Sims 2 vs Sims 3

[Ash//Fox]

I remember I used to play Sims 2 a lot when I was little, but I can't really remember any of the actual gameplay, Sims 3 I have sharper memories of and have been able to play since it's been on Steam for a while. What do you like about Sims 2 and what sets it apart from the rest of the series?

[rovaira2]

I was about to post the same post. :) I think Sims 3 has an open world. Sims 2 had open for business which I remember was good and the game was fun to play. Maybe some others can tell us. I'm installing Sims 3 again right now to try again.

[In The Shadow....]

The animations from Sims 2 are one of the best of the entire series, every little detail counted (the original maxis employees knew this) you could feel the love for The Sims 2, it was tangible. I love both equally, Sims 2 and Sims 3 are hands down the best of the entire series IMO for different reasons, but both set the bar pretty high for the next entries of The Sims.

[DarkGlam]

Sims 3 is better, but is not for sale in steam for a reason: had loads of content to download from an online website that was official sims 3 shop.

Sims 2 feels too old, and sims 4 is a disaster

[Jordan]

Sims 2 has the best gameplay out them all

[BatistaNUU]

I just know Open for Business (and the reason I'll be getting this once the bugs are ironed out) was so much fun-- so much better than Get to Work.

[Foulcher]

Sims 3 is the worst for me even if it’s an unpopular opinion.
The only real argument for it is the so called « open world ».
But first the open-world has some kind of « areas ». Urns very minor but some TS4 maps almost feel like open, you just see a loading screen 1s after having walked a lot. Ok this one is very very minor.

Then two big negatives :
- almost no real commercial etc. lots : full of rabbit holes. The nightlife expansion has a better map but that’s about it.
- the number of sims on screen is capped, even at max setting. Therefore the OW is empty as hell. Man you feel so lonely while TS4 has loads of Sims on screen.

To finish, I reinstalled it and it aged the worst, it’s ugly as hell. Plus it runs like crap even on top modern hardware (RTX 4090, 13900k, Nvme).

TS4 and TS3 are also very bland, only TS1 and 2 has a great atmosphere, only them have real backstories, etc.. They are also too easy, even on level 1-2 career you can buy most of the things without feeling pressured.

[JDumbz]

The attention of detail with the Sims 2 especially with the animations, soundtrack and cutscenes is what makes it stand out the most out of all the Sims.

Sims 3 is okay and it's open world environment was definitely a step up. But at the same time it was watered down from what made The Sims fun in the first place, it became boring after a while and less goofy. While I enjoy The Sims 3, The Sims 2 was at it's peak because it was a silly life simulation game that was random, goofy, and was not to be taken seriously. The flare is gone now with The Sims 4, it does not match the vibe at all from The Sims 2.

Plus the simplicity of the gameplay is what makes it top, the newer Sims and even The Sims 3 had a bunch of bloat to it and it was just pure annoyance and make the games chug with it's experiences. I could care less about the amount of extra details you could put on a Sim from the Sims 3 and Sims 4, Sims 2 is just perfect for me.

One thing I truly do miss from The Sims 3 when playing The Sims 2 is the create a style and enhanced building tools and more precise placements for furniture and such without enabling cheats.

[DarkGlam]

No, for me from best to worst:
Sims 3
Sims 1
Sims 2
Sims 4

I remember never liking sims 2 and enjoying a lot the open worlds in sims 3

[sverdrupjahn75]

I enjoy all of them, but overall, TS2 is far superior. I like the open world in TS3, and the ability to go from world to world in TS4, but it's like others have said already: The animations, details and game play is something else. It has aged very well. :)

[Coffee Addict]

Originally posted by DarkGlam:

Sims 3 is better, but is not for sale in steam for a reason

iam not sure what you mean by that you can buy the sims 3 on steam, you can also buy every pack on steam with the exception of katy perrys sweet treats

https://store.steampowered.com/app/47890/The_Sims_3/

[DarkGlam]

Originally posted by Coffee Addict:

Originally posted by DarkGlam:

Sims 3 is better, but is not for sale in steam for a reason

iam not sure what you mean by that you can buy the sims 3 on steam, you can also buy every pack on steam with the exception of katy perrys sweet treats

https://store.steampowered.com/app/47890/The_Sims_3/

neither the loads of pack themed worlds that were available online with simpoints on a special ea store website for sims 3

These packs made the biggest difference with all other sims game, massive content lost

https://store.thesims3.com/

[Coffee Addict]

Originally posted by DarkGlam:

neither the loads of pack themed worlds that were available online with simpoints on a special ea store website for sims 3

These packs made the biggest difference with all other sims game, massive content lost

the sims 3 store is still up you can still buy stuff on it
https://store.thesims3.com/

theres also ways to get the store items/worlds for free but i wont link them here

[jilliam]

I like both (and 1) but 3 feels rough to go back to for me with how unoptimized the open world is along with how kinda uggo the sims are/the art style it has in general. If 2 had a proper story progression/global neighborhood timeline like 3 does it'd be the only real reason I'd just drop 3 even though I did play it a bunch when it was new.