I have always been a big fan of the Sims games. I had the original ones and 2 or 3 expansions. Then of course I had The Sims 2. And now I am on The Sims 3. I also have the Late Night, Ambitions, and Showtime expansions.
The Sims 3 (and the previous versions) is a game where you make a person and play their life. You send them to work, make friends, have relationships, children, and then age and die, but can play the following generations. The base game itself is super fun, but the expansions add new dimensions.
The Late Night expansion made it so you could go downtown to bars and live in an apartment. Previously unheard of in the sims. It made it so you could live in a nice penthouse and be a celebrity.
The Ambitions expac lets you actually DO things at work. Before you would send your sim to work and have to wait for them to come home. Now there are added careers (like Ghost Hunter) and you control them while at work. It makes it even more fun.
The Showtime expac lets you be a rock star or magician, and put on shows in public or go on tour. It adds a new dimension to fame.
I have played The Sims for years, and all I really did was build awesome houses, and murder other sims. I would invite some over and trap them in a pool or room with no door until they eventually died. I never really played the game. I would just use the cheats to get by.
With the 2 new expacs Ambitions and Showtime, I am actually playing the game. My sim is maxed out in her profession as a Ghost Hunter, and I fulfilled her lifetime wish. That was a first for me. They are making me really interested in playing the game and not just building houses and being the angel of death.
I plan to play it a lot more and try out different careers and family dynamics. I will keep you updated as it goes along.