The Sims. It’s a franchise that has had a larger impact on the game industry than many people think. Many of us have enjoyed casual gaming such as building cities in Sim City 2000 or taking care of sick people in Hospital Tycoon, but things changed when The Sims came along. Suddenly, PC gaming was something that almost everyone talked about.

Now, The Sims 3 comes along and gives the players a chance to leave their homes and venture out on the streets. Is the game going to keep its prosperous status, or is this new concept a scare-away? Previous Sims games have somewhat featured this ability; you have been able to travel, take a cab to the city center, shop for clothes and go on a date. Sims 3 takes it to the new step, with a more free-roaming town where boundaries don’t exist. Your Sims can hang out with a friend in the park, run into someone they know or bump into a colleague while walking your dog. And as the trailers shows, players can also become a rock star who performs in the park. Just like in real life!

The visual style doesn’t seem to have changed much since The Sims 2. Frankly, it looks as its predecessors, just a hell of a lot better. It looks as if it’s going to keep its playfulness, yet delivering a more developed gaming experience to those wanting to slip out from real life for a moment. Keep your fingers crossed that The Sims 3 will be deeper than previous games in the series, and that players won’t have to spend a fortune on expansions to get the most of it. It can’t be that hard to feature weather seasons and pets from the start, right?