Sims 3 for iPod Touch (and iPhone)

I am a huge Sims fan. The first time I saw the game, I KNEW it was the game for me. Create little people and control every aspect of their lives? It's like playing God! LOL I played the original Sims, Sims 2 and even Sims for the gameboy. And this week the newest Sims game, Sims 3, was released!!! Also released on the same day was the Sims 3 iPhone/iPod Touch application!! Since I had decided not to buy the desktop computer version just yet, I was thrilled to learn I could get one for my iPod Touch. And for only $9.99, it was a cheaper way to get my Sims fix.

Although it's certainly not the same as playing the full game, it is a scaled down version (unlike like the Gameboy game I have, which is really nothing like playing the Sims). The Sims look just like the Sims on your computer and can do a lot of the same things, with some limitations. For example, you are limited in how the Sim can look, what furniture you can get, etc. So let me tell you what I have learned about it so far (some things are unlocked as you go along and I haven't learned everything about it YET).

When you create your Sim, you can choose skin color, hair style/color and clothing but you don't have very many choices. You also choose the type of person they are, the choices being Jack of All Trades, Nice Guy, Jerk, Sleaze, Power Seeker and Maniac. You can further define their personality by also choose 5 personality traits (out of several) for them, such as good sense of humor, friendly, easily bored, conversationalist, slob, etc.

Your Sim starts out with a small home with the basic necessities and a little money. The only thing not included that I think is a necessity is the stove, which you can buy. Unfortunately, there's no cheaper alternative like the microwave in the old Sims game. You can't change the home at this level.

In order to cook, you need the stove but unlike past versions of the Sims, you also need to purchase recipes AND the ingredients for them. The cheapest recipe is grilled cheese, which requires buying only bread and cheese. Once you run out, you have to go back to the QuickMart and buy more ingredients before you can cook anymore. You can also get a quick snack from the fridge or buy a meal at the town's restaurant.

After buying the fishing kit (at the hobby store), you can fish in the town lake and catch fish to use in your meals. You can also grow your own vegetables, but you can't do that until you upgrade your house and I haven't gotten to that point yet.

Another purchase at the Hobby Store which I found to be important was the repair kit. I discovered that when my first Sim's refrigerator and tv both went out at the same time and I had limited money and had to sell a few things in order to buy the repair kit. That was the only way to fix the broken appliances (you can't hire a repairman!).

In order to make money, you must find a job. Jobs include working at the restaurant, the QuickMart, the town hall, the science lab, etc. Work places seem to be dangerous. My first Sim died from an attack from a lab monkey. However, I was able to load the saved game again and she was still alive. So don't despair when yours dies. I couldn't figure out how to get promoted at work and was just biding my time assuming it would happen after I gained skills or something. But then I noticed when talking to my Boss Sim that I could ask for a raise. I did and he gave me one. I don't know if it's always that easy. I had built up a good relationship with him beforehand.

You can meet other Sims in town or you can just go to a house and introduce yourself. You interact with them similarly to the old Sims, by choosing from available actions, sometime dependent on what kind of relationship you have. As you build your relationship, you go from acquaintance to friend to good friend. If you choose to be romantic, you can go from budding romance to date to partner. Those are all the levels I have seen so far. One note about interacting with other Sims - one thing I didn't realize right away is you have to scroll to see all the possible actions. Sometimes the other Sims will offer you money to do things, such as kicking another Sim's trash can, slapping another Sim or even bringing them some cheese.

The only real negative I have found so far is the fact that the game crashes regularly. But the beauty of the fact that it is an iTunes app means that the makers can push updates out for it whenever they want, so I hope this will be fixed soon. Most of the time it's not too aggravating, but the last time it happened for me I was trying to visit a particular house and every time I got there it crashed so I had to give up and do something else.

I haven't gotten very far in the game so I'm sure are other things to be discovered. So far I like it a lot and I think it will satisfy me at least for a little while. Eventually, however, I will have to buy the actual computer version.

EDIT: after posting this last night, I tried rebooting my ipod by powering it down and that seemed to help the crashing.

EDIT 03/13/11 - Comments to this post have become redundant - there's nothing more that can be said, so I am disabling comments.