I do mean linear but perhaps not the right word? when telling the Simmer 'make three Sims dislike you' Jump up and down ten times etc. Those type instructions. Never was in TS1 or TS2...wrong road...those things belong in the console game which I call busy work for the player of a console game since the console games were never the full version of the PC games.
ETA: And if what you say is true, Daltondoug, 'most people don't know how to play without them' (rpg elements and instructions) then this game has really went off track with who 'did' buy their games. It wasn't the fanboys of console, it was the PC gamer. This is where I and EA part company, with this game right here. I was disappointed the TS3 had so much of that type of gameplay in it, but I 'could' ignore it...now we see it is in every step of any of the careers, the kid's homework, whatever, all the way down into the roots of these Sims' emotions. Not for PC imho.