The Sims�3 Guide

It's been nearly five years. We've suffered a delay, teaser trailers, and curious screenshots since then, all in anticipation for this moment.

Finally: The Sims 3 has arrived!

The game may have changed dramatically, but our skills at managing our virtual lives have not. (Our real lives, well... ah, never mind.) Since 2004, you have been able to count on IGN for all the information you need regarding all things Sims. With the release of The Sims 3, that tradition continues, as you have come across the most comprehensive guide on the Internet.

Remember that at its base, The Sims 3 is a robust strategic simulation game. There are multiple paths to doing almost anything, and infinite measures of "success" depending on your own goals and ambitions toward testing the Sims 3 engine.

In this The Sims 3 strategy guide, you'll find...

• CREATING SIMS // Playing with only the Sims that shipped with the game can be a drag. Check out this section to see how to build an original Sim from the ground up!
• WALKTHROUGH // See how Seth and Holly Schultz live their virtual lives, growing up and growing old in the city of Sunset Valley!
• OTHER ACTIVITIES // The walkthrough can't cover everything in the world of The Sims 3. This section will fill in the holes!
• CONSTRUCTION // The Sims 3 features a house design tool more powerful than ever before. This section will show you how to, literally, build a house and a community lot from the ground up!
• SKILLS // A Sim's personality may determine how he acts and reacts to the world, but his skills are what get him ahead in his professional career. This section will give you a full rundown of all the skills, how to get them, what they do, and how valuable they are to you.
• REFERENCE // This section reveals lists of information for various aspects of the game, for advanced players who look to pull the most efficiency out of their Sims' lives!
• Q & A // A final section for miscellaneous information, you'll see all the random questions that can pop up while playing the game that aren't covered elsewhere!

This guide stars Seth and Holly Schultz, two newlyweds who are taking their first steps in the big city—well, the big neighborhood, anyway. Through their successes and misfortunes, you will learn the basics of living in Sims 3, from the basic necessities of life to raising a family to carry on your name. Despite Seth and Holly, though, their lives will hardly represent the whole of the game's potential. They are merely examples in a wide universe of possibilities, and you are encouraged to go against them if you desire.

In the latter part of the guide, you will see alternate and more advanced ways to live your new virtual life. You may even see a few familiar faces...

Guide by: Jon "PyroFalkon" Habib