Career Rewards in the Sims 3

A huge part of any simmer's game is definitely careers. Careers give a sense of satisfaction and if, of course, one of the best sources to earn Simoleons.
One thing I've noticed is a lack of an available online guide regarding the career rewards (I don't know about you but career rewards are a big thing for me. I mean, hello, unique items that I can't get anywhere else?!) So I've decided to make a compilation of my own. Enjoy!

Base Game Careers
Business--Call meetings and/or set your own work hours.

Master Thief--Fox statue that causes the owner to get a special "I am the best!" moodlet upon viewing it and gives a room boost.

Emperor of Evil--Ride everywhere in a black limo and acquire the Aura of Evil causing sims to flee or be attracted based on their traits

Chef--level 6 food processor, level 10 refrigerator with special moodlet, boost to meal quality, and left-overs never spoil.

Journalist--Tell Intriguing News Story social which causes a large boost to relationships and can be used repeatedly before loosing effectiveness.

Forensics--Level 5 police car; Laptop with first promotion; Level 10 Run Analysis interaction which allows sims to earn money when not at work.

Spy--Level 5 police car; Level 10 Tell Impressive Story interaction which impresses listeners, and Raid Warehouse which can bring cash dividends if successful.

Doctor--level 4 beeper and medical journals, Give Medical Advice; level 5 Give Good Medical Advice and Determine sex of baby for pregnant sims, brag about being a doctor social; level 9 Give Amazing Medical Advice; level 10 play golf tone at work to lower stress level.

Astronaut--salute other soldiers; level 4 other soldiers salute you; level 9 civilians salute you, Show Sim the Jet when touring the base; level 10 Show Sim the Spaceship when touring the base.

Rock Star--level 9 allows the Be Worshiped social; sign autographs to earn money; travel in a limo; no work hours as you choose when to hold concerts.

Hit Movie Composer--level 8 gives free admission to events at the theater;level 9 allows the Be Worshiped social; level 10 earns the best (base game) stereo.

Politician--level 5 Ask for Campaign Donation social, throw Campaign Fundraiser party-type; level 6 Give Inspirational Speech; level 8 black limo drives you everywhere; level 10 Aura of Leadership causing sims to wave resulting in Celebrity moodlet.

Athlete--level 5 play in games, level 10 Sponsorship Deal interaction at businesses to earn money, Autograph Sessions at venues.

Mad Scientists--perform experiments on objects to give them special characteristics (moodlet boosts, better functionality, room enhancements, etc.)
 
Ambitions
Ghost Hunter--level 1 Banshee Banisher for collecting spirits, ability to talk to the dead using new socials; level 10 Spirit Scanner reveals the location of collectible spirits on the map which can be sold or displayed. 

Paranormal Momento, environment 6

Firefighter--level 4 firefighter axe wall decor; level 5 upgradeable fire extinguisher; level 6 fire suit wall decor; level 9 hidden Immune to Fire trait; level 10 special fire alarm and fire engine for home use. 

Golden Fire Hydrant, Environment: 6

Private Investigator--level 1 outfit; level 2 magnifying glass; level 3 door for home office; level 4 fingerprint kit; level 5 outfit; level 6 case board; level 7 sneak; level 8 black sedan; level 10 outfit.

Investigator's keepsake, Environment 6

Architect--level 3 solicit jobs; level 5; tape measure; level 7 homemade objects add extra value to your designs; level 8 discuss renovation social. 

Empirical Building Model, Environment: 6

Stylist--level 1 Discuss Fashion social; level 3 makeover jobs; level 6 Give Fashion Advice social; level 10 Always Stylin' moodlet.

Dazzling Looking Glass

, Environment:6

 
Educator--level 4 improved ability to help with homework; level 6 Give Lecture tone; level 10 Give Great Lecture to provide a moodlet boost to all listeners. 




Inventor- Inventor's accolade.
Inventions may be derived from pre-existing ideas, or perhaps independently conceived to be seen as a radical breakthrough! Inventions often extend the boundaries of knowledge and experience in order to enhance the lives of Sims. As an Inventor your work is never done, but take this Inventor's Accolade as a symbol of what you have accomplished thus far. May it inspire you, and awe your friends.
Make 15 Inventions after becoming a Fourth Dimensional Architect (career level 10)  
 


Late Night
Actor--level 6 get into clubs easier; level 7 Sims Choice Award; level 8 limo for transportation; level 9 Green Orb Award; level 10 Simmy Award, Superstar's Trailer.

