Published: Thursday, 11th June, 2009 4:31pm

The Sims 3

There are two kind of gamers. The achievement collectors, always looking for their next diversion, who love the satisfaction of working through a game, getting to the end, moving on to the next one. And then there are the gamers who enjoy the journey, happily playing open ended games, building their characters, playing God in a pixellated world. If you are the latter kind of gamer, then you're not going to have any free time for the foreseeable future.

The Sims 3 takes the popular simulation franchise and lifts it to the next level. As ever, the best way to explain it is as a kind of pixellated doll house. Design your Sim, move them into a house, buy them furniture, help them find a job, move them through their life.

After two previous games and expansions aplenty, makers EA have expanded on the things that work, thrown out the things that don't and brought us a game which will help you tell the tale of your Sim whether they yearn to be a criminal mastermind, become a bestselling novellist or just throw the best parties in town.

The only limit really is your imagination. There are more options for what your Sim can look like than ever before, but over and above that you can pick five of over 60 character traits that define your character. Ranging from being arty to being grumpy, this collection of characteristics will help define your lifetime wish - if you enjoy cooking you might yearn to be a celebrity chef, or perhaps just make the become known as the best cook in your neighbourhood. But once you've settled upon it you can do everything you can to ensure it happens and fill your Sim with the glee of a job well done.

One difference between this game and the previous incarnations is the bread and butter ablutions are completed with less effort. Gone are the days where once your Sim had gone to work and been fed, watered and cleaned enough to ensure all its wants and needs were done there was no time for anything else. Now you've got time to pop to the grocery shop to buy ingredients for cooking, head out for a swim with friends, or explore any other aspects of the town. Fancy learning to fish? Well now you can.

The Sims 3 takes the franchise to the next level, but underneath it all the game remains the same. So if you're a fan then you should go and buy this now. If you're not, well it's not going to change your mind. For our money though, this is one of the best games of the year, and will keep us diverted for a good few weeks yet.

Five stars