The Sims 3 Fast Lane will be released in

7 days 4 minutes 3 seconds!

The Sims Zone have published their preview on The Sims Medieval! You can read the full preview here.

The kingdom you’ll enter looks lively and sets a perfect medieval atmosphere. The Sims you’ll see look slightly different and dress more medieval. As you start the game, you have to choose your kingdom’s ambition. At first you can pick one out of three, complete the game and you’ll unlock more ambitions. The ambition may be something like making sure everyone in your reign is healthy, you may want to pursue building as much as possible, et cetera. There are several scores, such as health, security, knowledge and capacity that rate your kingdom. As you play, these scores (hopefully) improve.

To achieve these goals, you have to complete quests. These are somewhat like challenges and adventures in the Sims 3: a problem occurs, it’s up to you to solve it. An example is the case when the monarch is sick. Of course you can figure out a way to cure him (or her). If you’re a little more of a sadist, you can of course also just kill the monarch and move on with your own life.

The Sims Zone have published their preview on the upcoming Sims 3 expansion Late Night! You can read the full preview here.

With a title like Late Night, you can also expect some new creatures of the night to be roaming around. If you find and befriend a vampire, you can get them to bite you and turn you into one as well. Unlike NightLife, the vampires will not just randomly attack Sims, but have to be actively turned into a vampire – by you. The vampires look almost like regular Sims, but do have their own oddities. They do not get hungry, but need to drink plasma instead, either from other Sims, plasma packs or plasma fruit (for the vegetarians). You’ll also want to keep your vampire Sims out of the daylight. One the plus side: vampires are able to read minds (and quickly get to know others), or force others to think about them: useful for those romantic interests. They will also build skills faster at night.

It is also possible for vampires to reproduce. A vampire and regular Sim will have a 50/50 chance of getting a vampire baby. Two vampires are more predictable: they always get vampire babies. The babies will grow up normally, and will be allowed to go out in the sun until they become a young adult. That’s when they become a full vampire with all the drawbacks. They will immediately inherit the benefits though.

We know we’ve already posted a trailer for The Sims 3 Fast Lane but this one is better and in HD!

Thanks goes to BricaSims!

SimsNetwork (SNW) posted their lovely preview on the upcoming Sims 3 expansion ‘Late Night’! You can read this wonderful preview here.

Sims can aspire to become celebrities. Your Sim can become a celebrity by pursuing the film or (improved) musician careers. But a Sim with a top level athletic career will automatically be a celebrity as well. Being a celebrity has its perks. For example your celebrity Sims may get free stuff in the mail, from fans who just love their celebrity idols. Celebrity Sims in the film career can win certain awards, like the Simmies and the Sims Choice Awards. Sims can also try to become more famous by hanging out with celebrity Sims. Of course, celebrity Sims will be slightly arrogant and not willing to hang out with non-famous Sims at first. But this may change when your Sims start giving the celebrities gifts, buy them free drinks, start talking about their career, skills and money. When you succeed and impress the celebrity, this will build a friend level and eventually get your Sim points, getting your Sim higher up the celebrity ranking scale. Being a celebrity has other perks as well, not just because of free gifts from other Sims. Celebrity Sims also get free services and products at the book store and the spa. The life of a celebrity isn’t always about handing out autographs and going on pics with other Sims. There’s also the paparazzi and they are all over the place to make sure your Sims scandalous moments are being recorded. So if your celebrity Sim is a bit of an adventurous dare devil and loves skinny dipping, or if your celebrity Sims loves to fight, or perhaps loves to dance on top of the bar/counter, the paparazzi will love this and this will influence your reputation. You may end up with the walk of shame moodlet.

What is a celebrity without a butler? In The Sims 3 Late Night, your Sims can hire butlers. As usual, the butlers aren’t exactly cheap. A butler costs 1200 Simoleons per week. A butler can answer the door, make dinner and do other chores your celebrity Sims refuse to do themselves. Obviously, butlers can be hired by anyone, just as long as there is enough money to pay for them!

Now I’ve mentioned the new film career and the improved musician career. There is a third ‘job’ your Sims can try. It’s called mixologist and it basically is a bartender/barista job, but it’s a skill your Sims can develop. And they can make money by practising this mixology skill in public. It’s not an actual career, but that does mean you can combine this on the side job with a normal day job. A small note. Drinks are non alcoholic. But they do have ‘special effects’ on certain Sims. Learning the mixology skill can be done by practising the skill, but you can also buy and read books about mixology. To make drinks, you have to pick ingredients first. This probably means there are plenty of drinks to learn about and try!

SimsNetwork (SNW) have also published their preview on the newly announced game Darkspore, which was debuted at Gamescom 2010. You can read the full preview here.

Darkspore has creatures like Spore. They look pretty mean though! There’s still a creature creator, but adjusted to suit Darkspore. Different look, different parts. You can earn parts by going into battle with your friends. You have to defeat certain monsters. And you have special powers to defeat the monsters. You can swap between creatures you control any time you want to. But you can’t control more than one at the same time. Each creature has its own perks. So one may be able to heal, while the other has a better shot at defeating the monster you’re fighting. Obviously, your creatures can die. So you have to take care of your creatures even when in the middle of a battle. When defeating monsters, you’ll get special bonuses you can pick up, as well as levers you can pull to unlock bonuses. Be sure to keep the health bars high.

