published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 18, 2009
Hi, my name is Fifi Blue. I live in Sunset Valley, in a small two-bedroom bungalow next to my friends. I moved to this town not too long ago with $16,000 in my pocket. I bought the furnished house, got settled in, met my neighbors, got a job at the local theatre and I haven’t looked back since. Now I’m a rock star, married to my dream man, I own several businesses and am about to buy a sweet piece of property near the beach.
Hi, my name is Felice and I’m a Sims addict.
I got my copy as a present from my boyfriend and I bet he regretted purchasing the copy for me as soon the start screen loaded. The moment I installed the game, the real world seemed to drift far, far away. All of a sudden I had the vast power to create and control everything from the way I looked to the way my Sims acted. My Sim version was taller and she had prettier hair and she could wear knee-high boots without looking like a hooker. My boyfriend has a six pack, wears a suit every day, washes the dishes without being told to do so, and is a CEO of a mega-corporation.
When playing the Sims, you have an option to input cheats that would make your Sim life much easier. You can input a cheat that would add a $$1000 Simoleons (the Sims currency) or $$50,000 to your household funds. With this money you can buy the flashiest cars or build your own mansion or hire a maid and fire them just for fun. Having hundreds of thousands of Simoleons means that you don’t really have to work. You can just stay in bed until noon, go to the spa or watch concerts and go to art museums all day. But where’s the fun in that?
Your Sims are given a certain amount of money at the start of the game in order for you to buy a house or lot (if you prefer building your own). The more Sims you have in your household, the bigger the amount you get. Since I started out as a single Sim, I only got $$16,000. That was enough for me to buy a small furnished house to begin my game. In my opinion, if you’re going to start a new game without the money cheat, you would be better off buying a ready-made house than start building from scratch because it’s going to cost you more. True, the houses that you can buy with that amount of money are pretty ugly but you can always just save your precious Simoleons for a bigger and better house later in the game.
There are several new features in the game than previous Sims games. In the earlier installations, your Sims is pretty much limited to a life at home. Even when they would go to school or work, a vehicle would just pull over in front of your house, pick up your Sim then drop them off back to your home after a few hours (in Simian time). In Sims 3, there is a whole neighborhood for you to explore. You can go to the park and have a picnic or play a game of chess with your friends or complete strangers. You can go to the library and read whatever you please or maybe visit the stadium and watch a game. The only drawback to this is that for some of the buildings that you visit (e.g. the theatre, bistro, book store), you can’t really explore what’s inside. Once your Sims enters some of the establishments, they would just disappear inside the building and you would have to wait until they are done with their activities.
Another new feature is the ability to choose your destiny. When you first create your Sim, you are asked to pick a Lifetime Wish for your character. It is up to you whether to pursue your dream or not. When you do, you are given points that can be used to purchase Lifetime Rewards like the ability to have a Steel Bladder (if you’re a Sim player, you know how big of a deal this is) which makes you immune to ever going to the toilet. There are also a few small wishes that pop up regularly that your Sims can fulfill so that your points go up. Sometimes your Sim can wish for apple pancakes or maybe she just wants to be “amorously hugged” by her husband. If you make their wish come true, they will be in a better mood and their Lifetime Reward points increase.
The Lifetime Wish for my Sim is to become a rock star. After less than a week of playing the game, I fulfilled my dream. It took me hours and hours to perfect my guitar playing skills and many stressful days at work to get where I am. I had to suck up to my boss, work as a roadie, and even pick up the band’s dry cleaning! But all the hard work eventually paid off. Now I’m free to work at my own schedule. I can perform concerts at whichever time or day I please, I can play for tips at public places, and even get paid to hold autograph sessions. But just because you were able to fulfill your lifetime wish, doesn’t mean that the game is over. There are still so many things you can do with your Sims. You can maybe get married and start a family. Or maybe you want to switch to another career. Right now I am investing my money in several businesses. I currently own a book store, a bistro, a diner, and a grocery. I am part owner of the stadium, the business center, and the science facility. Next up for me is to probably build that house I’ve always wanted -- a lavish two-storey wood and glass structure with giant LCD TVs that adorns every room, a fireplace, a pool, and a library. And just to prove how serious I am about my gaming, I even made a floor plan for my future house.
From the looks of it, Electronic Arts has created the perfect vice for all the escapists in the world. But if you think about it, the Sims is a lot like real life. You have to work hard to be successful, relationships have to be nourished, and you get stinky after not showering for a couple of days. The only difference? Real life is much better.
