I own both TS2 and TS3, but unlike most people on this board, I bought TS3 first. I thought newer = better. I was so wrong. The game was very glitchy and took forever to load. I took a look at the system requirements before I bought it; and my laptop exceeded them. I also hated the DVD rom format since I had to play it on my laptop because my pc dvd rom was broken. I wasn't bowled over by the graphics either; but being from the atari generation, graphics never impressed me anyway. There were two aspects of TS3 I did like: the traits and the customization of hair, clothes, and objects.

I told my friend how let down I was when I bought TS3, and she recommended that I buy TS2. I loved it! Although I do miss the traits, there are many things that make up for it. Also the variety of CC makes up for the customization of TS3. The first EP I bought was University. It was great. My friend then persuaded me to buy Nightlife because I told her I missed the cars. I also love the idea of opening a business with OFB and having pets with the Pets EP. The game ran perfectly without any long loading times and glitches until I installed Seasons. I had some pretty bad experiences playing Seasons, but it doesn't compare with the terrible problems with TS3.

So, my overall opinion is Sims 2 > Sims 3.

Other pics:
http://i.imgur.com/snGP1.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BDaq5.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/.../beachscene.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/...812/bedroom.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/...ar812/class.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/...r812/living.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m126/vulgar812/2.jpg (not mine)
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/...reenshot2lg.jpg (not mine)

I'm sorry to say, but if you think the sims 3 is ugly, then that means you have a bad graphics card. A lot of people complain about how the sims look, but you must really tweak their features to avoid the round cartoon faces. The detailing, shadows, and textures are all gorgeous. Above all some screenshots I have taken from my game. You cannot have pictures that realistic back in the Sims 2. TS3 is a lot more computer-intensive. If your computer cannot handle it, you will get a lot of lag and the gameplay will not be enjoyable. Ts3 is a lot more advanced and superior to Ts2 (I don't mean just graphically)

I agree and disagree with you, Misanthrope. TS3 looks AWESOME and I LOVE it to the bits, but it's not really the same to me without weather and pets, so that's why I'm kinda sticking to TS2 until those two saviour expansion packs come out. Aaand another reason for not playing TS3 is that my desktop computer broke down for some reason, BUT that's another story, so yeah. xD

AL-BEEPING-Right sims 3, score! 10 minutes pass and my sims are all whining and pouting stomping their feet I am sitting here thinking WTF? Of course this is in the begining before cheats rolled out so there was no choice but to stick with the sims. Of course this was a never ending task of keeping their needs up that left me no enjoyment.

ALRIGHT CHEATS! Cheats left me more time to do things around the game that were currently were unavaliable. I could now successfully compare my game to sims 2.

There is so much that was missing in the early release days of Sims 3. Add on to that patches that where land mines that could easily mess up your game. I remeber one patch addressed fixing having a baby with grimmy, and not actual game crashing-nerve grinding glitches in the game. What to each their own what game starts off on the right foot automatically.

Now when I opened my base game of Sims 2 my sims world automatically came to life. Sure they can't wander around town, collect seeds, and what not, but that is replaced by abductions, playing on the furniture, and other interactions that are much more rewarding. I could actually play several minutes without having to worry to much about my sims.

HOWEVER the social worker in Sims 2 is a go-getter. I lost my first sims 2 child with in minutes.

Graphics wise, to each their own. You either hated sims 2 graphics, or loved them. You either hated sims 3 graphics, or you loved them.

As for me I prefer Sims 2 graphics because they seem more detailed to me, and there is more variety in the faces. Sims 3 I cannot see the grid in build mode (partly color blind) and it is to bright.

It's almost necessary to have slider hacks too right? Since apparently the game's sliders aren't enough to really surpass the round puddyness of the faces. I dislike the fact that it takes me around 2 hours to make a sim in TS3, and trying to make a household of 8, for hecktick purposes, took me two days.

I'll agree that graphics have improved in some ways, but not entirely. I am not a fan of the first picture posted picture (Nvm she for some reason deleted it), I dont know, it doesn't strike me as graphically pleasing (I never knew why alot of objects glow in TS3) But then again, we all have different preferences on what we like to look at. Graphics alone doesnt make TS3 superior either

personally for me the sims 2 will always be better because it holds more sentimental value and memories. especially the music. i grew up playing the sims 2 and each expansion as they started coming out.

Neither wins, as both games are equal. They both take the original Sims concept and improve upon it. Adding various animations and other abilities that are available using 3D rendering.