Director--level 7 Sims Choice Award; level 8 add the Write Screenplay interaction on the computer; level 9 Green Orb Award; level 10 Simmy Award, Director's Chair.

Superstar trailer that you can rest in/ Woohoo in and the director's chair which you can errr sit in...

Generations
Day Care Provider--all levels provide a new outfit for your sim; level 3 Tell Tale interaction; level 4 Go Play interaction; level 5 (of 5) Admonish interaction, Joys of Children interaction, Daycare Van.

Featured: Custom Content Creator - All About Style

I know there are some simmers out there who are completely against Custom Content (also known as CC). The reason why I feature CCs so heavily on this blog is the variety it offers as well as the fact that I don't have a credit/pay pal account hence no store content. And to be completely honest, the things offered in Stuff packs is pretty limited and they are so pricey! I think Fast Lane would be the last stuff pack I'll purchase.

So back to the Custom Creator I'm featuring today. The link is here http://www.all-about-style.com/sims3.html. So All About Style started out with Sims 2 custom clothing and patterns and has now expanded to include Sims 3 as well.

All About Style

I was looking at photos of dresses and such, mostly because prom is coming up and I just felt like looking at pretty dresses :)

Maybe if my Sim goes to prom, this will be her dress

All About Style is pretty easy to navigate and the clothes are pretty good too. The only downside is that it does use meshes.

So that's a pretty short post from me. Don't worry you'll here from me soon!

PS. I might be posting up a how to install CC post (on a mac though cause that's what I use. Apple FTW!)

Sims 3 Pets Review!

I haven't bought the Sims 3 Pets, so here is a review courtesy of LGR (Lazy Game Reviewer)!.

In my own personal opinion though, from what I see in his review, Sims 3 Pets isn't quite worth the money. The pets seem more like a nuisance. Even in the Sims 2, pets was my least favourite expansion pack, Unleashed is no exception either.

So I don't think I'll be spending my allowance on this. What about you guys?

Featured: Custom Content Creator- Fresh-Prince Creations

I'm finally back after my long hiatus  :) My exams (most of them at least) are over! Rejoice!

I have not been able to play a good game of Sims and hence, I won't be starting my legacy stories anytime soon. So today's post will be on a custom content creator, one whom I shall assume is a male and will be referred to as a he in this post.

Fresh-Prince Creations creates custom content on cars! Check out his website here. So many gorgeous real life cars for your sims! Once you visit his homepage, you'll be welcomed by thumbnails of the world's sexiest cars ever. And there are so many of them!!!

The thing is, as much as I love EA, I always found the Sims franchise lacking in the department of cars. Sadly, Sims 3 is no exception. I do own the Fast Lane Stuff Pack but it's still not enough! And I don't have a credit card/paypal so store content is out of my reach.

Before I continue to ramble on, here are some photos of the custom cars from Fresh-Prince Creations. Trust me, this is only a small part of his wonderful creations and I took so long to select a few to feature here. (credits to: Fresh-Prince Creations).

If you like small cute cars, then you won't be disappointed. These two below are amongst my favourite. In fact, the Mini Cooper is my dream car in the real world (or one of my dream cars). And the Volkswagen Beetle is pretty much a classic!

 If your Sims is a successful businessman/woman, then these two cars should be good enough! The Mercedes Benz S550 is very similar to what my dad drives! Only it's cooler. Haha. Trust me, if you download that car, your sims will be eternally thankful, the legroom is crazy! Of course, the Rolls Royce Phanton is an even bigger, more antique looking and more expensive looking! I've never been in one but it sure looks cool from the outside!

If those two cars aren't flashy enough, how about a red hot Ferrari? It would probably help your Sim impress their date! Perhaps a gigantic Hummer will make heads turn when you cruise down Sunset Valley!

And if all that failed to help your Sims get the attention they crave, then it's time to say hello to 2008 Chrysler 300 C Limo   Yes, a limo! Just imagine how cool you'll look hitting up the hotspots in BridgePort in a limo.

All Sims totally deserve a limo. Or maybe even 2.

It's just too bad that Sims can no longer WooHoo in the car now ;)

Seriously guys! What are you waiting for? Head on to http://www.freshprincecreations.com/ts3vehiclespg.htm and download the cars!

PS.If you've never heard of Fresh-Prince Creations prior to this, you ought to thank me!

