Introduction
At Monte Vista you can discover a landscape rich with charm and money, where villas featuring sweeping views dot the gently rolling hills. Explore the vibrant community by visiting renowned museums, taking a stroll across the piazza, or learning the culinary arts on an authentic wood-fire oven. Fill your Sims’ homes with the smell of fresh-baked pizzas, calzones, lasagnas and breads. Will your Sims find the inspiration to fuel their culinary fires?
According to The Sims 3 Store, but what do we think of Monte Vista? Can you find the love of your life here and make a lot of pizzas with him or her or is it a boring world with the regular life?
First Impression
After the intro fly-over which showed us a lot of nature, I really got impressed, especially when they moved from one side to the other. I noticed every small little detail which got me curious to investigate the city. Everything really looks impressing, especially the mountains which are built towards the town center definitely are my favourite.
Create-A-Sim
Even though it’s not about the CAS items when it comes to a new world, it’s still nice to get some extras. For men and women there is one new hairstyle. Next to that you’ll get 2 new outfits for women; one everyday dress and one formal dress. Also for men there is one new outfit, a true farmer boy outfit! Every item are, just like most of the clothing and hair, changable with the colour tool, with that said, you can decide in what colours your farmer boy’s clothing will be.
Inhabitants’ houses
The houses, and actually the complete style of Monte Vista, is a bit like the atmosphere in Italy and Spain. It looks quite summery and really attractive. Not just the houses are in the perfect style, but also the environment looks a lot like Spain and Italy. The houses wchich Sims can live in or are living in differ in size. The houses that have been made on some what smaller lots are very compact, some are even built in a way where you have to walk through the balcony towards the garage, that’s very thoughtful. Next to the small compact houses you also have the houses for some ‘wealthier’ Sims. They have a big environment to live on and they have lots of space for their house and garden. Next to the premade houses which are ready to be played in you also have some empty lots to let your fantasy go loose and you could also place a public lot on there if you’re missing one.
Community lots & rabbit holes
The community lots and rabbit holes have been, just like other worlds, changed a lot. The community lots, rabbit holes and houses have to look like each other, otherwise the world isn’t possible to be one piece. Next to the fact that the houses are absolutely amazing and have a fantastic atmosphere, I think that the community lots and rabbit holes look just as amazing as that. Something I would like to talk about in particular is the little town which is built inside the walls of the castle, the little town on top of the mountain really gives a finishing touch.
Inside the walls of an old run-down castle you can find a police station, a museum, a cinema, some places for work, like ‘Tough Sims’ and the rest for your Sim’s basic needs. The hospital and the luxury wellness center are a bit further ahead in the city, they are built in a nicer place and the supermarket can be found on an abandoned mountain. The supermarket could’ve been placed in the inner city in my opinion. But that’s the only little letdown you can find in this world.
Next to the rabbit holes there also are some public spots where your Sims can chill! The parks do differ from each other, it comes down to the place you are; on the rich side of town or on the poor side of town. Something I think is done very well, because that’s the way it is in real life. Next to the parks and other spots where your Sims can be, there are two beaches your Sim can relax and take a lovely dive into the water.
Build- and Buy mode
The build mode gives you new plants, trees, doors, windows and pilars. In the buy mode you can find a nice bistro table with chairs, a parasol, a few plants in a pot, but the best thing is the new weddingcake. In buydebug you can find more new items like a new mailbox, stones for in the world, streetsigns with crossing Freezer Bunnies and wild Lama’s.
Premium Content – Wood Fire Oven
Whenever you purchased a world it is always nice to recieve some extra items. With Monte Vista you will get premium content and that is the Wood Fire Oven. With this Wood Fire Oven you can suprise your Sims who love cooking, because there are multiple recepies that come with this new gadget.
– Three types of pizza
– New calzones recipes, including the early morning breakfast calzoneA variety of new lasagnas, including special vegetarian recipes
– An assortment of artisan breads
The Wood Fire Oven finishes the Italian vibe, especially when you have the oven in your backyard and you have a nice view over the mountains. However, when your Sim is not quite a good cook yet, he should not enjoy the view too much or else your pizza will burn! The recepies all have there special moodlets, a pizza gives your +20 with the moodlet ‘Mamma Mia’, pizza like mom made them, and your Sim’s mood will also go up with ‘Freshly Baked’, can you smell what your Sim is baking? The smell of freshly baked pizza will give you a moodlet of +20 for four hours.
Conclusion
The Sims 3 Monte Vista is a nice world with quite some culture for a small village. If you like nature and a village like world then this is your world. Monte Vista deserves a 8 because it looks really good and there is loads to discover.
The Sims 3 Monte Vista is for sale with Simpoints. For 16 euro’s you can get the world, the premium content and 100 Simpoints. You can also buy the game at Nedgame, they offer you Monte Vista and Hidden Spring is a disc version, two for the price of one.
Written by AnsjJ2
Translated by Shevens and FranSor