The Sims 2 Vs. The Sims 3

[Salomon]

What is the current verdict about which game is better, after TS3 has finally amassed several expansion packs?

I currently need to reinstall, and would like to know whether going for TS2 and all its expansions (never played Apartment Life) or TS3 and all its expansions, would be the best choice.

[M.M.A.A.]

(never played Apartment Life)

if you are saying that youll try it for the first time, then i suggest that you do because it adds alot of different aspects to the game. even you dont have it, then id still recommend sims 2 

[witch]

Oh FFS, it depends on what sort of game you like to play.

If you are saying that you'll try it for the first time, then I suggest that you do because it adds a lot of different aspects to the game. Even you don't have it, then I'd still recommend sims 2.

Which tells the OP precisely nothing except your own preference. You write worse than an ESL. I hope like fuck English is not your first language, because if it is, you are a moron.

[J. M. Pescado]

What is the current verdict about which game is better, after TS3 has finally amassed several expansion packs?

Sims 3 is better as a "game", Sims 2 remains better as a story tool. If you tend to play one fambly in a quasi-Legacy manner, and pay little attention to the "outside world", then Sims 3 is more tailored for this out of the box. If you want to control a small number of famblies on a somewhat more macro-level than worrying about the tiny minutiae, and would like the rest of the neighborhood to do its thing, Sims3 + AwesomeMod works well for this. If you are an absolute fascist and want absolutely nothing to even so much as move without your approval, though, stick with TS2. While AwesomeMod makes it practical to play multiple famblies simultaneously without completely losing control of the entire system, they won't completely freeze in place and do absolutely nothing while you're elsewhere, either. As a player, you can be a lot more fascist about stuff in TS2.

[icantbebothered]

I actually have all 3 Sims games on my computer and takes turns at playing them.  My favourite game of all time is Sims 1 Makin' Magic.  I love the weather in Sims 2 but at the moment in Sims 3 have no particular favourite.

[Salomon]

Gracias mi Presidente, what I do is shuffle-rotating all the families in the game (with a hack so that, say, people in Veronaville can interact with people in Pleasant View, or elsewhere), while I insert new families now and then, so it's evident to the fascist in me that The Sims 2 is the only option for this (I play it because it's a toy and not a game, anyway).

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End post.

PS - That makes me happy since I already have all the ISOs ready with the exception of AL while I have nothing TS3 related, and I won't have to worry about the puddings' look.

[Jeebus]

TBH, puddings now look substantially better than TS2 sims.

[Salomon]

TBH, puddings now look substantially better than TS2 sims.

Hmmm... *goes to check at Google Images*




I still like TS2 sims better (after applying mesh replacements, eye replacements, etc., of course.) What's up with that expression on their face? It's as if they ate spoiled food but don't want to hurt the cook's feelings so they fake a smile.

[J. M. Pescado]

Google images shows stock Pudding with stock content. When CC is applied, the distinction sort of vanishes. And it's not as if TS2 sims didn't make their own share of really stupid expressions.

[keirra]

I have to agree with the FOJ. I like the Sims 3 better. It is the future IMHO.

[jezzer]

Sims 3 is animated much more fluidly.  Whenever Sims 2 sims make faces, it looks like someone working the parts on a ventriloquist's dummy, and they mug and grimace ALL.  THE.  TIME.  The "first woohoo" cutscene is enough to give you nightmares for life.  Go over to MTS and look at the custom sims people have uploaded.  TS3 Sims look so much better now than TS2.

[J. M. Pescado]

I have to disagree with "animated fluidly". In TS2, sims running from point A to point B smoothly ran from point A to point B, up the stairs, down the stairs, through doors, around corners, etc. In TS3, they run with this kind of odd waddle like they've just shit their pants and are trying not to smear it around too much, and they pass through stairs and doorways often in this kind of odd stop-start jerkiness. Social animations are decidely standoffish and stiff, with noticeable pauses for no apparent reason, as if they were the acting version of William Shatner's speaking. All in all, animation is not one of the improvements TS3 exhibits over TS2. They LOOK better, yes. But they do not move better.

[Jeebus]

Sims in TS3 handle like large battlecruisers.

[jezzer]

I meant facial animations, Pescado.  TS2 sims' faces have much more visible distortion of the features.

[Dark Trepie]

If you enjoy games that crash a lot for no apparent reason then TS3 is for you.  Playing this game is like holding a bottle of nitroglycerine while in the middle of a large crowd.  Eventually someone is going to bump into you.  And no one will be happy with the results.

Also, TS2 runs about a million times better and faster.

[J. M. Pescado]

I can't help but notice the crashing is a problem which primarily afflicts people who are not me.

[Jeebus]

TS3 runs OK if you have a good computer and plenty of RAM.

[jezzer]

I've not had TS3 crash in a very, very long time.

[Dark Trepie]

Does "Yew need moar RAMZ" apply when you already have seven gigs of it?  How much more do I need?

[Jeebus]

If you've already got 7 GB, you don't need any more.

[keirra]

I was playing Sims 3 on a laptop. I had slow game play and random crashes. Now that I have a shiny new computer, the game runs beautifully (I didn't know the water actually MOVED!) without a single crash.

[MistyBlue]

The crashing happens on x64 machines with lots of RAM. It's easily solved by making an exception for the game in the DEP. I play on a laptop and haven't had any problem with TS3. Though TS2 has never crashed, it does make my fan run constantly. And the differences are subjective. I don't like TS3 very much. I prefer the quirkiness of TS2, but the lack of open neighborhood sucks. I tend to switch back and forth often.

[Salomon]

I have to agree with the FOJ. I like the Sims 3 better. It is the future IMHO.

Do you think that in the future someone will do something so that TS3 allows players to have the same level of control on families that TS2 has? (So that, say, I can rotate all the families in the game and introduce a new family per week without the game deciding I can't haz my fascism.)

Because otherwise it seems I'll be stuck with TS2 for a long while or forever (if TS4 and others just go downhill in this regard).

(Not that it's a big issue, considering sticking with old versions of software because the new versions don't satisfy my needs is more the norm than the exception around here.)

[Neowulf]

I don't think it's possible to have both the open neighbourhood of TS3 with the control of TS2. It is somewhat doable to cycle through a few famblies, but while you're watching one, all the others are doing their own thing in real time. Awesomemod allows more control, but does not replicate the isolation of one family at a time that TS2 has. You should try it out at least, though, and see if you can manage. If it's not good enough, don't play it.

[FireFliesBurn]

I'm a Sims 3 girl all the way. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing Sims 3, but for me the all around game play of Sims 2 is much better. I'm able to truly play the way I want to play with my many families. Is there a way that you can install both games on your computer? Then you'll be able to play in rotation of both games.