Featured: Custom Content Creator - Anubis360

I am supposed to be studying right now
Hello there Simmers!(aka my non-existent readers)

Today I will be doing my first ever "Featured" post on one of my favourite custom content creators. She goes by the screen name Anubis360 and her works can be found on both www.modthesims.com and on her personal website here. Anubis360 is an Argentinian simmer and while I assume she is female as she mostly creates clothing and hairstyles (which are all in my opinion very girly), her/his blogger profile says male. But I shall continue to assume that she is a female, feel free to comment if you know his/her accurate gender below and I will be glad to update this post upon enlightenment.

As previously mentioned, the custom content that Anubis360 creates mostly consist of clothes, as for hair, most of them are converted hairstyles from peggyzone.com (another popular custom content website). And for those of you who until now still do not know what custom content is, it is basically items ranging from clothes to skin tones in Create-A-Sim and furniture to wallpapers in Build and Buy Mode. These custom contents are a great alternative to items on the Sims store which are pretty pricey, especially for unemployed students like myself who don't even have a credit card or paypal account to start with. So custom content basically adds variety to your Sims' lives!

Anubis360's creations include everyday normal clothes that regular people in the real world wear to celebrities' outfits from music videos and appearances etc. You can even make requests for clothing and such on her website!

Here are some photos (Credits: anubis360.blogspot.com)

Here she took one of Lady Gaga's outfits and made one for your Sims. I imagine this would come in handy if you want to make a Sim version of Gaga.

As I mentioned before, she also makes normal everyday clothes. I downloaded these for my own Sims!

Santana, Brittany and Quinn as Sims

And my personal favourite! The cheerleader outfits from Glee! I am a huge fan of Glee and imagine what you could do with these outfits! Make a Sim version of Glee perhaps? Well, sadly Santana, Quinn and Brittany are no longer on the Cheerios :( May be we could still make a Season 1 / beginning of Season 2 recap using Sims 3!

So go check out here website www.anubis360.blogspot.com now! And go wild downloading her beautifully crafted custom content!

PS. Please leave your comments below! Both your kind compliments and constructive criticism are welcomed. At least I'll know that I'm not my only reader :)

Upcoming: Sims 3 Pets

So the next Sims 3 expansion pack will be the Sims 3 Pets. It is coming out this fall, 18th October for North America and 20th October for European Union countries, as for Singapore I'm not too sure.
From the trailer below, we can see that confirmed pets include dogs and cats, this is similar to Sims: Unleashed and Sims 2 Pets. But now your Sims will be able to own a horse and even ride it around town.
Watch the trailer here:

Other new features include the fact that now even your pets have traits! Below are some examples:
Loyal: Loyal pets always have got their owner's back, whether in a fight or in trouble.
Adventurous: Adventurous pets explore from the garbage can to the dark graveyard; these pets are never scared.
Playful: Playful pets enjoy having fun with other animals and Sims. They want to run around, play fetch or chase a laser pointer all day long!
Aggressive: Aggressive pets love to show how tough they are by fighting with other pets and chasing Sims. It's best not to get between an Aggressive Pet and their food!
Patient: Patient pets wait for things longer than other pets such as food, toys & baths. Their urgencies also fall slower.
Piggy: Piggy pets are pets who are messy. This is like the sloppy Sim which means they don't mind their own filth.

Although I'm pretty excited for this expansion pack, I'm not 100% sure I want to spend S$43.99 (the equivalent of US$39.99) on it. With the 4 released expansion packs so far, the ones I'm least satisfied with are the ones that concept wise are similar to previously released expansion packs, such as World Adventures and Late Night. Generations and Ambitions on the other hand have been a refreshing change and completely new playing experience.

From the information EA has provided thus far, Pets seem similar to its predecessors in quite a couple of aspects. Such as your pets getting jobs. But it seems like there is going to be quite a few new funky additions. For example, you can now take in stray pets as well.
So at the end of the day, I suppose we'll have to wait for it to be released before we can actually judge it.

Fellow Simmers, just how excited are you for The Sims 3 Pets?

PS. Please leave your comments below, I'd love you hear feedback from you guys! (And to know that there are actually people reading this and that I'm not just some loser with no life posting to herself :'(  ) I know my blog is rather dead and uninteresting right now, but I will be posting my own stories and legacies once my exams end!

