How would you rank the Sims 3 expansions?
Thought this would be an interesting discussion to see how opinions differ, so how would you rank the Sims 3 expansions against each other? For reference the 11 expansions are: The Sims 3: Wor...
Forum Discussion
I'm always struggling with ranking stuff like this, which means my vote is a bit random and may change the next day. I'd rather sort expansions into groups, whether I really need them, have mixed feelings about them or don't care much about them. Today, I seem to prefer the expansions that give you a break from normal play :lol: .
Love them:
1. World Adventures. I wasn't really convinced I would like this in the beginning, but it turned out to be one of my most used and beloved expansions. Sometimes, you just need some time off - like in real life. Shang Simla is so pretty, and Al Simhara has the best tombs. With Traveler, I can bring the whole family and have some "normal" vacation. I also love the skills that came with this one.
2. University Life. Getting a degree can get formulaic and boring you say? True. But that system is set up so you can abuse it, so just do it. Best to go there with a sim who doesn't know anything (ironically, very skilled sims have a hard time at university) and can just scrape enough money together to enroll for two terms with a single 6 credit course (forget about the scholarship, it's meaningless). Then go wild, get skills, fulfill your life-time wish, get partners, even get rich. I love the sims there. I also use the furniture and clothes all the time. And the bowling alley. Did I mention two more traits for your sims? Yes, please.
3. Supernatural. I like the new stuff for vampires, but especially witches. Many of my sims are witches, at least the long-lived ones :smile: . It's just so useful. I don't really use fairies and werewolves though. No interest. Alchemy is awesome. Moonlight Falls is a lovely town, although I always have difficulties to find my way there. Overall, I love it.
4. Into the Future. Yeah, this is kind of the odd one out. The world can get boring after a while, but I had lots of fun there and sometimes have the family just relax in one of those houses over there. OL looks just great. I liked experimenting with plumbots. However, the main reason I rank this this high is the stuff I use all the time in my normal game. Transparent ceilings or, in other worlds, functioning greenhouses without store stuff? Gardening mats for greenhouses that aren't annoying? Actual functioning cafeterias without the need for store stuff? Yes, thank you.
Try to love them. :lol:
5. Ambitions. Ah, the consignment store, the mainstay that keeps my economy flowing. And some careers that suck up all your time and are best reserved for singles. I haven't done all of them, and I'm not sure I ever finished any except ghost hunters and firefighters. Oh, the bugs. I don't care for careers that need you to switch into editing modes, and I'll probably never do those. Simbots are funny, but need some tunings to make them less annoying. Twinbrook grew on me. Yes, the sims there are ugly, but the town is great for stories.
6. Generations. This gives some essential things to do for your kids and teens, and it's sometimes fun to do. Mid-life crises can be fun, too. I like to use some of the pre-made buildings. I sometimes rant about IF's, but I use them all the freaking time. Then again, I look at all the stuff I have switched off with Retuner because it's annoying. That pathetic scolding system, anyone?
Mixed feelings:
7. Late Night. This is hard to rate for me, because I started my journey into The Sims 3 with the Starter Pack (base game, Late Night and High-End Loft Stuff, plus some stuff from the store), so Bridgeport is my personal Sunset Valley. I love the bars and the look of the city. I still love the breath-taking look of it from across the river when you look out of a house there. Still, there are too many bars for too few people, they break after a while, the elevators are annoying and break all the time, NPC's get constantly stuck in the high-rises... Yeah, I see that I mostly rant about the city. The bars are a great addition to any town though, so that's kind of essential. In small doses though.
8. Seasons. Yes, the game may feel somewhat incomplete without them, but I don't think this was that well done. Without Tempest, I'd probably just switch Seasons off, given it's often non-stop thunderstorms for days during spring and autumn. Also, gardening is more or less forced indoors. I have banned deciduous trees from my families' lots. I don't care much for most of the holidays, but leisure day is kind of nice (the one day of the year sims use the pool without being forced). I love the snow in winter though, it's pretty and fun. The festival lots are a good addition.
Don't care
9. Showtime. It's fun to watch once or twice, but I never did a complete career from this expansion. The game is too much in love with these careers. Things are buggy (empty stages, anyone? Proprietors who need to be reset, anyone?). Love the genies, though. I also use one of the beds all the time. Lots of cool clothes. I've never used the world, so the rating may change.
10. Island Paradise. This is one of the unfair votes. Yeah, sorry, but I never used it so far. Maybe I should and get to love it, but that hasn't happened yet.
11. Pets. Ugh. I love pets in real life, but Sims3 pets are particularly needy. I went through raising cats and dogs in-game once and decided I'd never do it again. My sims still have pets sometimes, but the cats must be independent and at least two to keep their socials in check, and I just cheat their traits to something manageable. I mostly use the expansion for minor pets. They are quite fun, and birds are the best thing a witch can have in their pocket (they don't escape and double the speed they learn spells). So yes, I keep this active for my witches.
