The Sims 3: Island Paradise, the freaking tenth expansion pack to The Sims 3, and the second one to include vacation themes, but only sort of. So don't assume that this is just a rehash of a rehash, as it actually does quite a bit that's completely new to the Sims 3 franchise.

Adventure, resorts, water skiing, scuba diving, sunburn, bug bites, sand in exactly the wrong crevices, and all the other things that make living on an island worthwhile. Island Paradise begins with a blue screen of loading, which is fine since at least it's not a blue screen of death. Unless your death comes from drowning in the ocean, and in that case... dang it, blue screen of death it is.

Once you reach the main menu, the main thing to do is use the menu to select the neighborhood or city you want to play. Island Paradise comes with a nifty new one called Isla Paradiso. Yes, take yourself down to the Island Paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are...passable, at the very least.

While it may be reminiscent of existing towns like Barnacle Bay and Lucky Palms, this archipelago paradise is tailored specifically to work with the new objects and activities of Island Paradise. Well, what might those be, you didn't ask but I'm going to tell you anyway.

The main categories as I see them are: First up is boating, which is something that's been requested to be in The Sims for as long as I can remember. Finally, instead of being stuck on a lonely island, you can be on a boat. So get your towels ready. It's about to go down. Err, actually, try to stay afloat instead using anything from rowboats to paddle boats to jet skis to sailboats to speedboats.

You also have boat taxis at your beck and call, and even the freakin' delivery people have boats. They work almost exactly like cars. So, yes, you can stick it in your pocket and it'll fit. Next is real estate, although oddly enough, this actually ties in to boats. Houseboats, to be precise.

Just choose from any number of docks that have a houseboat slot, and you can customize your own floating abode just as you would a regular house. Wanna make it awesome with all the amenities of home, but with 100 percent more seasickness? Go right ahead. Wanna make it ridiculous, creating a barge filled with nothing but chairs? Feel free, sitting fanatic.

They work just like a boat, too, so you can not only take them from dock to dock, but you can also take them out onto the ocean and never be homesick again. Just seasick. But chances are you don't want to just have a house-boat, you probably want a house-HOUSE as well.

Now you can own more than one home at once through the real estate system, which is handy for those with traveling spirits and secret lovers alike. Houses can also be built over water now using the new stilted foundations. This really allows for some awesome home designs as well as makes the home feel a bit like a carnival act, which is great since that home always wanted to be a clown as a kid.

Next is the resort system, which works similarly to owning a business in The Sims 2: Open for Business expansion. You can either start a new lot and build your own resort from the ground up, which is great when used in tandem with the Blueprint to Building system, or you can purchase an existing resort and push its star rating to maximum using whatever you've got.

Hire new employees, customize their outfits, upgrade buildings, add spas and suites, reach for higher review scores, run the front desk, choose the kinds of food you serve, and walk around like you own the place. And by default, your guests will want to do all that. They'll start checking in, looking around and...

