- Site: The Sims 3: World Adventures
- Publisher: EA Games
- Developer: EA Games
- Genre: Simulation
Game Media
Available for online ordering 24 hours a day, every day.
By Brad Cook
We arrived in Al Simhara, Egypt in the mood for a little adventure. We set up a base camp nestled against the sand dunes just outside the city and soon found what we were looking for: Hassan Badawi contacted us about finding three ancient relics hidden somewhere in Al Simhara.
Before we could do that, however, he wanted us to enter the nearby Tomb of Discovery and recover papers he accidentally left there. We braved the musty catacombs, figuring out how to move statues onto floor plates to open doors and solving other devious puzzles. Badawi was impressed when we returned with the papers, but before he would entrust us with our main task, he asked us to speak with his associate, Youssef Nagi.
Nagi asked us to search near the Great Pyramids and find four pieces of turquoise. We hopped on our scooters and zipped out there — when we arrived, the majesty of those ancient structures took our breath away. We had retrieved one piece of turquoise when my traveling partner recommended we take a break from that task to explore one of the pyramids. With just one day left on our travel visa, I figured why not? We might not return for a while.
Of Switches and Flames
The pyramid’s main entrance seemed impassable, but a closer inspection revealed the way in. We were greeted by a pair of skeletons — an ominous warning sign, to be sure, but would we be worth the Simoleons we’re paid if we let them scare us off? Moving deeper into the ancient tomb, we came across a room where jets of flame erupted from the floor. Beyond them lay a star-shaped key we needed to open a nearby door. Clearly the difficulty of the traps had increased.
An impossible situation? Of course not: I found the secret door that led me into a back passageway, at the end of which I discovered the hidden switch that turned off the flames. Solving that conundrum led us to new rooms where more puzzles waited. By the time we were done, we had stuffed many ancient relics and coins in our satchels.
Unfortunately, we ran out of enough time to fulfill Nagi’s request, so he and Badawi would have to wait for another day. Before we returned to Egypt, however, we had plans to visit Shang Simla, China to learn martial arts and Champs Les Sims, France to hone our photography and nectar-making skills. Stay tuned for further reports from our globe-trotting adventures.
Pack Your Bags, We Leave Tonight
Do your Sims crave a little excitement too? They can also visit Egypt, China, and France in the Sims 3: World Adventures expansion pack. Al Simhara offers not just the Great Pyramids but also the Sphinx, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and more hotspots full of archeological thrills. Your Sims might even encounter a mummy and find themselves cursed — they’ll have to figure out how to break that little moodlet or die, but if they learn the mummy’s secrets, they’ll be able to summon one when they return home. It’s sure to break the ice at any party.
In China, your Sims can visit the Martial Arts Academy to learn a new skill (remember, it’s for defense only; overly-aggressive Sims will find themselves facing the displeasure of the local monks). Afterward, they can meditate in the Scholar’s Garden and cap off their trip by purchasing and setting off colorful fireworks. Those who finely hone their mental skills may even discover how to teleport themselves across vast distances.
France offers the fine arts of nectar making and photography. The tranquil countryside is perfect for doing both, or simply indulging in a picnic nor far from the Eiffel Tower. Your Sims can take advantage of their photography skill in China and Egypt too; as it improves, they can use a variety of camera filters to take more interesting shots. Sims can even sell their best photos. Relics and coins found while tomb raiding in Egypt can bring in some extra Simoleons too, or simply brighten up a room at home.
We Like the Carefree Lifetime Reward
The more time your Sims spend traveling and completing goals, the more they’ll increase their visa days, allowing them to stay longer during each trip. Extended vacations let them not only do more but also work their way toward World Adventures’ new lifetime rewards, such as Jetsetter, which cuts the costs for future trips, and Inappropriate But in a Good Way, which lets them behave however they want in another Sim’s house without adverse consequences.
