or at least each season feel more unique. The seasonal activities and fairs also add a plethora of group activities that kids and older can partake in (something this game was missing at the start).
My least favorite EP is probably into the future (which was not even mentioned on the poll). This is probably because the content doesn't really ingrate into many situations, unless you specifically want to engage with future stuff.
Terrific Family Play
Too fun
The sims 2 forever
the least favourite stays though its always gonna be university cause not only is stuff in that pack truly underwhelming recap of what already is there in other packs i found the university to be real pain in the butt to play with due to my perfectionism so i never really did and i wouldnt like to now either
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Least favorite would probably have to be university. I bought it on the off-chance that it might appeal to me, but as soon as I sent a sim there I didn't like the world at all so I never properly played with it. I do like the roommate feature though so I don't really regret buying it. Second least favorite for me is Generations, just because I don't play families. It's the only sims expansion I haven't bought in 12 years, and I don't have any desire to buy it as I don't think I'd use anything from it.
My least favourite is between Showtime and Generations. Showtime got boring pretty quickly for me and the world wasn't great. Generations I know controversial but I never really got into it, for me it didn't add much to my gameplay and a lot of the features felt like they slowed me down, I get that's the point of the pack, to embrace the moments of your sims lives but it's not for me.