The Sims 3: Ambitions – The Verdict

The Sims 3: Ambitions – The Verdict

There are a few things that any Sims expansion needs to be a success, firstly it shouldn’t be a ‘stuff pack’ which are ridiculous wastes of money. Any self respecting Sims expansion must include plenty of new things and Ambitions does just that.

The focus of the expansion is on new professions, these are like jobs but instead of just sending your Sim to work, you actually do the job yourself. No longer do you feel the disconnect between you and your Sim when they are at work, with one of the new professions you can stay with them all day long. For a Stylist this means you can just wait for people to get in touch with you asking for a makeover which lets you delve into the Sim editor and give them a new hairstyle or new clothes. Similarly the Architectural Desinger gets to alter other houses.

If you want more action you can become a Fireman or a Ghost Hunter, but one of my favourite new professions is the Private Investigator. Don your Columbo coat and find out what devious crimes people are getting up to. Digging through garbage and reading mail are the basics of the job, but more adventurous investigators can hack other Sims’ computers and even take part in a stakeout. It helps to have a van for these, my PI resorted to hiding behind his very own fake tree, needless to say this got him some strange looks from passing Sims.

For those gardeners and fishers out there some good news, you haven’t been ignored. Your Sim can now register as self-employed at City Hall so your hobby can now really take over your life. Inventing is also now on the cards, buy yourself a workbench, get some scrap from the Junkyard and get hammering away, you can sell your creations at the new Consignment Store or just keep them lying around your home.

The new work arrangements may be the focus of Ambitions, and they work very well adding a great deal to what was a sometimes lacking part of the game, but there is more to the expansion than just some new jobs. You can now get tattoos for your Sim at the Salon which doubles up as a makeover haven. The Fire Station houses any wannabe Fire Fighters and is complete with a firemans pole. There is also a Laundromat, if you haven’t bought yourself a new washing machine, dryer or a line you can take your clothes here to get them smelling as fresh as ever.

To go with all the other new features there are new traits and lifetime wishes and perhaps more important, there are new hairstyles to chose from. There still aren’t enough styles for my liking, but any new ones are better than nothing at all. The list RRP of £24.99 is a bit high really despite all the great new things you get with Ambitions, however you should be able to pick it up for under £20 which is a tad more reasonable.

If you want to expand your Sims 3 experience, I must strongly recommend you get Ambitions.

Note: My own screenshots didn’t work, screens in the review are from EA

Comments are closed.