Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Expansion lets players dive into Sims' professional lives.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
The Sims 3: Ambitions
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 6 parent reviews
Based on 19 kid reviews
Kids say that this expansion pack is a fantastic addition to the game, providing a variety of new careers which enhances gameplay and offers educational value. Although some reviews mention concerns about its mature themes, many players feel that the game can be safe for younger audiences if played with parental oversight, as the focus is primarily on professions and responsible decision-making.
- diverse careers
- educational value
- mature themes
- family dynamics
- safe for kids
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
SIMS 3: AMBITIONS, an expansion to the popular life simulation game (the original game is necessary in order to play), focuses on letting players experience more of their Sims' work lives. Rather than having them hop in a car and disappear for hours to earn a living, players can now head out on the job with their avatars to complete work-related tasks. You can save people from blazes as a firefighter, bust some ghosts as a ghost hunter, ruin and enhance your client's appearance as a stylist, and bribe or beat people up for information as a private investigator. Players can explore new hobbies as well, such as sculpting models of other Sims and crafting new inventions. As usual, players can guide their Sims however they like, turning them into model workers or making them duty-shirking sloths. As an expansion, the rest of The Sims 3's features remain available, which means players can dabble in these new tasks as much or as little as they like.
Is It Any Good?
As Sims expansions go, Ambitions offers a fair bit of content. The ability to fully explore, take part in, and direct your Sims' careers fills a pretty big void in previous games, and the extra hobbies and skills provide interesting new ways to fill our Sims' leisure time.
However, it may not be for people who enjoy working with large households or big families of Sims. The professions we explore are involved enough that it can make trying to effectively and successfully manage multiple Sims difficult. But that's a fairly small tradeoff for the ability to head out into the world and have a more meaningful career. There's no question that Ambitions is one of the better expansions to the world's most popular PC game franchise.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about gender equality in the Sims games. In this expansion, women and men are both capable of entering the same professions and being paid equally. Are there any professions in this game that you think women or men would have a difficult time entering as an equal in the real world?
Families can also discuss our Sims' ability to goof off on the job. Are the penalties in the game realistic? Do you think that real workers could get away with what our Sims can get away with?
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Electronic Arts
- Release date : June 2, 2010
- Genre : Simulation
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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