Today marks the ending of Google’s 10 Billion App Sale. The sale featured a series of apps, 10 each day, for 10 cents each (reg. priced approx $0.99 - $7.99). Overall the sale was an excellent opportunity for both developers and consumers; providing developers with an opportunity to greater publicize their apps, and consumers a chance to try new apps they may have not noticed otherwise. The sale featured a wide variety of games, utilities, and children’s apps.

 

Out of all the games offered during the sale, the one that I find myself playing the most is The Sims 3. I never really enjoyed The Sims series games on the PC. I found they became stale quickly and didn’t provide very much excitement even from the very beginning. I had a lot more fun with sandbox mode than actual game play, and even that became old fast. I never even considered buying the game for my cell phone until this sale to be honest.

 

But, much to my chagrin, I find myself playing the Sims 3 for Android on a daily basis often for longer than I’d notice. This version isn’t nearly as complex as the PC version, and in this rare case it really works for the game style. The Sims 3 is a simulation game in which you micromanage a character’s life (the character is called a “Sim”). You need to keep your Sim fed, clean, energized, etc. The game does an excellent job at providing opportunities to balance these essentials of living while at the same time exposing your Sim to various challenges and goals.

 

You have the option to work at one of the 4 or 5 buildings within the city. Randomly an event will happen at your job providing you with a choice to make. There is a risk associated with each choice, but also a benefit. The riskier but more beneficial choice is always obvious (ie you have the opportunity to steal from work, do you do it?). Every day from Monday to Friday your character will go to work for their required schedule and in between you need to keep them fed and happy. Each job starts at $100/day but this will rise the longer you work there. You can use the money that you make to buy food, furniture and upgrades for your home.

 

There are other Sims in the town as well that your Sim can interact with. The more you speak to another Sim, the more conversation options are available. Not only is “social” one of the essential traits you need to maintain on a daily basis, but goals are randomly generated throughout the game often relating to your relationships with other Sims (ie slap someone). As you achieve each goal, your Sim will level up. As your Sim levels up, more upgrades for your home become available.

 

Like all other Sims games by EA, I have yet to feel like there is any real point to this game. But that’s the difference between a cell phone game and a computer game. Despite the many, many games I purchased during this sale I have yet to take a cell phone game very seriously. None of them really have a point and the graphics are of course mediocre at best. But for a cell phone game, The Sims 3 offers an enjoyable experience that is easy to pick from where you left off and also put down when you need to while not being too mind numbing. It’s fun, colorful, and entertaining. You can’t really expect much more from a handheld gaming platform, but at the end of the day, it still has nothing on Pokemon.