I have recently started playing Sims 2 again and in my opinion it is far superior to Sims 3. I can only play Sims 3 for an hour at most whereas with Sims 2 I can happily play for days. Things like bugs, rabbit holes, robotic sims, rpg style, etc. just made the game unplayable for me. It's like the heart and soul (not to mention the humour) has been sucked out of the game. I am now happily playing Sims 2 again and still discovering new things every day. Sims 2 rocks!

I only own Sims 2, so I might make mistakes here.

When my friend let me play Sims 3 with her, I was interested. When I saw it, I was disappointed.
The infinite pudding-faces.
The glitched pants. (My friend's favorite Sim pants were attached at the bottom, so they stretched like a skirt whenever she walked.)
The rabbit-holes.
Moodlets confused the heck out of me.

I think I'll stick with Sims 2, thanks.

Things I liked about sims 3:
the colorwheely thing, sims kids do their own homework, and that's about all
Things I like about sims 2:
everything, absolutely everything.

When I first played TS3, I was extremely excited. After about 1 hour, and several tries later thru out the week, I uninstalled it. I loved the voice options, thought it was pretty nifty that they go to the hospital when they gave birth, but, it just didn't have the same "feel" for me. I was introduced to the Sims pretty late. One nite my ex had me play TS1, I was instantly addicted. Two days later, he brought home TS2 for me and it's been on like donkey kong ever since. Maybe one day, I'll like TS3, but for now, I love love my TS2 :lovestruc

Is The Sims 2 on this website slowly vanishing or something?
I know Sims 3 is a newer, more pretty looking game, but it's kind of depressing that people would go for looks rather than the game dynamics... You look at the recent uploads in the past couple of days and there are twice as many uploads for Sims 3 than there is for Sims 2...
I know I probably sound like a whining moron, but I just hate seeing a really great game go down this path as I know exactly where it leads. *cough, sims 1* (Which I still find has more character than Sims 3).

I own all the Sims 2 EPs and the original Sims 3 that I bought when it first came out. I was so excited about the new game, but sadly disappointed when I started to play it.

Part of it was the interaction I had with my sims on Sims 2. I just fell in love with my characters, even if they were lazy slobs that pouted every time I told them to clean. For some reason with Sims 3 I just couldn't connect with my characters the same way.

I took a little break from playing at all and just got back into my Sims 2 again, and have been debating whether or not I should try Sims 3 again. This thread just help reaffirm that I'm not the only one, so thank you all for your posts!

TS3 has much less loading and waiting time which is preferable over TS2 but I prefer TS2 overall because I feel it is much more interactive and the sims look much better than the sims in TS3. In TS2 the choice of cc is a lot better than in TS3.

Ive really tried to play Sims 3...but i just keep going back to Sims 2...It must be me unwilling to give up all the time spent hunting for my wonderful CC

What I like about TS2:
Customization of Sims' appearance and houses (with custom content)
The variety of mods that exist for the game.
To ability to play all the households of a neighborhood without having to play a copy of the same neighborhood for each household.
The variety of kisses
My computer can handle it.
What I don't like about TS2:
The loading times, but that's my fault for being a compulsive downloader.
The uglyness of the other lots, when playing a lot (pixelated and blurry).
What I like about TS3:
Bodyshapes!
Actually going to work (even if it's in a rabbit hole).
The sky.
Traits and its interactions.
What I don't like about TS3:
Not being able to control all the households.
The excess of chance cards.
Having to play with low graphic settings, because the game requirements are too demanding.

To sum up, I play TS2 because I can't play TS3, and if I could, it would take me some time to get more interested in TS3. Just like TS1-TS2, but I have to say that was a bigger improvement. The money is not a problem, we all know how to get a game for free.

I like The Sims 3 because of its fast game play and because it does not take such a long time to get in the game. I also very much like the things that affect their moods (such like giving birth, having brushed their teeth) and their personality traits. Very cool.

However, the thing I miss the most in The Sims 3 is the memories from the Sims 2 - I find them very important and useful.

This is also why I stick to The Sims 2 - this game will forever be the child of my heart :lovestruc

Honestly, the only thing I like in the Sims 3 is the ability to modify textures and colors of clothing in-game. But everything looks so shiny anyway, even that's ruined for me. I just find Sims 2 infinitely more detailed and customizable and much more versatile in terms of storybuilding and play.

I like sims 2 better because I find it simpler to play, theres no moodlets to worry about and my sims do more than want to sleep or eat. I once had a family that all the husband and wife did was make out, they never talked to each other, or interacted like in TS2. And mysim, Mila, was CONSTANTLY eating or sleeping. As soon as she got done eating, she said she was hungry. The moodlets are an interesting idea, although they shouldn't take up SO much of the game. I spend more time trying to juggle needs and moodlets than i do actually doing what i want my sims to do. I also dont like some of the features in create a sim, such as the lips. I always think they look quite odd and spend 20-30 minutes messing with them until i get them to a normal size/shape. The neighborhood bothers me, because it doesn't automatically pause time. I wasted a whole sim day trying to locate a house. I do, however, like the idea of sims being able to go to other peoples houses without needing to be invited. I also like how you can cutsomize things more, and the graphics are amazing. I love creating outdoor areas, but the gameplay for me is too confusing. The Sims 2 will be my love forever.

