The Sims 3: World Adventures

Players create their Sims and control them throughout their lives. Players are able to manage various aspects of a sim's life including careers, skills, and relationships. The gameplay of World Adventures remains largely unchanged from the original.

World Adventures expands on The Sims 3 by allowing players to take Sims to simulated locations of Egypt, France, and China. Sims are able to engage in cultural activities depending on the location. In Egypt, sims can visit pyramids and take up snake-charming; in China, Sims are able to launch fireworks as well as take up martial arts, and in France, Sims can engage in nectar making. The amount of time a sim is able to stay in a location is dependent on a visa level. This level is increased by going on various adventures.[3]

The main gameplay of World Adventures revolves around the ability to go on various quests known as adventures. An adventure consists of various goals linked together in a story line. Typical goals include exploring various tombs, finding valuables and socializing with other Sims. When exploring tombs, Sims must navigate various obstacles to unlock different rooms. Initially, the entire tomb is hidden in a fog-of-war that disappears as the Sim enters each room. Tombs hold several puzzle solving elements such as traps, dive holes and floor switches.[3]

In addition, the expansion pack includes a complex tomb-building element that can be accessed using the game's debug tools. Players are able to add gameplay-specific objects to their tombs as well as set various cause-effect mechanisms.[3]

World Adventures adds three skills that provide new goals and challenges to players. The martial arts skill is initially increased by practicing with training dummies. Once a skill threshold is reached Sims can break wood and other objects placed over two blocks. Sims are able to engage in tournaments to increase their ranking. A Sim's skill level is represented visually by various belts that a Sim wears on their uniform.[3]

The nectar-making skill is increased by squishing various fruits into a nectar maker. The quality of the nectar is based on the quality of the individual fruits as well the state of the nectar maker. The value of the nectar can be increased by allowing the bottles to age in a nectar cellar.[3]

The photography skill is based on taking photographs with a handheld camera. Photos are taken using a first-person viewpoint. The game can detect the subject of a photograph. The game provides goals to the player in the form of lists of subjects for the sim to photograph. In addition, players can choose various styles such as panorama and sepia.[3]

The creature that features on the game's cover art is a mummy, which have several abilities, such as not having to go to sleep. They may also be encountered in tombs, where the player can be cursed.[3]

There is also a new basement tool, which can be used to make proper basements without having to go through all sorts of fiddly ground operations. These basements can have four levels underground, in addition to the five above.[3]

The Sims 3: World Adventures was first announced on August 3, 2009.[5] An expansion pack for The Sims 3 was seen as inevitable given the number produced for both The Sims and The Sims 2.[6] In particular, the themes of pets, downtown areas, and vacations carried over in both games leading some people to guess that they would be included in future expansion packs. On November 2, 2009, it was announced that the expansion pack had gone gold.[7]

During an interview, producer Lyndsay Pearson said that real-world locations were a draw for their players and that users had been creating famous buildings on the exchange. The expansion pack represented an extension of that desire. She also stated that innovations present in the expansion pack could not have been achieved before.[8]

It has been announced that exclusive online content would be made available on The Sims 3 Store when the expansion pack is released. This is seen as creating extra incentives for the players to buy the game. Lyndsay Pearson also stated that when creating the expansion pack that they are adding content that could not be sent through the Store.[8] USD$10 (£6) worth of credit have also been offered for people that buy the expansion pack.[5]

In addition, mobile versions have been released for iOS and cell phones.[5]

Early reception for this expansion pack was largely positive. GamePro argued the expansion pack's only bad feature was being able to make players lose several hours in the addictive gameplay.[15] IGN's Steve Butts criticized the adventure-based gameplay and the difficulty of having family vacations, however, he concluded, "I hope World Adventures sets the pattern for future Sims expansions."[18]

World Adventures was listed as seventh in a list of the top ten selling PC games (expansion pack) of 2009, according to NPD sales charts. The Sims 3 was listed as the highest selling game of 2009.[19]

• Official website