Just how do The Sims live University Life?

As the Easter holidays began and exams loomed on the horizon, I knew I needed something to distract myself from the pile of textbooks and past papers. Having been an avid fan of The Sims franchise since its introduction in the year 2000, I was alerted to the release of The Sims 3: University Life. Perfect, I thought. What better way to procrastinate than making somebody else study?

University Life is the ninth full expansion pack available for The Sims 3 base game, promising that ‘your Sims are sure to have the time of their lives!’ It introduces the college neighborhood, known as the Sims University. Sims can choose to take one of 5 subjects to study, and can even take an aptitude test in order to get a scholarship towards their tuition fees. Yes, sadly those still exist in-game, though they are just a fraction more affordable.

Sims 2 University had been my personal favourite of The Sims 2 expansion packs, so I was excited to get started. Though it lacks the variety of majors that were available in The Sims 2 University, the different gaming style of The Sims 3 more than makes up for it. Many of the features that were available in the first Sims college experience have been overhauled and refined, making the game a lot more interesting to play.

While Sims 2 added extra careers for your more studious Sims, University Life allows those with a degree far more freedom post graduation. Certain degrees provide a boost in some career paths, giving graduates the priority. For example, a communications graduate will start higher up in the politics or journalism sector. It’s not all about just graduating though – Sims with higher grades will land better jobs, adding an incentive to work harder at university. It’s all frighteningly familiar.

Along the realism vein, the dormitory setup provides an accurate representation of living in halls. From housemates that steal your food to communal areas that never seem to get cleaned, it’s like a little piece of campus within your computer. Fraternities and sororities are also there to provide more of a party atmosphere for your Sims. Frat house parties may not be as wild as a night out at Smack or Evolve, but your Sim can still have a few too many ‘juices’ and end up regretting it the next day (eliminator, anyone?). There is also the option to rent a private house, which is useful if you move more than one Sim to university at a time.

Just like our own freshers fortnight, the Sims’ student union puts on an event at the start of term so that students can get together and make new friends, perhaps even getting themselves involved in a ‘social group’. This system is a more accessible alternative to the ‘secret society’ feature from The Sims 2. Your Sim can belong to one (or more) of the three groups: jocks, nerds and rebels. Reaching a high enough level in a social group allows you to select an extra personality trait for your Sim, whilst becoming a legend unlocks one of the secret career options.

The interactivity in lectures is a great feature, as you can have your Sim take notes or ask questions to boost their grade. You can also have them sleep through their lecture, which is quite entertaining to watch. The campus even has its very own version of Curiositea and the burger van where Sims can catch up with their friends between classes and grab a bite to eat.

There are, however, some features of the expansion that could use refining. Though the lectures and activities are interactive, seminars are not, which means that you can be spending quite a lot of time waiting around. Unlike the regular gameplay, the player is usually only controlling one person, so there’s nothing to do whilst the Sims are in seminars. Also, if your Sim happens to start a relationship with someone at university, it’s a little more difficult to meet up with them after graduation. Think of it as a long-distance relationship.

Overall, The Sims 3: University Life gives a great representation of life as a student which makes it great fun to play. You can watch your Sims do keg stands, attend bonfire parties, and argue with housemates over who’s going to clean the bathroom, just like your average student. Of course, there’s the same level of ridiculousness, with all-too-frequent lightning strikes and alien invasions, but it’s that brilliant mixture of realism and wacky that makes The Sims work so well.