Important in Darkspore are your creature’s stats. These are scores in the areas of health power, strength, dexterity and mind. They determine what your creature is best at, especially in the middle of battle. You can improve your creature by adding or replacing parts to it, although you are limited to six stat parts per creature.

Darkspore is all about forming squads. A squad is a group with several (up to three) creatures you create, that all have special abilities. Your friends then have their squads. And those squads combined should be strong enough to go into battle. After a battle, you can choose a reward (a creature part), or keep playing for an even higher reward – with the risk of losing it all. You can also trade your rewards with friends. This way you can choose to play just a single game (which will take roughly 10-15 minutes), or keep on playing for hours to get the best parts for your creatures. Rare and epic items that come as a reward will give you some extra stats – basically they are some more powerful parts.

SimsNetwork (SNW) have now published their preview on the newly announced game The Sims Medieval, which was debuted at Gamescom 2010. You can read the full preview here.

The interior of buildings is also very different. It reminds me of doll houses. You know, the houses that are open on one side of the building. You can see the walls and roof and everything, it’s not like our average Sims games where you have a lower and upper floor. You can see everything all at once now. It’s hard to explain. It’s still 3D of course but you’re looking at the buildings from a certain point of view. Downstairs is usually the place where the Sims work, and upstairs is where they live.
Probably something I should mention is that you can’t alter any buildings with build mode. There is a way to extend some buildings. But you won’t be able to really build like you can in other Sims games. That’s because this game isn’t about all of that. It might even conflict with the story line you’re playing. You can however change the buy mode, furniture and the like, and the way these items look. The create a style tool can be used on furniture!

As it’s the middle ages, Sims can become sick. There is some sort of plague, and in the quests I mentioned sometimes it’s your Sims job to cure people. Other times you get quests where you have to spy on Sims. You’ll get to add new sections to buildings. These sections then unlock actions. When a Sim is sick, in this case it was the monarch, you will have to contact other Sims to fix the problem. You have a choice between the wizard (who will use magic to cure the person), priest (who will try to bless the person which will then hopefully cure the person) or you can try the physician (who might find a medical solution to the problem). It’s like this with many quests. You are presented a problem and you need to find a way to solve it. There are often more choices to choose from. You can guide the story. When completing quests, you earn these special Kingdom Points. You can then use these points to expand the kingdom, to unlock new things, like additions to buildings and quests.

IGN had a nice little chat to EA about the new Sims 3 town ‘Barnacle Bay’ to be released 23rd September 2010 and costing 1650 Simpoints. Check out the full article here.

IGN: What are the new playable character(s) in this expansion?
EA: There are over 50 new world Sims living in Barnacle Bay, most of which are brand new characters, but you might recognize some familiar faces. There are quite a range of characters from Dude LaMer, a directionless surfer bum that can’t get a second date with a girl, to Rose Rome, an elderly gypsy that has been seen rummaging through trash. You might even come across a few pirates while exploring the island.

IGN: What are some of the new NPC Sims that are in Barnacle Bay?
EA: Barnacle Bay is full of some colorful NPCs. My favorite is Roni Pepper (ha!), a slobby, scruffy pizza delivery guy with no sense of fashion. And Brian Adoyo, a scientist that uses food as examples when explaining scientific theories. There are over 25 new NPCs to create your own story with.

IGN: Will Simlish sound different for Pirate characters?
EA: One of the great things about Create-a-Sim is that you can create a custom voice for any character. You can also create your very own pirate characters using the pirate-themed clothing and accessories that are included with Barnacle Bay. There is also Buccaneer’s Bounty, a pirate-themed clothing and object set available in The Sims 3 Store. You can make your Swashbuckler Sims sound and look however you want!

[Source: SimsDomination]

LAND HO! DISCOVER A WHOLE NEW WORLD RIPE FOR INHABITING WITH THE SIMS 3 BARNACLE BAY

Immersive Gameplay Experience Filled with New Content Offerings Available This Autumn for PC/MAC

Ahoy Matey! The Sims^TM 3 Barnacle Bay, a downloadable, all-new themed world to explore, will be available this fall exclusively at The Sims 3 Store using SimPoints. Featuring all-new content like objects, Create-a-Sim assets, Sims characters, houses, and more, The Sims 3 Barnacle Bay could be your Sims’ new home or a fun holiday spot this autumn.

Lower the Jolly Roger, set anchor, and discover the lore and riches of Barnacle Bay. Over the horizon nestled in the Simuyan Sea, Barnacle Bay boasts vibrant beaches, campgrounds, and a new downtown emulating urban life. Venture to locations like the abandoned piers of Founder’s Beach, the ancient relics of Goldbeard Galleon Gallery, mysterious Pirate’s Hideaway. Take a load off at Hogan’s Deep Sea Diner or The Wanderer’s Watering Hole. Meet new townie Sims and maybe even run into a ghost or two while uncovering the town’s hidden secrets. Find new lots that are ready for moving in or just exploring. Enrich your Sims and their lives in all-new ways with nearly two dozen exclusive items only available in The Sims 3 Barnacle Bay.

For more information on The Sims 3 Barnacle Bay, please visit www.thesims3.com

Arrgh, Matey!