I’m just going to come out and say this: I never really “got” the whole Sims phenomenon. I think my problem stems from the fact that playing the first game made me feel like I was bossing around a hamster. All you did was control bodily functions, wash the dishes, and shower. I barely do half of that in the real world. The second game added more personality and better graphics, but there I felt like I was directing a really needy, whiny kid. And who wants to deal with that?
Third time is the charm, though, because I finally had a chance to see The Sims 3 in action, and as a gamer, I think I can get behind what the newest installment offers: quest-like objectives, an open world that grows older with your characters, and actual story progression–a real plotted course for you to follow if you want. Crazy, I know. Those were some of the bits that I missed most in the previous games. Well, I could sit here and break out a bunch of the points for you, but why do that when I can get a Sims team member to do it for me?
Assistant producer Grant Rodiek sat down with me to talk about some of the highlights of The Sims 3. Check out this video and see some of it for yourself before the game launches this June.