Adventures can consist of a simple goal such as collecting a certain material and returning it to the quest giver, or a more complex one, such as exploring one of the expansion's many tombs.
This skill lets Sims become powerful fighters, and is helpful for defeating mummies in Al Simhara.
[23] Producer Lyndsay Pearson said that real-world locations were a draw for their players, and that users had been creating famous buildings on the online Exchange; the pack represented an extension of that desire.
[26] Nelly Furtado, Pixie Lott, Stefanie Heinzmann, Matt & Kim, The Young Punx and other artists contributed songs in Simlish for the pack.
[2] GamePro argued the pack's only bad feature was being able to make players lose several hours in the addictive gameplay.
[29] IGN's Steve Butts criticized the adventure-based gameplay and the difficulty of having family vacations, however, he concluded, "I hope World Adventures sets the pattern for future Sims expansions.
Ambitions introduces new professions that can be actively controlled by the player, unlike the careers in the base game.
The new active careers include architect, doctor, firefighter, ghost hunter, private investigator, and stylist.
"[36] Rodiek explained the main focus of an expansion pack relied on three elements: community feedback, what the development team wants to do and software limitations.
"[39] GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd on the other hand, called it "a thoughtful and delightful expansion, [that is] full of wit and character.
[41] Tracy Erickson of Pocket Gamer reviewed the iPhone version of the game, giving it 7 out of 10 and praising the customization system, addition of babies and easiness when it comes to cooking.
[44] Late Night adds a celebrity system, based on five stars representing a Sim's level of fame.
The Man have also contributed the song "Everything You See (Kids Count Hallelujahs)" from their sixth studio album In The Mountain In The Cloud.
[51] On June 8, 2011, producer Ben Bell gave a presentation and demonstration previewing Pets that was streamed over EA's website.
[57] The new location is set in a Midwestern United States ranching town nestled between lush green hills.
[61] This has been attributed to the developers switching to an in-house animation engine from the proprietary Granny 3D toolkit that they used in the earlier versions of The Sims 3.
A limited Collector's Edition includes exclusive in-game content such as a stage and two costumes, along with a poster based on American singer Katy Perry.
[71] Players can create supernatural Sims such as witches, wizards, werewolves, zombies, vampires (updated from Late Night), ghosts, fairies, and Genies (if Showtime is installed).
Seasons received "mixed or average" reception according to aggregator Metacritic, which gave the game a rating of 73 out of 100 based on 12 reviews.
[84] The pre-order exclusive limited edition of the game includes the party pack bundle with togas, laurel wreaths, masquerade masks and the Partaeus Maximus statue.
Whilst diving, Sims can catch fish, explore underwater caves, find sunken treasure, as well as use a limited set of social interactions.
Sims can now own and manage resorts, that will provide a daily cash income based on the net profit they make.
Several live broadcasts were later presented and each demonstrated new features, such houseboats, resort system, underwater diving and hidden islands.
[93] The Game Scouts gave the pack a positive score of 9 out of 10, saying: "Island Paradise arrives ideally at the start of Summer.
"[94] Giancarlo Saldana from Games Radar remained positive and praised the overall experience of the game even though he believed the underwater feature is a disappointment, as there are only limited diving spots: "Though [the] underwater sections are lacking, the rest of Island Paradise is a great display of what The Sims 3 can still offer fans."
Upon installation, players are visited by a time-traveler called Emit Relevart (whose name is "Time Traveler" backwards, as well as a reference to Emmett "Doc" Brown from Back to the Future) in their home neighborhood.
Using this portal, Sims can travel to the future into a new sub-neighborhood called Oasis Landing, a futuristic town built amongst mountainous wastelands.
[100] The pack also adds Plumbots, similar to Servos in The Sims 2: Open for Business and SimBots in Ambitions.
New objects include holographic TVs, a hoverboard, a food synthesizer, build-a-bot workshops, and the laser rhythm-a-con, a new instrument.
[102] On January 8, 2013, it was revealed on a live broadcast that a futuristic-themed expansion pack was in early stages of development, alongside the announcement of Island Paradise.