[theme music]
[fizz, sip]
Aahhh!
Now there is a lot of entertainment to be found in The Sims 3,
but when it first came out, so many people seemed to be complaining
that it didn't come with enough items for your Sims to use.
The first expansion pack, World Adventures,
came out at the end of 2009.
But even though it did contain new objects,
there still wasn't a whole lot to choose from.
EA has answered the request with the first Stuff Pack,
High-End Loft Stuff.
In case you're not familiar with the Sims franchise,
there is the main game and then there are expansions,
which add new gameplay modes,
and Stuff Packs,
which add mostly new objects
and things for your Sims to buy in certain themes.
High-End Loft Stuff,
or HELS,
is an assortment of items in the theme of...
I guess the best way to explain that is
"Trendy items that you're more than likely not able to afford all the time in real life."
"Give your Sim the ultimate modern loft lifestyle."
Things like new gadgets, modern furniture,
and fashion-forward clothing, whatever that means.
Being that this coincides with the 10th anniversary of the original Sims games,
several items from that game have been re-envisioned as well
for this in The Sims 3.
HELS installs quickly and easily
with none of the aggravation of World Adventures, at least for me.
So this shouldn't be any hassle.
Once you've got HELS installed,
you can go right into any saved game you had previously
and start buying up some new junk to clutter up your Sims' homes.
If you're like me, you already have at least one household
with a mountain of Simoleons,
earned honestly, of course.
As the name implies, this loft stuff is high-end,
and it has prices to match.
Everything has sort of an ultra-modern look to it,
and the majority of the items fall into the furniture category,
with a new set for each room.
For the living room, you have new stereos,
two more game consoles and TVs, as well as a table,
lights, couch and chairs to match.
For the bedroom, you get an end table and dresser,
a clock, a diamond sculpture for the wall,
and a couple of beds, imagine that.
In the bathroom, you have a weird sink,
a weird toilet, a weird rain shower,
and a very weird Pythagoras corner bathtub.
For the office and study area,
you get a computer, a computer desk,
a computer chair, a computerized exercise machine,
a cordless phone,
some lights, some random clutter objects,
and artwork.
And some bookshelves.
And of course, you have outside
and Build Mode objects, too,
including a plant box, steel doors,
lounge chairs, a new gate style,
and another useless fire pit that does absolutely nothing.
You also get a few unique items from The Sims 1,
which these I think are really cool, being a big fan of that game.
This includes the vibrating love bed,
the classic electric guitar
and the aquarium.
For fish.
That way, you don't have to use that tiny little fishbowl all the time from The Sims 3.
I could be mistaken, but I think I noticed about three or four new hairstyles
and clothing options for both women and men in this pack as well.
Each of the items, other than clothing and hair,
are thoughtfully printed out for your convenience in the game's manual.
Just in case you don't want to have to sift through the objects
in the game to decide what you want.
And it gives you something to read while you're taking a dump.
Now the question of whether or not High-End Loft Stuff is worth the cost or not.
The suggested price of the pack is $20 USD,
which is the same as previous Stuff Packs for The Sims 2,
so I have no complaints there.
You also get $10 worth of digital Sim points
to use in the Sims Store online,
so that's nice, I guess.
For 20 bucks, you get approximately 50 new items,
and considering how much they cost to buy similar items on The Sims 3 site,
it's not a bad price.
Still, if these specific objects aren't in the style that you like,
you may want to think twice about buying it.
since it really is just a handful of new items
and it doesn't change gameplay at all.
But if you happen to like the modern style of these objects,
and the classic Sims objects you get,
and you enjoyed The Sims 3, but you've been wanting more objects at a good price,
High-End Loft Stuff is certainly worth a look.