Is it too late to dedcide?

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I purchased the base game for Sims 3 and the gameplay is too complex. I was never interested in playing the Sims before. I got it from Walmart for my birthday a couple years back, and my computer I brought in 2011 is the equivalent of a better-than-good machine from 10 years ago (1.5Ghz AMD CPU and 1.5Gb RAM). I decided that I usually play older games. I have been deciding whether I want to upgrade to a better machine or downgrade the games I already have. I went by my mom and she wants me to get a new machine instead. I wish I decided on the original Sims or Sims 2 instead. The earlier Sims games are more simplified and I just like their charm. How are the earlier Sims games?

Fantastic! The first game is absolutely charming and will provide hours of fun gameplay.
A warning:
There isn't a lot to customize your Sims.

Maybe watch a few gameplay videos c:

Fine. The customization options are too complex anyway.
I want it simpler. I do have Windows 7 HP though. That wouldn't be a limit will it?

To be honest, all of the Sims games are pretty complicated in their way. This has always been very typical of games by Maxis. You shoulda seen some of their other ones, particularly games like SimEarth. I'm not even going to try to explain how THAT one worked. And that's an old one, very old.

The most basic of the mechanics in the Sims games remains the same in all of them, particularly the different "needs" that each Sim has. That gameplay element never changes. The way you interact with your Sims and give commands does not change either. And the way relationships between Sims works is pretty much the same as well. All of those "main" mechanics remain very consistent throughout the series; these wont simplify much by going back to earlier iterations. The fact that there are 10 zillion things for them to do also doesnt really change. As with most of Maxis' games, one of the appeals is the sheer amount of STUFF in the game, and all the different situations that can be caused by that stuff.

However, like with most any sandboxy game, or like most of Maxis' games in general, you dont HAVE to use or interact with every little bit of content that there is. When you're starting out with the Sims games.... any of them.... just focus on what you want to focus on. You can always learn about some of the other stuff later on once you're used to the game, and of course it also means that if there's a particular thing that you really just dont like, you dont HAVE to do that thing. Me, while I like customization in general, mostly what I like customizing are the houses and such. Things like clothing and whatnot for the Sims? Well.... let's just say I dont know much about style, lol. So I tend to ignore this element. When creating a new Sim, I'll often just hit "randomize" over and over until I get one that looks kinda nice, then I might make some quick tweaks to face/body shape, and then BAM, it's done. For some players making a new Sim takes bloody forever, but for me it is very quick. I dont HAVE to spend all that time picking out clothes, and there's really no detriment created by not doing it. Yet if I should want to mess with that aspect more later, I can.

And in all honesty, the game mechanics overall.... all of them.... are very well implemented. Each different concept and such are very easy to learn, once you're ready to learn them. And the game's slow pace makes it that much easier to learn things, because you'll have plenty of time to mess with them.


Sims 3 though really is the best in the series, period. The first two were good, dont get me wrong, but..... so restrictive compared to the third game. The first one in particular, there was so very, very many things that you would WANT to do in it, but that you simply could not. Leaving the house and entering town, for instance.... nope, that's a no-go. With that original game, it was technical reasons that prevented it, but it was still a frustrating element. ALways being in the exact same house all the time when playing a particular family got dull really fast.

But yeah, I'd say, give the game more time, and dont feel like you need to learn every tiny little thing all at once to enjoy the game. It's a sandbox game, as well as a Maxis game.... take your time, experiment, mess around, do whatever you happen to feel like doing and DONT do whatever you dont want to do, learn and play at your own pace. Those ideas are why I love the sandbox genre so much. And this game in particular has alot to offer.

After playing The Sims 3, you probably wouldn't want to play the original. There's so much to do in it, that the first game feels so restrictive. It was released in February of 2000, so understand it is not a hugely complicated game, but the Sims 2 and 3 are a lot more fun. My favorite was probably the Sims 2 Castaway, which gave me a long time of fun and creativity.

I said too my computer has very limited hardware.

Yes, but you also said you were wondering wether to get a new machine, or "downgrade" the games.

I'll tell you right now: trying to "downgrade" is going to be nothing but trouble, particularly as if you see something you want that's even REMOTELY recent, a machine with the power of a 10-year-old piece of junk is NOT going to cut it. And even when you want to play older games..... which is something I do pretty frequently myself, since I do enjoy alot of retro games in general.... there's little reason not to just have a CURRENT machine do it.

And that doesnt just apply to games, that applies to everything. Hell, if your PC really is around the power level you say it's at, frankly I'm surprised Windows works on it without going berserk and crashing.

Also, yes, recent OS versions do make it harder to play older games. That's the other thing: Newer games often require much LESS effort to play. Older games often require you to run funky side programs to make them work, depending on the game and how old it is and what it does or does not require. The original Sims in particular is very darn old by this point.... good grief, I played that way back in high school.... has it really been THAT long? Ugh. But yeah, that's an oooooold game by now. Newer games are typically much less hassle.

Overall though, aint much good reason to limit yourself when you dont have to, really.


And also, dont forget, if you're having trouble with a game like this and have questions about it, or something like that, you can always just ask for assistance either here or elsewhere.