I Bought All the Sims 3 Expansion Packs

The Sims 3

After getting suckered into buying Seasons on Origin (without realizing it would not load on Steam), I discovered a sale on The Sims 3 expansion packs on Steam later that same week. I only had a couple x-pacs on my Wishlist, so the plan was to purchase those - only those... that plan failed. I wound up buying the entire line of The Sims 3 expansion packs.

I had planned to review them on a case-by-case basis, but that plan also failed, as I purchased several at the same time. The thing about The Sims expansion packs is that they add more than just the theme of the pack. For example, University Life adds colleges, and everything else the name implies, but it also adds new interactions, as well as smart phones with social networking. (At least I think University Life is where that last bit came from.)

I've had Late Night, Ambitions, and Showtime for a few years now, but because of all the computers I've lost, I haven't kept-up with any of my Sims, so I started fresh games. Although I backed them up, I played so much over the holidays that my archives are already out of date. I have enjoyed those x-pacs immensely, although I despised being turned (into a vampire), which happened to two of my Sims. ¹  And while watching your Sim perform a show is fun once, it's repetitive as hell after that.

Seasons adds storms and weather patterns, as well as its namesake - and is a lot of fun in those regards - but the festivals are a bust. Pets is an absolute blast, although the animals generally need more attention than they should. World Adventures, and some aspects of Supernatural, almost make it an entirely new game. It's a great change of pace, but also more difficult to keep up with skills and the like. Into the Future was the last expansion pack I bought, but the only major change I noticed was the addition of Plumbots.

Actually, I just realized that I lied: The reviews for Island Paradise were so bad that I refrained from purchasing that particular x-pac.

There was a thread on the Steam boards, asking which three expansion packs players would suggest (if you could only have three). I am still exploring the new content, but Pets and Supernatural would definitely be on my list.

¹ You can get a potion at the Science Lab to revert your Sim back to Human.

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