Archive for June 2010

As with The Sims 3, World Adventures and Design & High-Tech Stuff (High-End Loft Stuff), Apple has posted a feature about The Sims 3 Ambitions:

What do your Sims do while they’re at work all day? Previously, you could only choose a career and make a few basic decisions to nudge their jobs in certain directions, but now with the Sims 3 expansion pack Ambitions, you can follow your Sims as they fight fires, hunt ghosts, investigate mysteries, and more.

 > “The Sims 3: Ambitions: What Do You Want to Do With Your Life?” at Apple

Just the one The Sims 3 Ambitions review again tonight, giving a pretty good score – GameSpot rated it 8.0 out of 10, a score described as “great”:

The Sims 3: Ambitions isn’t an outwardly dramatic addition to the Sims universe, and technical problems could potentially get in the way of your fun. Yet this is a thoughtful and delightful expansion, full of wit and character, and it gives you even more control over your sims’ daily lives.

 > The Sims 3 Ambitions review at GameSpot

The Metascore has gone up slightly to 76, based on eight reviews, as has The Ranking at GameRankings which is now 79.17%, based on three reviews.
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions at Metacritic
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions at GameRankings

Just one The Sims 3 Ambitions review tonight (though that’s still more than the previous nights) - Teletext GameCentral rated it six out of 10:

The new professions are a fun idea but there aren’t enough of them to justify the high asking price.

 > The Sims 3 Ambitions review at Teletext GameCentral

The Metascore has gone down a little to 75, based on six reviews, but The Ranking at GameRankings remains the same at 78.75%, based on two reviews.
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions at Metacritic
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions at GameRankings

EA released another two The Sims 3 Ambitions screenshots recently, one showing a man riding a motorcycle over away from an explosion, and the other showing robots seemingly causing havoc:

 > View them full size over on the Screenshots tab

Digital Spy has posted an interview with (who else?) associate producer Grant Rodiek about The Sims 3 Ambitions:

Can you tell us about the new careers available in Ambitions?
“We have a wide variety of careers – we have firefighter, ghost hunter, architectural designer, stylist, doctor – which is something we modified from the base game, so there’s the traditional one and now a hybrid, allowing you to do stuff around the world – and private investigator.”

 > “Grant Rodiek (‘The Sims 3: Ambitions’)” at Digital Spy

Also, Game Blend has posted the second in its series of first impressions articles:

Twinbrook is a big town, that’s been flooded in areas, leaving some parts marshy and overgrown while other parts are cozily developed.

I might have expected something a bit more urban given the big “career” theme of the EP but Twinbrook’s a nice town, filled with clusters of residential areas, quiet fishing spots and community lots for Sims to gather.

The article contains a lot of new screenshots again, some of which I’ve added to the Screenshots tab.
 > “Sims 3 Ambitions First Impressions: Simbots, Firefights And Architecture” at Game Blend
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions screenshots

Thought now The Sims 3 Ambitions has been released we’d seen the last interview with producer Grant Rodiek? Well you thought wrong because GamerZines has recently released one in two parts:

GamerZines: What will make Sims fans want to pony up the dough for this expansion?

Grant Rodiek: Ambitions is all about new careers and now it’s all about making choices and watching your Sims all day long. For example with the firefighter, you go to the station, you build up your equipment and then the fire comes. There’re big fires and small fires where you’re having to break down doors and try to figure out who to save first in tough situations.

As well as Ambitions, they discuss DRM in the first part, and The Sims 3 Store, The Sims 3 on consoles and sports in The Sims universe in the second part.
 > “The Sims 3: Ambitions – Interview Part 1″ at GamerZines
 > “The Sims 3: Ambitions Interview – Part Two” at GamerZines

In other related news, Game Blend has posted the first in their series of first impressions articles of the expansion:

In addition to some fun new objects, including lighting fixtures, decorative items and other furniture, Ambitions also has a fireman’s pole, which works great for lofts. Just remember to put a staircase in as Sims can slide down the pole but there’s no way to scoot back up it!

The article contains lots of screenshots.
 > “Sims 3 Ambitions First Impressions: New Toys And New Catastrophes” at Game Blend

The first The Sims 3 Ambitions reviews are in, so it’s time to start my mostly-daily series of Latest Ambitions Reviews posts. As usual, I’ll post one new reviews summary every day that I become aware of a new review – if you want to know about new reviews almost as soon as I do, you can watch the Updates page or the new The Sims 3 Ambitions Reviews tab directly instead, as I’ll post new reviews there as soon as I’ve read them.
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions reviews

So, tonight I’ve got three reviews giving scores ranging from okay to good.

Game Informer rated it 7.75 out of 10:

Are a handful of new toys and a few jobs you’ll get tired of really worth $40? I’m not sure there is enough content here to appease all but the most diehard Sims fans. After what I thought was a pretty good add-on in World Adventures, this second Sims 3 expansion just feels uninspired and lacking.

 > The Sims 3 Ambitions review at Game Informer

guardian.co.uk gave it three stars out of five:

Although Sims 3 never managed the global domination of its predecessors, there’s still no other game quite like it and this expansion adds just enough to the original formula to make it well worth a look.

 > The Sims 3 Ambitions review at guardian.co.uk

 And IGN rated it an “Impressive” 8.0 out of 10:

When so many Sims expansions have seemed relatively inconsequential, Ambitions stands out for how substantially it alters a key component of the game. The new profession system will doubtless keep Sims 3 fans busy for many more hours, and the other additions included will also give players plenty of new stories to tell for Sims both new and old.

 > The Sims 3 Ambitions review at IGN

The Metascore from Metacritic currently stands at 77, based on four reviews, and described as “Generally favorable reviews”, while The Ranking from GameRankings is currently 78.75%, based on just two reviews.
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions at Metacritic
 > The Sims 3 Ambitions at GameRankings