In addition to the new traits and skills acquired while exploring tombs, making nectar, taking photos, and practicing martial arts, your Sims also gain access to new tools for adding Chinese pagoda roofs to their homes and building basements — the latter even lets them construct tombs of their own.
A tomb of your own? Perfect for entertaining guests or giving that mummy you summon a place to relax after a hard day of placing curses on neighborhood Sims. We can’t think of a better way to bring the adventure home.
Game Hardware
Check out our systems for your best gaming experience.
Which Way to the Loot? Consult your Sim’s Adventure Journal if you need a refresher for your current task.
Something That Sims Were Not Meant to Disturb? No matter; press on.
Fraught With Fire. Could that wall full of hieroglyphics offer a clue?
The Way of the Closed Fist. Two Sims practice martial arts. Remember: sweeping the leg is bad form.
World Adventures to Go
Take your Sims on thrilling adventures to world famous destinations with The Sims 3: World Adventures for iPhone. Explore 3 exotic destinations, meet global challenges, enjoy custum content, import/export between the Sims games for iPhone and iPod touch, and more.
The Sims 3
Learn more about The Sims 3 by reading our previous feature which covers the original version of the game. The latest version of the wildly popular people simulator offers a host of new features, including: a seamless world uninterrupted by loading screens; more robust options in Create-a-Sim; the ability to apply any color, pattern, or material to any object; overhauled personality indicators; and more.
If you liked this game, check out:
System Requirements:
- Full version of The Sims 3
- Mac OS X version 10.5.7
- Intel Cour Duo processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 128MB video RAM (ATI X1600, Nvidia 7300GT, or Intel GMA X3100 video card; Intel GMA 950 not supported)
- 3.5GB hard disk space (plus at least 1GB of additional room for custom content and saved gamed)
Cheat If You Must
Stumped? Then you may need some help, thanks to the cheat codes that are commonly placed in most videogames. They allow you to, well, cheat and change the rules. This sometimes includes activating bonuses, unlocking secrets, and gaining access to new levels of gameplay.
To activate cheats in The Sims 3 and the World Adventures expansion pack, press the Control, Shift, and C keys simultaneously. The game will pause and you’ll see an input bar appear at the top of the screen. Type one of the codes below and press Return. The action will resume and you should see the effects of the code. If nothing happens, access the cheat screen again and press the up arrow key, which will display the last code you entered. Make sure you spelled it correctly and didn’t inadvertently include a space where there isn’t one; that’s also a handy way to activate a code again without retyping it.
One last point: the text in brackets indicates words that you can choose from when entering the code.
The Codes
fullscreen [on/off] — switch between full-screen or windowed mode
constrainfloorelevation [true/false] — adjust the terrain however you want, regardless of what’s on it
enablellamas [on/off] — llamas activated! (yes, it doesn’t do anything; it’s a joke Will Wright sprinkled through earlier Sims games)
jokeplease — have a laugh on EA
hideheadlineeffects [on/off] — hide the game’s meters and increase your difficulty challenge
help — peruse a list of all commands available at that moment
slowmotionviz [number] — slow the game down; 0 is normal speed and 8 is the slowest
resetlifetimehappiness — reset the lifetime happiness of all Sims in the current household
resetsim [first name last name] — enter a Sim’s name to give it neutral motives, no moodlets, and a one-way teleportation ticket back home
fadeobjects [on/off] — switch between objects fading or not when the game camera moves close to them
testingcheatsenabled true — turn on testing cheats; shift-click a Sim or an object to discover new things you can do, such as quickly age a Sim
unlockoutfits [on/off] — unlock outfits for Create a Sim mode; just make sure you do it before entering that mode
kaching — give your household 1,000 Simoleons (make sure the current Sim is on its lot first)
motherlode — give your household 50,000 Simoleons (make sure the current Sim is on its lot first)
moveobjects [on/off] — allows you to move anything, including Sims, while in Buy or Build mode