The Sims 3

I will admit something some would find embarrassing – I play The Sims. I pre-ordered the collector’s edition of The Sims 3, and waited for it in fevered anticipation, howling in horror when its release was delayed and dancing in delight when its release was imminent. I am not ashamed of my status, as I still feel The Sims is the best gaming concept ever delivered, and quite simply, the numbers don’t lie. It’s the highest selling video game of all time. Enough said.

However, there are still a huge number of gamers who despise the game, and everything it represents, because they simply don’t see the point. An open-ended game with no bosses, score or missions, with a large part of every Sim day revolving around sleeping, does not leave much room for fun in the eyes of many hardcore gamers. The same gamers who find joy in repeatedly pointing and clicking their mouse on enemies that hugely outnumber them in first person shooters in the same rehashed concept since Wolfenstein came out.

I don’t argue with those guys, because they have no taste and no sophistication. The Sims series offers huge possibilities that millions enjoy, and I won’t promote its cause because it simply does not need promotion. I will note that there are different types of Sims players, each enjoying different things. Some players love making their “Simselves” and love living out lives for their Simselves that they could never do in real life. Some build massive, rambling, architecturally awesome houses. Some create multiple Sims and drop them in a house, delighting in the chaos as they wield destruction, chaos and madness with their mouse pointer. Others still make movie machinima with actors designed to fit the movie.

I am a humble mixture, though I don’t (always) delight in the chaos and I don’t make machinima. I enjoy designing houses, and making Sims. Prior to TS3, making Sims was only limited fun. Now, it is hugely satisfying, and the effects are notable. My review on the game follows, as promised.

The build up to the game was long. I knew it was coming, but deliberately held off doing too much reading up on it other than watching the first ad. The concept was something Simmers had been looking for since the first game’s release: freedom to move in an open world. The Sims 3 provided that freedom, along with some interesting changes, notably the create-a-pattern design abilities, and the personality trait AI system. I won’t go into too much detail (there is plenty out there on the web) but I’ll write up my findings and experiences.

The first thing I noticed after installing TS3 was the music. True to Sims games before, the familiar music is there upon loading (credits to reticulating splines, ever-present), but it has been updated and improved to give the feeling that you are descending into a computerized sitcom in a pleasant neighbourhood, rather than a silly game. In short, the music is more real and more awesome.

The next thing is the graphics. I’ve heard people complain that they aren’t that much of a step up, but they are. No questions. Everything is better. The Sims do tend to look alike at first, but the general feeling of “all my Sims look the same” is rubbish. The tools are available to make many different creations.

The personality traits works as promised, with each Sim being unique (and, as always, humorous in all its permutations) and reacting to situations differently, and having different interactions open to them. It’s a nice touch to see insane Sims talking to themselves, handy Sims idling by juggling a wrench, and evil Sims giggling mischievously to themselves. It brings their personalities home – they are “real” beings with definite wants, needs and feelings. An example, I had the joy of creating an absent minded and insane Sim. I sent him off to work, and when I happened to check on his progress at work for the day, found the warning that he was missing work. Centring my screen on him, I found that he had absent mindedly forgotten to go to work, and was instead talking to himself outside the theatre like a madman. Fascinating stuff.

The next thing I noticed was the added details. Little things, like how a Sim will kick at a cheap fridge’s broken door, or repeatedly try to flush a crappy toilet’s broken chain (yes, pun intended). The attention to details is magnificent, with many features quicker and easier. Over time, one tends to forget these little things, but I can guarantee that they will be instantly noticed upon returning to inferior Sims 2 games.

The create-a-pattern feature is ingenious. At first, I found the possibility of redesigning my entire house a little overwhelming (side note: houses can be bought furnished, which saves a lot of buying for those who don’t enjoy it as much). But once I had used the design features a couple of times, and realized how easy it is to get exactly what you want for absolutely everything, I was hooked. I have recoloured every object in my house, made multiple designs for random items of furniture, and for different styles of clothing and hair. It’s a fantastically fun feature to use, and people will enjoy it immensely.

The upgraded skills implementation has meant that rather than painting to increase a creativity skill that will allow you to play piano well, you have a painting skill, and a guitar skill (no pianos) and a writing skill. The skills work the same for others. Additionally, each skill (and career, by extension) will require you to send your Sim into the world to find items, either books, seeds, rocks or creatures, or to learn recipes, baits for fish, or even just to meet people (alive and dead).