That's the ranking for today, but really, I could even have put Ambitions on the number 1 spot and Generations on 2. Or rank Late Night higher, when I'm especially in love with the lights of the city. In the end, ranking like that are mostly meaningless and just a glimpse of my current state of mind, but that's the fun thing about it: You can always discover something new every day :smile: .
Love them:
1. World Adventures. I wasn't really convinced I would like this in the beginning, but it turned out to be one of my most used and beloved expansions. Sometimes, you just need some time off - like in real life. Shang Simla is so pretty, and Al Simhara has the best tombs. With Traveler, I can bring the whole family and have some "normal" vacation. I also love the skills that came with this one.
2. University Life. Getting a degree can get formulaic and boring you say? True. But that system is set up so you can abuse it, so just do it. Best to go there with a sim who doesn't know anything (ironically, very skilled sims have a hard time at university) and can just scrape enough money together to enroll for two terms with a single 6 credit course (forget about the scholarship, it's meaningless). Then go wild, get skills, fulfill your life-time wish, get partners, even get rich. I love the sims there. I also use the furniture and clothes all the time. And the bowling alley. Did I mention two more traits for your sims? Yes, please.
3. Supernatural. I like the new stuff for vampires, but especially witches. Many of my sims are witches, at least the long-lived ones :smile: . It's just so useful. I don't really use fairies and werewolves though. No interest. Alchemy is awesome. Moonlight Falls is a lovely town, although I always have difficulties to find my way there. Overall, I love it.
4. Into the Future. Yeah, this is kind of the odd one out. The world can get boring after a while, but I had lots of fun there and sometimes have the family just relax in one of those houses over there. OL looks just great. I liked experimenting with plumbots. However, the main reason I rank this this high is the stuff I use all the time in my normal game. Transparent ceilings or, in other worlds, functioning greenhouses without store stuff? Gardening mats for greenhouses that aren't annoying? Actual functioning cafeterias without the need for store stuff? Yes, thank you.
Try to love them. :lol:
5. Ambitions. Ah, the consignment store, the mainstay that keeps my economy flowing. And some careers that suck up all your time and are best reserved for singles. I haven't done all of them, and I'm not sure I ever finished any except ghost hunters and firefighters. Oh, the bugs. I don't care for careers that need you to switch into editing modes, and I'll probably never do those. Simbots are funny, but need some tunings to make them less annoying. Twinbrook grew on me. Yes, the sims there are ugly, but the town is great for stories.
6. Generations. This gives some essential things to do for your kids and teens, and it's sometimes fun to do. Mid-life crises can be fun, too. I like to use some of the pre-made buildings. I sometimes rant about IF's, but I use them all the freaking time. Then again, I look at all the stuff I have switched off with Retuner because it's annoying. That pathetic scolding system, anyone?
Mixed feelings:
7. Late Night. This is hard to rate for me, because I started my journey into The Sims 3 with the Starter Pack (base game, Late Night and High-End Loft Stuff, plus some stuff from the store), so Bridgeport is my personal Sunset Valley. I love the bars and the look of the city. I still love the breath-taking look of it from across the river when you look out of a house there. Still, there are too many bars for too few people, they break after a while, the elevators are annoying and break all the time, NPC's get constantly stuck in the high-rises... Yeah, I see that I mostly rant about the city. The bars are a great addition to any town though, so that's kind of essential. In small doses though.
8. Seasons. Yes, the game may feel somewhat incomplete without them, but I don't think this was that well done. Without Tempest, I'd probably just switch Seasons off, given it's often non-stop thunderstorms for days during spring and autumn. Also, gardening is more or less forced indoors. I have banned deciduous trees from my families' lots. I don't care much for most of the holidays, but leisure day is kind of nice (the one day of the year sims use the pool without being forced). I love the snow in winter though, it's pretty and fun. The festival lots are a good addition.
Don't care
9. Showtime. It's fun to watch once or twice, but I never did a complete career from this expansion. The game is too much in love with these careers. Things are buggy (empty stages, anyone? Proprietors who need to be reset, anyone?). Love the genies, though. I also use one of the beds all the time. Lots of cool clothes. I've never used the world, so the rating may change.
10. Island Paradise. This is one of the unfair votes. Yeah, sorry, but I never used it so far. Maybe I should and get to love it, but that hasn't happened yet.
11. Pets. Ugh. I love pets in real life, but Sims3 pets are particularly needy. I went through raising cats and dogs in-game once and decided I'd never do it again. My sims still have pets sometimes, but the cats must be independent and at least two to keep their socials in check, and I just cheat their traits to something manageable. I mostly use the expansion for minor pets. They are quite fun, and birds are the best thing a witch can have in their pocket (they don't escape and double the speed they learn spells). So yes, I keep this active for my witches.
That's the ranking for today, but really, I could even have put Ambitions on the number 1 spot and Generations on 2. Or rank Late Night higher, when I'm especially in love with the lights of the city. In the end, ranking like that are mostly meaningless and just a glimpse of my current state of mind, but that's the fun thing about it: You can always discover something new every day :smile: .
