The Sims: the game that you either play for 3 days straight, or you never touch it until the other free day comes up.
We were all architects that built crazy complex houses for our Sims that we might all have dreamed of living there ourselves. Our Sims could be anything we wanted them to be, a criminal to a police officer to a daredevil. The Sims, celebrating 18 years, brought us the opportunity to create characters that we can control their lives to lead them to success or completely destroy their future. As a way of celebrating, one of my favorite PC games, I decided to create a list of my favorite Sims games, disclaimer I don't own the Sims 4 therefore there is no review of that game.
Snippet of Sim History
Before the Sims moved to other consoles, The Sims was a PC game created by Will Wright. Released on February 4, 2000, he was inspired to create a game after his house burned down in the "Oakland firestorm," this game was acting as a "virtual doll house." (according to the Giant Bomb website). The Sims then moved on to produce several other expansion packs and other editions.
"The Sims," The Classic
My first "Sims" game was "The Sims- Deluxe Edition", and I still play it to this day. Although it shows Sims with limited advancements (no aging like in the Sims 2) and no traveling outside of town, it is still an enjoyable game to play. It allows players to build somewhat of an elaborate town with different neighbors surrounding your Sims. I prefer "The Sims-Deluxe Edition" over the "Sims FreePlay" (that is available in the App Store) because in the Sims FreePlay you're given a step-by-step tutorial throughout the game that lasts longer than a tutorial in "The Sims-Deluxe Edition". In the "Sims FreePlay" is more advanced, making the Sims less pixelated and more clearer than in "The Sims- Deluxe Edition" where your Sims look more pixelated and almost look like stick figures. "The Sims FreePlay" constrains you to a set story (and constrains you to having to wait until a Sim finishes a task before you assign them a new one), and more goal oriented of the character you make, compared to the "The Sims- Deluxe Edition" where the goals aren't necessarily set but you set them goals.
"The Sims 2,"
The Sims 2 introduced the idea that Sims can age, and have life goals that they want to eventually meet, and dislikes they would hope to avoid. It introduced new technologies and customization for your Sim's home. It might have not introduced pets to the Sims, but it allowed for advancements in customizing your pets in detail (at least for the console The Sims 2 Pets PS4 version) the same way you would customize your Sims. The Sims 2 also included an Apartment Pets Edition where your Sims ran their own pet shop to care for the pets that other Sims bring in.
The Sims 3
Although I don't own a Sims 3 PC version, so I'll only talk about the Nintendo DS version that I played of Sims 3. In Sims 3 (Nintendo DS version) there are more careers and opportunities for the Sims to interact around town. The Sims are able to visit public places and invite friends to join them. The Sims 3 game also includes incorporating pets, but add on to it by adding other animals you can adopt.
SimAnimals
This game allows you to control your own forest and advance to different environments. I enjoy this game for the fact that you take care of the forest and can attract rare creatures. You can befriend these animals, give them names, or make sure they leave your forest.
SimCity
SimsCity is somewhat separate set of Sim-like games also created by Will Wright. I decided to mention them because these games focus on the big picture of the Sims World. Each individual Sims game previously mentioned the focus was on customizing Sims rather than the city. In SimsCity, the idea is that you are the major of your town, you decide where each building is built. Although, I haven't played many SimCity games, the one I did play was SimCity for Nintendo DS that allowed not only a FreePlay of your city, but it also allowed you to build cities in a different time period. This meant that you decided on the time period, and you had to make sure your city survives and the Sims in it stay before you can progress into the next time period.
Anything is possible in a SimsCity or Sims game, and that is part of the excitement. Your Sims can live in a castle or live in a futuristic city. Your Sims can interact with ghosts and genes or at least try to have a normal life. I encourage everyone who loves games where customization is the priority and play any Sims game.
