Sequels are a tricky business, aren’t they? Developers are always treading a fine line. Things need to꧒ be bi🌜gger and better than before, but not just a retread. They need to take the original in new directions, but not too new.

Tastes vary, and sometimes a step forward is a step back. Fans of any long-running series will tell you that. Take 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Sims, for instance. Like any franchise, the life sim has seen changes to its 𝓡core mechanics with each entry, not all of which have b🦂een well received.

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Here’s a question that’s really divided the fanbase, then: which is better, The Sims 3 or The Sims 4? Let’s try and ans♊wer that by taking a look at things each game does better than tꦬhe other.

Updated February 4, 2020, By Helen Ashcroft: As The Sims franchise turns 20 years old we can't help but look back at the series as a whole and specifically the differences between versions. The Sims 4 is now tౠhe best-selling and longest-running base game of the franchiꦐse but there are still some gaps in its content.

While the main bases are covered in terms of common expansions, including Cats & Dogs, University and Seasons, there are still many things that The Sims 3 did better and many more that The Sims 4 is the king of. Let's take a look.

15 The Sims 4: Multitaskingꦡ

In The Sims 4, your sims have got smart🎶er. Not ꧑only can they eat and talk but they can do both at once. While it may still take an insane amount of time for one sim to consume a bowl of cereal at least they can get a social boost while they are doing it.

Now the only problem is getting them to actually sit at the table! Sims areꦇ so great at multitasking that they often forget to just sit and chill sometimes.

14 The Sims 3: Better Pet Selec🧔tion

Via Gametactics

Don't get us wrong, we love the cats and dogs from The Sims 4 and we even have a soft spot for the critters, however, the pet selection pales in comparison to The Sims 3.

The Sims 3 gave us horses and unicorns and much more flexibility. In Sims 4 you cannot directly control pets but this also means you have to guess what their needs ar▨e which can be incredibly frustrating.

13 The Sims 4:𓃲 No Microtransactions

Some people loved The Sims 3 store I'm sure but the content in it got very expensive, very quickly. While we appreciated being able to buy an odd item that interested us, such as a functioning washer and dryer, mostly the content 𒁏just made your game run slower and your pocket lighter.

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With the release of content kept to DLC packs, it's𒀰 🌟also easier for the team to squash bugs as the game gets larger. If you've ever tried to find which piece of CC is causing problems then you'll surely sympathize with what this task was like in the days of the store!

12 The Sims 3: Transportation 🤪 🍌

We want cars in The Sims 4! Also while you're at it we'd like strollers, and motorbikes as well. Just general transportation. We welcomed the bicycles that came with Discover University but we'd still really like those cars. Sizing up toys just isn💖't the sam♌e.

The lack of strollers is also disappointing as you just can't trust those mischievous toddlers. The Sims 3 had some great choices for getting around and we really 🌊miss them and hope they return soon.

11 🐼 The Sims 4: Moving Between Neighbor🅷hoods

While many may gripe about the worlds being smaller in The Sims 4 this doesn't actually matter when we can freely move between them𝓀, something that wasn't possible in earlier games.

If you want to take your sims on a day trip then a quick click of the map can have you in sunny Sulani, creepy Forgotten Hollow or even one of the world'📖s secret hidden lots in no time.

10 🐈 10. The Sims 3: Open World

Now, of course, these points are largely going to be subjective. That’s what it’s really all about, after all. The Sims players all have their own preferences and ways of playing, and will prefer one game over the otꦐher for t🧔hose reasons.

Let’s start, then, with one of the biggest differences between them. The Sims 3 was characterized by its open world approach, which is in stark contrast to the smaller neighborhood situation seen in its sequel. If you like to think of your sims all living together in a larger, Tomodachi Life sort of community, then Sims 3 might be more to your liking.

9 🎉 9. The Sims 4: Get A Load(ing Screen) Of This

2- Loading
Via: YouTube (Sims Community)

This one’s a little pedantic, sure, but in an age of gamers who demand their 1080p 60fps performance at all times, these sorts of issues are paramou💜nt.

The Sims 3 may allow you to hop from place to place with no loading screens once you’re in the world, but that comes at a cost: loading the world in the first place is a real bummer. We’re talking about a loading screen of several minutes in some instances. Remember 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bloodborne, pre-patch? That was brutal. The Sims 4’s briefer, more common loading screens will probably be more bearable for 🐲impatient gamers.

8 🃏 8. The Sims 3: Customization ꩲ

3- Customization
Via: The Sims Wiki

Now, I can’t speak for all The Sims players, but lots of us adore the series for one particular reason: customiz꧑ability. We want to make si🃏ms of ourselves, our partners, our family and friends. We want to create sims of people we don’t like and make grim things happen to them in this digital dollhouse.

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Customization is king, in my eyes, and each of the games has an advantage over the other in that respect. The Sims 3 has the popular Create a Style feature, which allowed you to tweak the appearance of… well, just about anything to your liking. In The Sims 4, thꦺis is only available as a mod, unless you count the Create a Pet feature.

7 🅠 7. The Sims 4:🃏 Create-A-Sim

4- Create A Sim
Via: Malavida

So, yes. A lot of this is going to be down to a player’s personal preference too. As I say, though, a lot of the appeal of The Sims lies in the ability to crea🐓te sim-likenesses of real people.

Maybe you like having real relationships play out in the game, and seeing if you and your new beau have any chance in the sim-world. Whatever the case, The Sims 4 arguably offers more scope to creaꦓte sims to your specific requirements, through the grab and pull system. Some couldn’t get the hang of this mechanic, but once you’ve tackled the learning curve, there’s probably more scope to get creative here than with other installments.

6 6. The Sims 3: Exཧpansion Packs

5- Expansion Packs
Via: Amazon UK

Of course, with the mighty EA being the publisher of The Sims, it was inevitable that the series was going to be rife with money-grubbing opportunities. Expansion packs have been 🔯a huge part of the experience since the original game, offering al🅷l kinds of brilliant and bizarre new gameplay mechanics, items and other options.

RELATED: 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sims 4 Expansion Packs, Ranked

For lots of players, The Sims 3’s expansions have the edge over The Sims 4’s. Pricey, yes, and we definitely noticed those cunning microtransactions being thrown in there, but there’s generally more on offer in The Sims 3’s expansions. Tꦐhe next game’s added content would cost even more at times, too.