I am SO glad that I didn't spend money on the Sims 3.
I borrowed it from a friend for a couple of weeks and played it.

I have played the Sims 2 for almost six years now, half of this time I didn't have a single expansion pack.
Now I must say the Sims 2 base game and the Sims 3 base game are just...there are maaaajor differences.

For one I miss the little things from the Sims 2. In TS2 they really put a lot of love and sense of detail into the game.
I miss that in TS3.
In TS2 you could see a chair floating around when a ghost happened to haunt the mansion. You could listen to phone conversations and attempt to make some sense out of it. You had the Sims randomly waving at somebody when they're walking down the stairs. You had carefully picked and composed soundtracks that just fit the EP perfectly.
I've even been thinking of extracting the soundtracks and putting them on my MP3 Player.

In TS3 the Sims just have no souls. They don't do little things that make them lovable.
I remember almost crying once when one of my 3rd or 4th Generation Sims turned out to be absolutely beautiful. A TS3 Sim will never achieve this level of detail.

The landscape of TS3 is of course great, but I find just EVERYTHING else about it horrible.

It happens, that's life. When TS4 is released the same will happen to TS3, if a TS5 is released same thing happens to TS4. As time progresses, people move on. When something new is created, it must replace the old. That's the cycle of Life... The Lion King... 1994.

Besides, why would you want to spend all of your time living in the past? Wouldn't you rather live for today? Not yesterday nor tomorrow, today.

Sure you had a few great memories in the past, but as you get older, you experience the same joy as you did in the past. You will have nostalgic tendencies, a yearning for the past. Though In reality, nothing changes and nothing has changed; and that's how The Sims series is.

Time will progress, and people will move forward. But The Sims, no matter what version, will, at it's core, always be the same game you love. And I think this is something people really need to think about when these type of discussions come about.

I would love to play TS3, but I need a new computer to handle it without uninstalling my TS2. I love the graphics of TS3, but I have also become very fond of my TS2 families. What to do?

@HarVee, if today offers me LESS than everything that's come before and leaves me completely unsatisfied? I'd MUCH rather live in the past. At it's core, Sims 3 is as much like Sims 2 as a baseball is like a soccer ball. Sure it's round and has many of the same qualities, but it's not the same, and is limited in ways the other isn't. They took out the things I loved MOST about TS2. That's not something I want to force myself to embrace.

@HarVee i understand your thinking, but games change more than, TVs , say. Once the first TV came out,there were more better versions that came out after it, color tv, for instance. But it had the same idea. All that changed was the way you watched TV, not the channels, and therefore not the whole idea of the TV. This is what i wish they had done with TS3. They could have kept gameplay the same, but improved the grapgics, and added things, of course, but not make the addons so overwhelming to the game *coughmoodlets* i understand that new things are released, and old things get left behind, but it doesnt have to happen if thats what not what the consumer wants. We can keep playing TS2 as long as we like. They will always be availible on the internet somewhere. You see people selling black and white TVs there,too

I haven't had any major problems with Sims 3...It seems like Sims 2 is the winner on this board though. I don't get the glitching I hear so much about, and I haven't had troubles with the pudding faces. I love the professions in Sims 3, like the architecture career and firefighting. I also like how if you don't learn you're skills its not the end of the world...I found that took a ton of time in Sims 2 even with the learning cap.

I do really hate the open neighborhood. I know it was supposed to be this huge deal etc etc but I freaked out when I left story progression on and one of my main sims suddenly had, like, three children, two divorces, was hated by everyone in the neighborhood, and lost his job. Wtf?

I like the design options in sims 3. I like to customize my houses and some home plans I couldn't do in Sims 2 because of the no-diagonal placement were now possible in sims 3. However, I dislike how much more involved and intense the childrearing is in Sims 3. I feel like my Sims use most of their time socializing with their infants, and heaven forbid if we can't potty train a toddler...they end up as kleptos. I guess with sims 3 they tried to up the...realism? But it just made it a little unreasonable in the context of a game.

Overall I do like sims 3 but I like sims 2 for different reasons. In any case, the computer I had my sims 2 installed on is broken and until I fix it so I can transfer my households onto my new computer I really don't feel like installing sims 2 on my current computer, so I'm stuck with sims 3.