The Sims 3: Late Night Review

01 Dec 2010 at 03:03:42 by Tim McDonald
Systems used to review this title: (PC)

You know those God-awful internet personality tests? The ones that tell you which Harry Potter house you'd be in, or which superhero you are? Let's do a quick, one question version of them. If I tell you that The Sims 3: Late Night adds in elevators, how do you respond?

If you're the sort of chap or chap-ess who wonders why Late Night is even getting words written about it, then Sims expansions probably aren't for you. If you're curious as to why I'm talking about elevators in the opening paragraphs, rather than vampires or celebrities – two other things this expansion pack adds – then this might well be an expansion pack for you, so stick around. Finally, if your response was to excitedly plan where you can slot an elevator into your existing house, and how it'll be placed behind a secret door and will lead down to your mad scientist's lab, then you're clearly a Sims fan, and... well, you may actually in for a bit of a disappointment.

See, the one thing that needs to be made clear about Late Night is that this isn't an expansion pack that slots neatly into your regular Sims game. New bits and pieces like elevators and pianos can be dropped into your existing games, certainly, but if you want to experience everything Late Night has to offer, you're either going to have to spend hours editing your town to put everything in, or you'll have to bite the bullet and either move your family to Late Night's towering metropolis of Bridgeport - losing your relationships and the like in the process - or create a family anew, geared towards the new content.

If you're willing to embrace the new features that Late Night has to offer, though, you're going to find a rather new experience. There's sufficient content in Bridgeport that, if you pick a career in film, aim at raising your celebrity status, and spend your nights out on the town, you're unlikely to repeat too much previous content.

Bridgeport is geared around celebrity: as The Sims' analogue to Hollywood, being Someone is important. If you wander the streets or go shopping, your Sims will doubtless bump into celebrities and try taking photos on their cellphones or getting autographs, and they'll certainly want to impress and befriend them - no mean feat, as the more famous a celebrity is, the more wealth/status/skill you're going to need before they'll pay attention. If you go out on the town at night, you'll find VIP sections of clubs barred to you unless you're famous enough. Celebrities get access to these areas, but that's not all: they get discounts; they get happy moodlets from being recognised; they get free stuff; they get invited to celebrity parties. In Bridgeport, being famous is the be-all and end-all.

Chances are good your Sims will want to get in on the action. As your own star status rises - whether from being seen accompanying more famous celebs out on the town, or from work and celebrity challenges - you'll get these discounts, freebies, and recognition. But fame is a double-edged sword, and any public indiscretions will lead to you becoming a pariah... until you sue the tabloids and get things straightened out, at least. It's a system that works well, and actually requires you to play a little differently. Becoming famous takes effort, no matter what line of work you're in.

All ...

Comment