First Post: Review on The Sims 3

Hello there fellow Simmers! As my first post, I thought a good start would be a review on the base game of TS3. Yes, I know it was released over 2 years ago, but it's never too late to influence others to join the cult right?

The Collector's Edition of TS3

I got a Collector's Edition, which came with a bunch of pretty nifty stuff like the plumbob thumbdrive seen above, as well as redeemable items on The Sims 3 store online. Other than that, as I pre-ordered the game, I could attend the Launch event at Iluma to redeem the game. I came in the dress code (which was to wear something green), so I got a free poster. I was also amongst the first 600 simmers there, and that earned me a cool Sims 3 t-shirt!
Moving on to the review now,

"Let there be Sims". This was the phrase plastered on buildings in LA, on double decker buses in Singapore during the course of the highly anticipated wait for the third installment for the game. For the past decade, the Sims franchise has stayed at a prominent spot in the world's top ten best selling PC games - having sold over 100 million copies of the game worldwide. That's a whole lot of Simmers out there. Although it is possible to argue that the majority are females who treat the game as a virtual dollhouse, there's more than that. It's about living a life different from your own, whether you will create your dream family living in a mansion or ruin the lives of Sims and dump them at a trailer park to rummage through rubbish, the possibilities are infinite. In the case of the Sims 3, it is a balance between the fresh and the familiar. Seasoned Simmers will feel like welcomed guests, as for the stranger to Sims, here is a big warm welcome to the family.

In the Sims 3, the Sims still speak the familiar Simlish, some sound effects are recycled, the tunes that accompany the Buy and Build mode are also rather familiar, the hidden jokes in the loading screen have a degree of similarity, and the game play is still about getting a job, getting married, raising a family before moving on to the next generation.

So what is the difference between the Sims 3 and its predecessors?

Now, the game does not simply revolve around a single household, and you no longer have to stare at the loading screen each time your Sims go downtown to shop. This new found freedom allows you to seamlessly move around the neighbourhood. Your Sims can no go anywhere in town in a blink of an eye. Now, with a single click you zoom out into the map mode before zooming back in to your individual Sims again. Perhaps your bookworm Sim could go to the library while your genius Sims challenges his co-workers to a game of chess in the park, and your other Sims - the friendly one, is making new friends at a barbeque party at the beach.

Example of a male Sim I made in Sims 3.

Example of a female Sim I made in Sims 3.

This brings about the next big change. When creating your Sims, you can not only pick 5 different traits for them making Sims more human-like than ever, you can now alter their weight, muscle mass, vary hair colour, eyebrows, eye colour, favourite food, favourite music and the list goes on and on. The newly introduced traits will affect the Sim's life. For example, a kleptomaniac and evil Sim would probably choose the criminal career path, and an outgoing charismatic Sim would make an excellent leader of the world, whereas a family oriented Sim might probably choose to stay at home and raise 6 children.

All these changes really led lifelong fans like me to wonder how we could have possibly enjoyed playing the previous installments.

Although there are numerous hits, there are still misses. Ignoring several bugs in the game which is common amongst EA games; the graphics are not as promising as I thought it would be. Yes, the Sims look more realistic with softer features; and yes, the graphics in the game are more detailed, from the shadows to the book covers as seen from the window display of the bookshop. Yet, the graphics are not revolutionary, neither is there a drastic improvement from Sims 2. Whereas there was obvious start differences between the Sims that suffer from pixelation in the original Maxis made Sims and the 3D lifelike Sims in Sims 2. Although the graphics are pretty amazing, it was still disappointing that the makers did not push the bounderies even further.

There are also noticeable holes that previous Sims expansions have filled, such as pets to own, seasons and different weather, casting magical spells, and opening your own business. However, I dare bet that the creators are simply waiting to release Sims 3 expansion packs and earn more Simoleons (§). Other than that, the performance of the game play is smooth and almost never sluggish.

The Sims 3 is more than simply a better playing Sims experience, it is impeccable. It never fails to deliver the trademark Maxis humour and is highly entertaining at all times. Although there is still some room for more innovation and growth, it will not fail to deliver the winning formula.

Overall rating - 9.0
Even without online content, there is enough in the game to get you hooked. Keeping your Sims happy is now highly entertaining rather that irritating. This re-incarnation receives a 2 thumbs up!

PS. If you haven't gotten it yet, now is a great time to get it as prices have fallen and there are really good deals available now like the Sims 3 Deluxe which includes the Base Game and the Ambitions expansion pack. So what are you waiting for?