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enSometimes, you just wanna get awayfrom the hustle and bustle of the big city.Or the little city.Or the rock......with grass...It's all way too routine.Way too action-packed.Way too much muchness, you know?So you make a hot dog,thinking that will suffice,but no, it's just not enough.What you need is a change of pace.What you need is the tropics!And what do you know, you're in luck,if you just fork over the cash.Yeah, it's The Sims 3: Island Paradise,the freaking tenth expansionpack to The Sims 3,and the second one toinclude vacation themes.But only sort of.So don't assume that thisis just a rehash of a rehash,as it actually does quite a bitthat's completely new to the Sims 3 franchise.Adventure, resorts, water skiing, scuba diving,sunburn, bug bites,sand in exactly the wrong crevices,and all the other things that makeliving on an island worthwhile.Island Paradise begins witha blue screen of loading,which is fine since at leastit's not a blue screen of death.Unless your death comesfrom drowning in the ocean,and in that case... dang it,blue screen of death it is.Once you reach the main menu,the main thing to do is use the menuto select the neighborhoodor city you want to play.Island Paradise comes with a nifty new onecalled Isla Paradiso.Yes, take yourself downto the Island Paradise citywhere the grass is green and the girls are...passable, at the very least.While it may be reminiscent of existingtowns like Barnacle Bay and Lucky Palms,this archipelago paradise is tailored specificallyto work with the new objectsand activities of Island Paradise.Well, what might those be, you didn't askbut I'm going to tell you anyway.Well, the main categories as I see them are:First up is boating,which is something that's beenrequested to be in The Simsfor as long as I can remember.Finally, instead of beingstuck on a lonely island,you can be on a boat.So get your towels ready.It's about to go down.Err, actually, try to stay afloat insteadusing anything from rowboatsto paddle boats to jet skisto sailboats to speedboats.You also have boat taxis at your beck and call,and even the freakin' delivery people have boats.They work almost exactly like cars.So, yes, you can stick it in your pocketand it'll fit.Next is real estate,although oddly enough,this actually ties in to boats.Houseboats, to be precise.Just choose from any number ofdocks that have a houseboat slotand you can customize your own floating abodejust as you would a regular house.Wanna make it awesomewith all the amenities of home,but with 100 percent more seasickness?Go right ahead.Wanna make it ridiculous,creating a barge filled with nothing but chairs?Feel free, sitting fanatic.They work just like a boat, too,so you can not only takethem from dock to dock,but you can also takethem out onto the oceanand never be homesick again.Just seasick.But chances are you don't wantto just have a house-BOAT,you probably want a house-HOUSE as well.Now you can own more than one home at oncethrough the real estate system, which ishandy for those with traveling spiritsand secret lovers alike.Houses can also be built over water nowusing the new stilted foundations.This really allows for some awesome home designsas well as makes the homefeel a bit like a carnival act,which is great since that homealways wanted to be a clown as a kid.Next is the resort system,which works similarly to owning a businessin The Sims 2: Open for Business expansion.You can either start a new lot and buildyour own resort from the ground up,which is great when used in tandemwith the Blueprint to Building system,or you can purchase an existing resortand push its star rating to themax using whatever you've got.Hire new employees,customize their outfits,upgrade buildings,add spas and suites,reach for higher review scores,run the front desk,choose the kinds of food you serve,and walk around like you own the placebecause you DO own the place,So what the balls is anyone reallygonna do if they have a problem with you?They can DEAL with it, etc.Yeah, I like owning a business.It's fun when you have money you can...make more money with.Nothing like a good little bitof cutthroat business actionto spice up the normal routine.And finally, we have scuba diving,except that's not entirely accuratebecause we also have snorkelingbut they both tie into the same skill, so shut up.Anywhere you see salt wateryou can go snorkeling,which is useful not only for findingrandom seashells and minerals,but turning yourself into convenient shark food.Eventually, your skill will raise enoughfor you to be able to attemptdiving with scuba gear.Although this can only be done whereyou see these special buoys floating...buoy-like.It's also worth noting that–officially at least–underwater and hidden areas like thisare currently only availablein this town of Isla Paradiso.But yeah, just go underwaterand feel the flood begin.Fingertips so gently on your skin.Collect fish, rocks, shells,and even treasure if you'relucky and skilled enough.You can also explore cave systems.And by \"explore,\" I meansend your Sim inside and...just don't stop believin' thatcool things are happening inside.Though you can also get it on insidethe cave with a scuba diving partner,which is cool, I suppose.Though the logistics andparticulars of how exactly that worksintrigue the crap out of me.Hehe...Gives a whole new meaning tothe term \"wetsuit,\" too, does it not?Just keep an eye on your oxygen,since Sims definitelyneed to be able to breathein order to stay alive.Except when they don't,as is the case with the new creature/life state:the Mermaid.Mmm. Mer-people.Because what's a paradisewithout an evolutionary abominationthat is traditionally associatedwith doom and peril?You can become a mermaidby ingesting mermadic kelp,and this not only gives you theability to breathe under water,but the requirement to be hydrated,much like Plant Sims.And of course, it also givesthem a fishy bottom half,although only when they're in the water.When they're on land,they sprout scaly legs,which is awesome,but also unfortunate,since I can think of at least one redheadwho could have kept avoice if she had this ability.Another thing you have to worry about–that is unless you're a mermaid–is the massive sea monsterknown as the Kraken.This thing is always unleashedand almost always pissed,so keep an eye out for itand hope it's not hungry.Unless you just want towitness carnage like this.Come on, you know you do at least once.And if you play your cards right,you can actually gain control ofthe Kraken for your own desires,perfect for those last-minute family get-togethers.While you're out on the open sea,you may well run into these islandsthat are secluded by smoky clouds.Once may assume it's achain smoker's convention orBeijing's atmosphere taking a vacation, but nope!These are hidden islands,which are only hidden in the sensethat you can't just go there on a whimeven though you can *clearly* see where they are.On your diving adventures,you'll eventually find map piecesand clues to these hidden islands.Gather enough informationand it'll open up to youand become another piece of real estate,free for you to buildwhatever you want to on it.There are some other random thingsof note included with this expansion,like the new Lifeguard career.This works a bit like the careers from Ambitionsin the sense that you aregiven certain times of daythat you'll need to perform certain actions.You know, see a person drowning,go hand them a red thing.And by all means, enjoy that down timebecause, hey, it's a tropical island.That basically gives you afree-for-all license to be a creeper.You also get a bunch of new items,like water slides,poolside bars,some island-y decor,some Tom Hanks-approvedsurvival items in the Limited Edition,and, yes... ohhh...Oh, yes.More chairs.Thank goodness.I was beginning to think they forgot.And lastly, you get the expectedCreate a Sim items like hair,appropriate for those thatsay \"Shyahhh!\" and \"Ya, Mon.\"Apparel for both men and womenthat fit the island life themeand new traits and lifetime wishesthat give your Sim the opportunityto excel at living by and on the sea.So, is The Sims 3: IslandParadise worth buying or not?As one might expect, it retails for $40 USD.And I'd say it's... 90 percent worth it.I really do like this expansionbecause not only is it trying some new things,but I also used to live on an island myself.St. Lucia, to be exact.So it's friggin' awesome to be able to havea virtual island life to mess around with.For The Sims, it's different, it's fun,and it's exactly the kind of thingI want from an expansion pack,except for one detail.There's really not a whole lot here.I mean, sure, a lot of it canbe really time consuming,like running your resort andexploring every underwater cave.But to use a sort of nautical analogy,it feels like a substantial oceanthat's only a few feet deep.I ran out of new things to tryonly a few hours into this expansionwhen more often than not ittakes at least a dozen or so hoursto try all the new big additions.Coming off of University Life especially,this is just a noticeable thing to me,and it's a bit lacking in comparison to that.However, that is not to saythat it's bad by any means,and I would very much stillrecommend grabbing Island Paradise.It's the mixture of totally new things to do,the excess chairs,and just enjoying island lifethat makes it worthwhile to me.So if that combinationintrigues you, I'd say go for it.\n"