So I bought the Sims 3 at the end of May and I got Ambitions when it came out. I'm a bit unimpressed by it.

I've seen some pictures of items in WA and I'm interested in getting it. But first, I have some questions.

Are there new clothes/fashions? (Paris ones?)
How many new buy-mode objects are there? (estimate - more or less than Ambitions?)
Are there new UNIQUE social interactions? This means new animations. . . talking about adventures isn't unique if it looks the same as talking about computers/sports/books/etc
Can you do everything there is to do in a country in a single trip or does it really require you to go back?
How long does it take to load a new country? More or less time than it takes to load your neighorhood?

What else should I know?

Really? Interesting.

Okey doke.

Some, yes. Nothing that really pops though. Probably better custom ones. It's EA after all. They don't know what fashion is unless it's a dress made of money.

World Adventures has a nice amount of items. Especially if you count everything in the buydebug menu. I haven't sat down and done the numbers but you can get a lot of relics and collectibles through adventuring to spruce up your home (this is probably nice when you combine it with the interior design profession in ambitions). But I'd say they're about on par. Ambitions might have more though strictly based on the buy menu.

Eh, not really.

The way they've done it, you need to go back because they limit your trips based on your visa level. Visa levels increase with more "adventures" you do. At some point though, you'll get tired of going on "vacation."

Probably one of the most annoying things about going on vacation is that it does take awhile to load. Especially the first time you go because it has to make that world. Load times vary based on your system of course. On mine... it takes awhile. But mine is hardly considered a top of the line system. Estimate 5 some odd minutes, give or take a few.

World Adventures is really about exploring tombs. The worlds themselves aren't much to talk about. Each one does offer new metals, gems, fish and fruits.

Ultimately they're two different expansions geared at the same thing.

World Adventures gives your Sims something to do in another world.
Ambitions gives your Sims something to do in the world they live in.

Each one has a nice number of items but the real value is really what you place on your game time. It sounds to me like World Adventures might be a bigger disappointment than Ambitions was.

High End Loft Stuff might be more up your alley.

Last edited by Beer76 : 9th Jul 2010 at 01:38 AM. Reason: Fixed spacing. It was crazy on a Courtney Love scale

Beer did a good job of answering your specific questions.

Whether you like WA, really depends on your play style. I am a very domineering, goal oriented, max your skills, no cheats kind of player. I like WA because it in effect gives me 'free' time to work on skills.

I do like the new objects available in it. They allow a more eclectic decorating style.

Tomb exploration does get old after a while, but can be very profitable. Generally, when my sims have reached visa level 2, they can manage to collect enough treasure/metals/goodies to more than pay for their vacation and their extra purchases.

Your question about the clothes:
Every location has it's own fashion. There are Chinese and Arabic clothing styles, hair and hats. Some of them look really nice as everyday clothes and others are more traditional.
The French clothing looks a bit country like. IMO they are lovely, but don't expect any high fashion. There are also a couple of sets of explorer clothes that look a bit safari style.

The photography and nectar skills are really cool. Photography is great for decorating (cash not so much), and nectar gives some really nice buffs. Cameras and nectar bottles also make nice clutter. Nectar is a good way to earn cash as well, if one has a garden. Martial Arts is sortof a let down... because when fighting mummies, or getting in normal fights, your sim won't use their martial arts skills, they'll just do the standard dust cloud fight. Mediation is cool though, and eventually allows your sim to 'zenport'.

Martial Arts is actually a pretty good moneymaker once you start smashing space rock blocks. You'll find gems quite often, and the gems seem to be of a disproportionately high value. Lots of Tiberium (which starts out as worth around 100 simileons, but ends up being worth around 30-40k PER rock after it cuts itself and grows), and also lots of pink diamonds.

The tombs do get a little boring after you've done them more than once.. but even though I've had the game since it came out, I still haven't completed every single tomb.

If you play a legacy, the foreign lands will increase your likelihood of finding a decent mate for your heirs.

