All that made the original release of the Sims 3 great is back, with some interesting additions to boot.
Now that I got that out of the way, I'll keep this review relatively simple. The Sims 3 is a great game, improving vastly upon the Sims 2 in nearly every aspect possible. This expansion does basically the same as University did for Sims 2, but you can't help but feel that, looking back at the time when University was released, that there seems to be a little less substance here with World Adventures (referred to as WA from here on) than there was back then, but it's a bit obvious why.
One great thing about this expansion is that it doesn't just "add on" parts to the original game, like the Sims 2 expansions did - it instead adds a basically whole new element of play to the game. Think Bon Voyage (the travel expansion) for Sims 2, but with a lot more immersion.
The first thing you'll notice right away is that, while you can visit the Sims' versions of China, Egypt, and France whenever you want, you are limited in how long you can stay. This may initially turn off some players, seeing as you can only stay for 3 days on your first visit (unless you unlocked a special lifetime award that adds more days), which is hardly enough to do much. What WA does is give you a Visa level, which increases as you actively do things in the lands, which allow you to take longer trips each time you go back. This means you cannot simply load up on cash and expect to milk the area dry on your first visit - expect to be making return visits frequently, which adds a lot to the replayability of each area. Visits are also fairly cheap, which a 3 day in Sims China being around $1,300, so you can easily return after the 2 day "cooldown" is complete. I'm sure there's cheat codes to max out your Visa level right away, but it's much more fun to do return visits and feel like you are earning your way there.
As the ads and interviews stated, there are three lands to visit, and each definitely has its own flair. I have visited the Chine twice and France once as of writing this, but not Egypt yet, and they are quite distict. From how people greet you (bows in China, cheek kisses in France) to how you get around town (bike in China, moped in France), each zone has its own little differences that make it a worthwhile visit. There's so many little nuiances with each that I'd be here all day writing about them, but each zone has a "specialty" that can only be obtained there (for the most part) - martial arts in China, photography in Egypt, and wine...errr nectar...making in France. each of these bonus skill reminds me of the Hobbies skills from Sims 2, neat little things you can do that can even allow you to make money off of them.
On your adventures you will also find billboards that give quests, giving your adventures a slighty RPG flair (for those who play quest-driven games like World of Warcraft or the new Dragon Age). The quests are in the form of opportunities, and you can one active per area and they don't have to be completed on a single trip. They range from going into a ruin to collect a relic (which turns out to be a *SPOILER ALERT* baseball) to mastering martial arts to a multi-part quest that has you going into ruins, collecting rocks, and talking to people in town.
The last thing of great import I will mention is ruin exploration - my favorite aspect and the one that adds the whole new dimension of gameplay to the Sims 3. Ruins and tombs, some secret and some not-so-much, are quite fun to explore and actually require some thought and strategy, although that puzzles and such are pretty tame. You'll have to look for hidden doors and switches, interact with certain objects to unlock other things, move statues, step on blocks, avoid and disable traps, and dig in rubble to uncover everything in the ruins. The ruins I have been in so far are pretty easy - the secret doors usually have a rug in front of them, the puzzles that require you to move statues are pretty straightforward and simple, and the rooms don't have very many objects in them so finding everything is pretty easy. Even given the simplicity factor, you still can't help but feel very satisfied when you solve a puzzle and get to move on to the next room and collect the treasure. From what I can tell the ruins/tombs are not randomly generated, so I guess there's a finite number of them and one can eventually beat them all, but it looks like there's more than enough between three locations. There is a degree of thought that is necessary, though, for those who wish to extensively explore ruins - with your needs still declining as always and the limited amount of time you can spend in an area, you will have to budget your time well and pick up supplies from the general store, like dried food and a tent, if you wish to get the most out of the trip.
One neat side effect of there being underground tombs in the Sims 3 is...wait for it....REAL BASEMENTS. Finally you can make a real basement without having to manipulate a foundations and use cheats to attach a garage, as you did in all of the Sims 2 and Sims 3 prior to this expansion. Garages can be built on houses without foundations (you may be able to with foundations, but I haven't tried it yet) and can easily be added one or more to already exising lots - all you need is a single staircase to go down! This is truly a godsend for this like myself that want to make houses with basements but got so frustrated having to work with foundations and such. Now all we need in the next expansion is split-level stairs!
There's a whole lot of stuff to do and new objects and obtions to play with, but I have to mention that it feels like there should just be more there. I know it's not a stuff back, but I felt as though there should have been more objects in than were given in the game. Yes, there's a slew of new things and plenty in the style of each of the lands you can go to, but I can't help but wonder if more would have been included if the EA store did not exist. I know this is EA's newest money-making method, but I still think it is wrong for EA to put less in a given release so they can sell you more as "additional content" for sale via their online store. And while I cannot prove it, I can't help but feel like they did in this expansion the same as they did in the original Sims 3 release and the Dragon Age: Origins release and either remove or intentionally omit content with the intention of making additional money off of it. It's smart from a money making standpoint, but unethical in my opinion. But hey, that's the free market for you.
But putting all that aside, WA is a worthy first expansion for the Sims 3 and definitely the first of many more. If you already own the Sims 3, buy it without hesitation. If you don't, get the Sims 3 and buy it without hesitation!