Sims 3: Late Night

[lebeau]

I picked up Late Night after work yesterday and played a couple hours after the kids went to bed. (So sleepy.) Here's some initial reactions based on just a couple hours of play.

First, let me say that my expectations were sky-high. I was pleasantly surprised by WA because my expectations were so low and slightly disappointed with Ambitions because my expectations were too high. On this one, my expectations were through the roof because it had so many features that interested me.

Anyway, here goes:

Apartments - Apartments were the first change I encountered outside of character creation (more on that in a bit). By and large, I liked the apartments. However, I did encounter a few odd things. Especially when I'd invite guests over. After I buzzed them in, they would sometimes disappear into the building. Once or twice, they would show up at my apartment after I had given up looking for them. Also, the elevator ride adds some time to your commute! But you have to love the shared hallways and having neighbors you can just pop in on.

Celebrity - I have always wanted to play a Sims celebrity (for reasons I won't go into, I never got Superstar for Sims 1) so this feature really intrigued me. I have to say, I really like the way they set this up. It feels like you are gaining access to exclusive social circles. If anything, I think it may be a little too easy. My sim was well on his way to his third celeb point after just 2 hours of play. Of course, he had Star Quality as a trait and worked at the film studio where he met celebs pretty easily. Maybe it's harder for other characters.

Paparazi - I have yet to see the downside of the paparzi yet. I haven't done anything inappropriate, so they still love me. So far, it's cool having them follow me around at take pics. It does add to that celebrity feel. I kind of look forward to screwing up and seeing what happens.

Vampires - I've never been a big fan of the supernatural characters in the Sims. I enjoyed ghosts and mummies in Sims 3 though. And vamps are more my style. So while this wasn't a huge selling point for me, it's the supernatural character type I was most interested in. I haven't sought out vamp content yet. But I've crossed paths with a lot of vampires! I was surprised how many I saw without actively looking for them. I expected them to be somewhat hard to find. When I first got the "hunted" moodlet, I chuckled. I look forward to exploring this more once I've established myself as a celeb and a successful director.

Nightclubs - I usually concentrate on career first. But I had to check out some of the nightclubs. Of the 4 I tried to get into, I could successfully get into 2. Of course, I tried the most upscale first by mistake and worked my way down. In the club that was open to everyone, I did get a discount on my onion rings due to my celeb status! The clubs were a lot of fun. Love the smoke and lasers while I was dancing with celebs.

New skins - This was actually the first change I encountered during character creation. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about them. It was nice to be able to give my sim a bit of the 6-pack I'll never have. But the extreme end of the spectrum was kind of silly looking. And the women! Walking around Bridgeport was a little like being on the set of a Russ Meyer movie.

Parties - This was unexpected! I got invited to parties thrown by NPCs. I'm not sure how much it added to the game, but it was pretty darn cool.

I'm still working out the complexities of the new social networks, but on the whole I was satisfied. I wasn't quite yet bowled over. Since I'm playing a new character, I'm still doing a lot of the stuff I would do in any Sims game and haven't yet had a chance to dive deep into the new features. But what I've gotten to see, I have liked.

Hopefully, I can play again tonight and come back with day 2 reactions.