And, here's the amount of items you'll get:

4 Fences.
4 Gates.
3 Columns.
1 Fireplace.
2 Arches.
9 Windows.
11 Doors.
2 Types of Stairs, with matching railings.
24 new trees.
3 Shrubs.
5 Flowers.
5 Rocks.
22 different terrain paints.
1 toilet.
1 Coffee Maker.
3 Dining Tables.
3 End Tables.
3 Coffee Tables.
11 different displays, 2 of which work for transmorgrification, which is another cool money maker, and a good way to use up unwanted metals and gems.
3 Beds.
3 Dining Chairs.
3 Living Chairs.
3 Sofas.
1 Park Bench.
1 Table Lamp.
3 Floor Lamps.
4 Wall Lamps.
5 Ceiling Lamps.
3 Non-repeat outdoor lamps, with a few also mentioned in other categories.
9 potted plants.
10 things in wall decor.
1 mirror.
3 things under curtains.
2 roof ornaments.
18 things under sculptures, including 3 fountains and a pond.
15 things under misc, but I could have accidentally missed some. I have a lot of stuff in that category.
2 bookshelves.
2 dressers.
2 nectar racks and a random shelf.

And that's everything NOT under buy debug. And not everything is under buy debug. There's at least 20 or so books for each location. But under buy debug you can buy the two lesser tents, all the cameras, 3 types of new magic gnome, the nectar maker, a fortune cookie machine, incense for each location, and a few other things. The incense and fortune cookie machine add little moodlets that are a nice boost without taking too much time to use. (Incense just needs to be in the room, and each location has a different sent, and they stack. Each one of those gives +10, so if you have all 3, its +30. And they're pretty.) If you like building, you can try tomb building... or just have super secret basements.

Does this help?

Go for it! WA is pretty good fun, and concerning your question about whether you can do everything in one trip - that would be a bit boring, wouldn't it?

I really enjoy sending my Sim's to one of the locations every now and then. If they explore tombs they can bring back lots of artefacts to decorate their homes with, and I love Egypt myself so decorating a house in Egyptian wallpaper etc, then "decorating" the Sims in Egyptian clothes, and then having lots of artefacts around is great.

Personally though, I don't send Sims very often to the locations. My playing style is very family-based and I feel that the expansion pack does divert from the traditional gameplay of Sims. I preferred the Sims1 version in which vacations literally were holidays for your Sims which were family-friendly (these really aren't). However, it's still worth getting and I do enjoy the effect it has on my game.

Wait!! there is one unique social, but it might bother you after a while, and it's learning how to sing. the annoying part is sims doing it all the time. While cleaning the dishes... in the shower... it's gets to you :p

Tomb building is really fun, but it can get a little complicated and I often forget what I was doing when I close the game up for the night and come back to it later. lol

All and all, I'd say buy it if you've got fifty bucks. The scenery is pretty, especially in China, the quests are fun, especially in Egypt, and although France was a bit of a disappointment for me, I liked Wine making.

And Mummies are fun too.

Compared to Vacations and Bon Voyage, World Adventures is awesome. The worlds are beautiful, seriously, it makes my eyes shine. Egypt is all about adventure, Abu Simbel is the best tomb IMO. In China there's a quest to make an axe that can destroy huge rocks all around Egypt, China and France, and you can also learn Martial Arts (it's kinda meh, but I like the animations). In France you can learn Photography and Nectary. I say go for it, it's a fun EP.

Lulz, I've heard about it being annoying. But I might be one of a small percentage of people who really likes it - I love to listen to my sims sing their little songs in the shower as it is (and I'll sing along with them). :3


moyrie - thank you for breaking down the list of items. New items are really very important to me since I can't download a lot of CC (yay dial up >_>).

I kind of like my sims singing in the shower. It's pretty hilarious. They sound atrocious, as anyone who sings in the shower does.

Not even my retro Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 take that long! While my i5 use about 15 - 30seconds, all depending on what other programs I'm running. Probably a lot less if I wasn't such a multitasker

A lot of it is the lack of RAM. I'm only running 2GB RAM which slows everything down considerably. It was worse when I was using Vista.

4GB would probably give me the times you're quoting.