The routing of Sims is a bit patchy, Sims still can’t handle a Sim in their way, and stand for several minutes or hours waiting until the way is clear, but while it is frustrating it doesn’t take too much away from the game as a whole. In general, the game will keep avid Simmers happy and enthralled; it will give more design power to less technical players, and will be a happy medium for those who had limited interest in the game. It is a huge step forward for the series, and I am loving it completely. I think it’s safe to say that Will Wright having left Maxis is not a detriment to the franchise in anyway. Well done to their teams, and thanks to them, if anyone is looking for me, they can find me here, playing The Sims 3.

Star Trek

I saw the preview for Star Trek while waiting for a Clive Owen movie to start, The International. The International was a pile of steaming dog turd, but the preview for Star Trek hinted at something far more exciting and watchable. I never mentioned my suspicions to anyone, for fear of being poked with a stick while onlookers mumbled the dirty "Trekkie" word in my direction. I let the thoughts of interest slide, and ignored any urges to investigate further.

Then, I saw that the movie was out in South Africa. I could go watch it. I told my girlfriend, and told her sister, and said "let's go see what's showing", knowing fully well that I would use my manly beard to influence their decision, and that we would go watch Star Trek. I watched it. My suspicions were confirmed in 126 minutes of sheer awesomeness - Star Trek is the greatest movie of all time, ever. There, I said it. I'm not ashamed.

You disagree? Have you watched it? If yes, and you still disagree, then shut up and go read someone else's blog (right after clicking a money making advert link, that is). If not, then reserve judgement until you have seen it, and until it has blown your mind hole. If you are one of those "Trekkies" and your complaints are about the inaccuracies surrounding the film, then I give you two statements:

1. It is the year 2009. Things change (and get better). Deal with it.
2. Shut up and go read a fellow Trekkie's blog.

For the rest of you, who are going to continue reading this post, I give you my mind-hole-blown thoughts on the movie, and why it has me reeling in childish giddy-excitement every time I think of it.

Firstly, I'll start by saying that the recent launch and success of the STS-125 Shuttle Atlantis repair mission played a huge part in my interest in the film - not in my interest to actually go and watch the film, but in the reignition of my interest in space in general. Twitter played a large role in that too, so you could say that twitter made me love Star Trek - a terrible crime if there ever was one! But back to point - the updates from Mike Massimino and NASA got my interest back and I did plenty of reading up on space, and planets, and the shuttle and Hubble and theory around faster-than-light-travel and all things included therein.

My next point regarding the movie is a standard thought I've had for the last few films I've watched (particularly new Hollywood movies) - the movies assume I am stupid and need absolutely everything explained to me, for fear I won't grasp the mind-numbing plot and won't spend my well earned cash on the brand. Well, Star Trek does a good job of avoiding the mistake of filling in every possible detail of certain themes - it skips large chunks of our protagonist's life without missing anything; we are well aware of what makes up his character by the time the story begins in earnest.

Our main protagonist was well cast (James T. Kirk, for those of you who have been living in a cave for the last 40 years), I felt - the girls will certainly love him, and he has that Hollywood "cowboy" manner that is common in movies like Top Gun; an easily likeable, but also troubled, character. The rest of the cast is also well done, easily recognisable for the fans, and fresh and updated so that the popular youth who have never watched Star Trek will be interested. Spock is a fantastic portrayal as well, so hats off to the casting crew for picking him.

The storyline itself is pretty cool, it's not dull and is not too obvious, and it gets away from any need to stick to Star Trek guidelines by throwing in some time travel and alternate universe theories - always a good bet. There are the typical cliches that one needs in order to keep with the Star Trek franchise, and I'm happy to say they're well done and not boring or unrealistic. The amount of times the young Jim Kirk gets the crap beaten out of him combined with the number of times he finds himself clinging to a cliff or ledge by his fingertips is a typical Hollywood move, but it makes for an entertaining, action packed watch in any case.

The visuals are awesome, and the sound is great too - in a surround sound cinema the loud sounds of space travel and fist fights set the mood for a great watch - I found myself on the edge of my seat, jaw hanging, utterly absorbed in the action for large parts of the film. The awe of space and space travel, new planets and things like Space Tethers and free-fall space diving made for a totally believable, absorbing, action packed, nail biting movie. There have been few movies that have kept me so engrossed that I barely touch my popcorn-smartie mix, and Star Trek was one of them.

It may not have the level of character development and thought provoking plot twists that critics need, but any seven year old boy watching this will be running around on flying motorbikes, dodging the event horizon of black holes made by red matter, and greeting their friends with the "live long and prosper" sign for much time to come. I felt like a seven year old kid watching Star Trek, and I insist that you won't find a more entertaining movie anywhere for a long time.

Watch this movie - resistance is futile.