Videogamer.com – The Sims 3 preview for The Sims 3

You’re set challenges. In Sim tradition these generally relate to your everyday suburban desires. Get a promotion, make a friend, kiss that girl you just saw. Successfully finish these off and you’ll accrue enough Challenge Points to buy items and unlock novelty features called Karmic Abilities.

And this is where the value of torturing Sims is recognised as part of the gameplay. Karma is gained nightly and through challenges, and can be used to punish and reward your characters. If you want your house to be populated with ghosts then you can use the Poltergeist ability. If you want fireballs to cause havoc then go for Fire Storm. If you want to experience a sweet sense of virtual schadenfreude then go cast Epic Fail on your neighbours and watch as they quickly become demoted, lose their job, and have their homes broken in to.

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