[typing]
Well, The Sims 4 is all but upon us,
but that's not stopping EA from releasing *just one* more venue
to the Sims 3 online store,
and that is the Last Venue of Amore,
the final downloadable neighborhood lot for The Sims 3.
It's available to buy for 1,900 SimPoints,
or about $19 USD,
as usual for these premium lots.
And I've gotta say, this is quite the appropriate swan song for The Sims 3,
in both good and bad ways.
Good, because this is easily one of the most superficially impressive-looking lots
I've seen in The Sims 3, bar none.
The detail in this 64x64 lot is off the charts this time around,
with a Venetian look and feel to the whole place.
Complete with classy Italian-looking apart-hotels
waterways complete with ridable gondolas,
and a big cathedral in the middle.
Everything just looks fancy and detailed
and it's really impressive-looking, especially in the right lighting.
As for this also being a swan song in a bad way,
well, like so many other add-ons to this game,
it slows down to a crawl when I use it,
and I've got hardware that should be more than capable of running it just fine.
It's also just freaking useless for the most part,
since all of the buildings are enterable,
but I really don't see the point.
No restaurants, no stores,
just rooms that are nearly empty.
Sure, they look cool, but they're filled with the typical stuff
you'd find in a Sim's low-rent apartment,
and you can't do anything inside of these places
that you couldn't do anywhere else.
Plus, everything's so spread out and complex
that it really doesn't make much sense to stick around for very long.
Oh, yeah, and that big cathedral?
It may look great outside, but it's deceptively small inside
and pretty bare,
so there's not much point to it, except to maybe film some machinima
or maybe hold a wedding.
But anyway, the main additions to this venue
are the waterways and gondolas.
These function more or less like the roller coasters
from the Roaring Heights town,
meaning you can use the pre-made waterway or build your own.
As far as I can tell, you cannot hire an NPC driver just out of the blue,
so you'll need to do it yourself.
You can either ride alone or toss a couple passengers in the middle,
and waft around the unimpressive-looking canals.
Not only does the water kind of look painted on,
but the camera can be a huge pain to work with.
Stuff is always getting in the way and clipping all over the place,
especially when zoomed in.
And if you select the icon for one of the passengers,
it just snaps the camera all the way back to the starting point
instead of focusing on the Sims themselves.
Ah, well, it's got some problems,
but it works well enough to get the point across,
and that point is sightseeing
and socially awkward situations.
Yes, romantic Sims can get romantic while in the gondola.
Cuddle, make out, or even woohoo under a blanket
right in front of the gondola driver.
It's only weird if you think about it,
so just don't, and enjoy.
And that is all for the Last Venue of Amore
and the last venue of The Sims 3 in general.
Is it worth it?
Ah, come on now! Do you really need to ask that?
For 19 bucks, it's laughably overpriced.
A single venue should cost 3 or 4 bucks at most.
That said, it *is* aesthetically gorgeous,
and having a boat where you can get it on
in front of strangers is appealing
to the exhibitionist-inclined Simmers out there.
But I would just wait until it goes on sale or something
because, as I will say here for the very last time:
The Sims 3 DLC is overpriced and underachieving.
Having a smattering of new content is always nice,
pretty much no matter what it is.
But a bite-sized appetizer
should never cost as much as a full-size meal.
And *that* about sums up The Sims 3,
if you ask me.
[lofty orchestral music]
And if you enjoyed this quick look at a Sims 3 thing,
then you might enjoy a quick look that I have done on some other things,
The Sims 3 and otherwise.
I've made plenty of these
and while there are no more Sims 3 things coming,
there is The Sims 4 just next week,
so you might wanna stay tuned for that if you're interested.
And subscribing will let you know when those things happen.
You can also follow and interact with me and other viewers
on my Twitter and Facebook pages,
as well as support LGR on Patreon,
which not only lets you see things like this video before anyone else,
but just helps support the show in general.
And as always, thank you very much for woohoo-ing–
I mean, watching! Watching, right in front of me.
Watching me.
Woohoo.
In a boat.